[Title] Communiqué of the Fourth TICAD Ministerial Follow-up Meeting
The Ministers and delegations of African countries and TICAD co-organizers, namely the Government of Japan, United Nations, United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and the African Union Commission (AUC), together with representatives of other partner countries, international and regional organizations, the private sector and civil society organizations, met in Marrakech, the Kingdom of Morocco, on May 5-6, 2012, at the Fourth TICAD Ministerial Follow-up Meeting, in order to review progress on the implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan (YAP) issued at TICAD IV as well as to commence discussions on TICAD V.
The meeting was co-chaired by H.E. Mr. Koichiro Gemba, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan and H.E. Dr. Saad Dine El Otmani, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco.
The Participants welcomed Japan’s announcement to hold the Fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) in the city of Yokohama on June 1-3, 2013, which will commemorate the 20th anniversary of the TICAD process. They expressed their firm determination to work closely together to ensure the success of TICAD V, bearing in mind the contribution the TICAD process has made to African development since 1993.
The Participants reviewed the current status of African development and had extensive discussions on expected major themes, format and approach of TICAD V. The Participants agreed that, given phenomenal economic development recently observed in various parts of the continent, TICAD V will place renewed emphasis on boosting economic growth, while keeping its focus on reducing poverty and vulnerability in African countries. The Participants shared the view that TICAD V will be a milestone towards achieving more inclusive and sustainable growth and building resilient societies in the continent.
The Participants agreed to hold a Senior Officials Meeting in fall 2012 in Burkina Faso and Ministerial Preparatory Meeting in Ethiopia in the first quarter of 2013, to further advance their preparation for TICAD V.
The Participants expressed their sincere gratitude to the Government and people of the Kingdom of Morocco for their warm hospitality and the excellent facilities and services they made available throughout the meeting.
I. Status of Implementation of the Yokohama Action Plan (YAP) and the Outcome Framework of TICAD V
1. The Participants welcomed the steady progress made in the implementation of the YAP during the year 2011. In particular, they highly commended the efforts of the Government of Japan in faithfully implementing its commitments made at TICAD IV, while making efforts to recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake.
2. The Participants shared the view that the outcome framework adopted at TICAD IV, consisting of the Yokohama Declaration, the YAP and the TICAD Follow-up Mechanism, provided an effective, transparent and accountable platform for steady implementation of the pledges made at TICAD IV. They emphasized that the current framework will continue to remain relevant for TICAD V. In this regard, it was further agreed to enhance the consultating process among the parties. Furthermore, they agreed to include specific measures to be taken by African countries in a new Action Plan to be adopted at TICAD V, as appropriate, with the aim of creating a greater synergy between Africa’s own development initiatives and support provided by a wide range of development partners, including the private sector and civil society organizations.
II. Africa’s Current Economic Growth and Underlying Challenges
3. The Participants reviewed the current status of African development and commended the continent’s current remarkable economic growth, noting with satisfaction that average annual growth in 2012 and 2013 is estimated at over five percent.
4. The Participants recognized that there are challenges and risks to the positive trends emerging in Africa, including the global economic slowdown stemming from the debt crisis in the euro zone, insufficient job creation and widening economic disparities. The Participants underlined the need to achieve resilient, inclusive, and sustainable growth in support of Africa’s development strategies. They underscored that development assistance should contribute to job creation, capacity building, and technology transfer including in the field of industrial development, and commended Japan’s ODA in this respect.
5. The Participants shared the recognition that the expansion of trade and investment as well as improved macro-economic management underpinned the current economic growth in Africa. Noting that the volume of private capital flows to the continent far exceeds that of official development assistance, they emphasized the importance of creating an enabling environment where the private sector can play a greater role as an engine for growth.
6. The Participants recognized that sustainable economic growth in Africa needs to be underpinned by efforts aimed at continent’s ability to beneficiate at source and address supply side constraints and value addition through the development of industrial and manufacturing capacity.
7. The Participants committed to working together to make Africa a successful investment destination. They agreed that improving the investment climate requires multi-faceted approach by all stakeholders, as well as improved infrastructure and creation of a more business-friendly policy and regulatory environment. They also recognized that the NEPAD-OECD Investment Initiative has played an important role in strengthening the capacity of African countries to design and implement reforms to improve their business climate, and, in this regard, reaffirmed the usefulness of the Policy Framework for Investment (PFI).
