Nairobi
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Saturday told African leaders that his government will give vocational training to 50 000 African youth as Tokyo sees that such training will instil self-esteem among African youth who are known to be targeted for recruitment by insurgents if they are idle.
Abe was speaking at the opening ceremony of the two-day Sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TACD VI) that took place over the weekend at the Kenyatta International Conference Centre in Nairobi, Kenya amidst elaborate security. It was the first time ever that an African country hosted a TICAD conference that also attracted hundreds of journalists.
“A stable Africa is also one in which young people have both self-efficacy and self-esteem. In order to cultivate self-confidence and dreams in young people, Japan would like to provide vocational training to 50 000 young people over the next three years.”
He also said that “to bring about a quality, resilient and stable Africa, Japan will empower, in other words, implement human resource development for 10 million people over three years beginning in 2016. When combined with investment from the private sector, I expect the total amount to be US30 billion (the equivalent of N$480 billion). This is an investment that has faith in Africa’s future, an investment for both Japan and Africa to grow together.”
In the past 23 years since TICAD was initiated Tokyo through its external donor agency the Official Development Assistance (ODA) has disbursed to Africa US$47 billion, the equivalent of N$752 billion.
Abe noted that since Japan and Africa are connected through sea lanes – “what will give stability and prosperity to the world is none other than the enormous liveliness brought forth through the union of two free open oceans and two continents.”
“Japan bears the responsibility of fostering the confluence of the Pacific and Indian oceans and of Asia and Africa into a place that values freedom, the rule of law and the market economy, free from force or coercion and making it prosperous,” said the Japanese prime minister.
In a veiled reference to acts of banditry and open sea piracy that affect parts of the Indian Ocean, Abe noted: “Japan wants to work together with you in Africa in order to make the seas that connect the two continents into peaceful seas that are governed by the rule of law.”
“Asia has enjoyed growth on the basis of democracy, rule of law, and a market economy that has taken root there. It is my wish that the self-confidence and sense of responsibility spawned there as a result come to envelop the entirety of Africa together with the gentle winds that blow here.”
“Let us make this stretch that is from Asia to Africa a main artery for growth and prosperity so that we advance together – Africa and Japan, sharing a common vision. The future abounds with blazes of bright colours,” Abe told delegates during Saturday’s opening session of TICAD VI.
Prime Minister Saara Kuugongelwa-Amadhila is leading the Namibian delegation that includes the Minister of National Planning, Tom Alweendo and Dr Peya Mushelenga the Deputy Minister of International Relations and Cooperation.