Japan invites Malawi President to attend Tokyo conference of African Development
The Japanese Government has extended an invitation to Malawi President Mrs. Joyce Banda to attend the fifth Tokyo International Conference of African Development (TICAD V) which will be held in Yokohama from June 1 to June 3 this year.
Speaking to Malawi News Agency (Mana) on Friday after he extended the invitation to the president through Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ephraim Mganda Chiume who is attending the African Union Executive Council meeting of foreign ministers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; TICAD V ambassador Makoto Ito said President Banda’s presence at the conference will be of paramount importance.
“I am pleased that Her Excellency Mrs. Banda and the minister himself are both very much willing to attend the TICAD V conference which will dwell much on the acceleration of the economic growth and transformation of Africa.
“The conference will also discuss the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the post MDGs not forgetting peace and security of the African continent,” said Ito.
In response, Chiume said the TICAD V conference is of great importance and benefit to Malawi such that government will do whatever it can to ensure that we participate fully at the conference.
“I met the head of TICAD V who has extended an invitation to Her Excellency to attend the conference and I am sure that we will confirm participation. TICAD looks at the economic development of the whole of Africa, and Japan has been Malawi’s long time partner in areas such as agriculture, health and education,” said Chiume.
TICAD is an international conference focusing on African development, co-hosted by the Japanese Government, together with the United Nations (Office for Special Advisory on Africa (OSAA) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP)), the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA), and the World Bank.
The TICAD conferences have been held once every 5 years since 1993 and are highly regarded among the international community as a comprehensive framework for African development.–Mana
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