8. In terms of infrastructure development, the Participants recognized the importance of Africa’s infrastructure development strategies, including the Programme for Infrastructure Development in Africa (PIDA) and the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative (PICI). They noted special emphasis on road, rail, port networks, and the generation and distribution of electric power specifically through renewable energy. They recognized the massive demand for investment in infrastructure in Africa estimated at US$93 billion per year, and underlined the need to explore ways to fill financing gaps. In this regard, they confirmed that private investment should be encouraged in addition to official funding sources.
9. In this context, the Participants recognized the need to promote infrastructure development through Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangements, and expressed their intention to step up efforts to formulate bankable PPP projects. In this regard, they welcomed the success of the Japan-Southern African Development Community (SADC) infrastructure investment seminar held in Tokyo in March 2012 with the aim of encouraging Japanese private sector investment in infrastructure development in the SADC region. The Participants encouraged such seminars to be replicated to other RECs.
10. The Participants stressed that the agriculture sector is of paramount importance to African development and its food security. They recognized the effectiveness of Japan’s comprehensive support through bilateral ODA based on a value-chain approach, which aims to increase production and productivity, reduce post-harvest losses and improve market and trade system through, among others, capacity building and infrastructure development. They also reemphasized the importance of strengthening the food supply capacity focusing on the most vulnerable such as small-holder farmers and women. In this context, the Participants highlighted the importance of the Comprehensive African Agriculture Development Programme (CAADP) and the African Agribusiness and Agro-industries Development Initiative (3 ADI). In particular, they valued the achievements made under the Coalition for African Rice Development (CARD), which aims to double rice production in Africa by 2018. They also expressed their continued support for promoting triangular cooperation such as ProSAVANA, triangular partnership among Japan, Brazil and Mozambique which represents a good partnership.
11. The Participants highlighted the importance of enhanced triangular cooperation in various fields in particular where cooperation involved Japan/Africa/Africa formulation. They also welcomed the south-south cooperation with their Asian counterparts as a means to enhance development in Africa.
12. In addition, the Participants highlighted food security as a pressing issue that requires immediate as well as long-term responses. They reaffirmed that private investment in agriculture, along with public investment, plays a critical role for the promotion of agricultural development and enhancing food security. In this context, the Participants recognized the importance of the Principles of Responsible Agricultural Investment (PRAI) which harmonize the benefits of recipient countries, local people and investors. The Participants also reaffirmed the importance of efforts based on the Five Rome Principles on Sustainable Global Food Security.
13. The Participants welcomed the instrumental role played by Regional Economic Communities (RECs) in promoting regional integration in terms of trade facilitation/liberalization through such means as FTAs and customs unions including within the road map and the action plan on fast tracking the establishment of Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) and boosting intra African trade with a focus on One Stop Border Post (OSBP) development and removal of technical barriers to trade (TBT). They recognized that regional economic integration is a key to advancing private sector-led growth, and expressed their intention to further support the efforts of RECs. In this light, the Participants welcomed Japan’s efforts to enhance the cooperation with RECs through such means as the Memorandum on Cooperation between Japan and the SADC Secretariat.
14. The Participants welcomed efforts made by Japan to promote sustainable tourism development and cultural exchange in Africa and called for more efforts in that respect.
III. Achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) in Africa
15. While recognizing the achievement so far realized, the Participants noted that MDGs continue to face significant challenges in Africa especially in terms of extreme poverty and maternal and child health. Every effort is to be made, in the period leading up to 2015 to reprioritize and mobilize resources to ensure that MDG targets are realized. The Participants valued Japan’s contribution for achieving MDGs and are committed to further accelerating efforts towards 2015.
16. The Participants emphasized that the collective wisdom and best practices shared at the MDGs Follow-up Meeting held in Japan in June 2011, were useful in accelerating the implementation of the MDGs in Africa. In particular, they underlined the importance of strengthening African ownership in narrowing implementation gaps and addressing bottlenecks on the ground. The Participants also shared the recognition of private sectors’ increased role and interest in development which should be pro-actively mobilized while recognizing the main role of public funding.
17. The Participants exchanged views on the global development agenda beyond 2015. They underscored the need to establish holistic guiding principles in shaping the post 2015 agenda and agreed that such principles should include notion of human security, inclusive growth with job creation, disaster reduction, equity, sustainability and mutual support. In this regard, they reaffirmed the importance of achieving more effective international development partnership.
18. The Participants expressed their intention to work together to build resilient societies in Africa, underscoring the importance of disaster reduction. They recognized existing policies and programmes such as the Hyogo Framework of Action and the Africa Strategy and Programme of Action for disaster risk reduction. They welcomed Japan’s initiative to share lessons learned relating to natural disasters and to mainstream disaster reduction in development and international cooperation at the High-Level International Conference on Large-Scale Natural Disasters in July 2012 and at an international conference on disaster risk management co-hosted by Japan and the World Bank in October 2012, both of which are to be held in the Tohoku region.
19. The Participants expressed their expectations that the outcomes of the Conferences will contribute to the establishment of the post-Hyogo Framework of Action, and provide the context for the Third UN World Conference on Disaster Reduction to be held in 2015, which Japan expressed its intention to host.
20. The Participants acknowledged that African countries need to capitalize on scientific and technological know-how in order to further accelerate its current socio-economic transformation and achieve sustainable development. In this regard, the Participants will explore ways to strengthen science and technology cooperation.
IV. Consolidation of Peace and Good Governance
21. The Participants reaffirmed that the consolidation of peace and good governance is a requisite component for African development. They recognized the important progress made in this field over recent years on the continent through the efforts of African countries, the AUC and RECs in the building of the African Peace and Security Architecture, as well as through the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) and such means as political dialogue, participation in peacekeeping operations, promotion of democracy and further development.
22. The Participants appreciated the active engagement by the international community in this area, namely, continuous assistance by donor countries and organizations and civil society organizations, dispatch of United Nations and African Union peacekeeping operations and financial and troop/police contributions to these operations by member countries. They reaffirmed the importance of continuing support for further efforts of African countries toward realizing peace and stability including, inter-alia, national Programmes of Action under the APRM, post-conflict reconstruction and development efforts and the African Union Border Programme (AUBP).
23. The Participants commended the constructive roles the United Nations has played in promoting peace and stability in Africa and emphasized the importance of early reform of the UN bodies, including the Security Council, to better meet the international environment of the 21st century.
24. The Participants expressed their determination to work together to eradicate sea piracy in Africa and in that context commended the important role played by AMISOM. They also reiterated that the problem requires a multi-layered approach at sea as well as on land. They stressed the need to enhance the maritime law enforcement and judicial capacity of the coastal countries and to apply zero tolerance to sea piracy.
25. The Participants welcomed Japan’s initiative to share anti-piracy experience in Asia with neighboring countries of Somalia, including the experience earned through anti-piracy activities under the Regional Cooperation Agreement on Combating Piracy and Armed Robbery against Ships in Asia (ReCAAP). They also commended the African regional efforts to tackle piracy threats including the Djibouti Code of Conduct and called for more international support for these efforts including that of TICAD.
V. Climate Change
26. The Participants acknowledged that climate change is one of the core development challenges for Africa. In this regard the Participants welcomed the outcomes of COP17 and CMP 7 held in Durban, South Africa, at the end of 2011, and agreed to ensure the roll-out of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action and the basic design of the Green Climate Fund.
27. They recognized the potential benefits Africa can reap from green growth, especially in the field of renewable energy. In this regard, they noted the interim progress report on the formulation of an “African Green Growth Strategy-Towards Low-Carbon Growth and Climate Resilient Development”. They confirmed that the document will be further developed ahead of the Annual Meetings of the IMF and the World Bank Group to be held in Japan in October 2012. In this process, they resolved to ensure coordinated synergy with existing initiatives and processes in Africa under the AU, AMCEN, and AfDB.
28. The Participants welcomed Japan’s constructive role in addressing climate change in Africa, such as the African Adaptation Programme formulated and implemented through UNDP. They also welcomed steady implementation of Japan’s Fast-Start Finance on climate change, including the Readiness Support through the World Bank that aims to improve the capacities of developing countries to absorb climate change assistance and emphasized the importance of Japan’s continuous support together with the international community beyond 2012.
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