By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading South Africa’s high-level delegation at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development Summit (TICAD9) in Yokohama City, Japan.
Ramaphosa is accompanied by Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Lamola, Minister of Science, Innovation and Technology, Dr Bonginkosi Nzimande, Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Parks Tau, Minister of Electricity and Energy, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Joe Phaahla, and senior government officials.
The summit is underpinned by three Plenary Sessions, which illustrate established areas of cooperation between the African Union and Japan, namely: Society: Realizing a Sustainable Future; Economy: Promoting Trade and Investment; and Peace and stability: Ensuring Human Dignity and Human Security.
In a statement, the Presidency said the 9th TICAD Summit takes place at a time of unprecedented threats to global peace and security, ongoing conflicts in some regions of the world, distortions and disruption to global trade and a concerning revision by some states to unilateral action at a time when multilateralism and collective solutions to common challenges is crucial.
The Presidency highlighted that rising fuel, food and energy prices have severely impacted developing countries, entrenching poverty and fuelling higher levels of inequality in the face of constrained employment and job opportunities.
“The debt and liquidity crisis on the African continent is worsening the challenging socio-economic environment and constraining the fiscal space for governments to cast a safety net over its citizens.
TICAD was expected to touch on possible future free-trade deals between Japan and African nations, loan guarantees and investment incentives for Japanese firms.
Africa presents opportunities with its young population and natural resources, Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba told reporters on Tuesday.
“We will be discussing how we may leverage these human and material resources as a source of vitality and connect them to Japan’s growth and the prosperity of the world,” he said.
“Rather than focusing on our own needs, we want to carefully identify the needs of our partners and earn their trust, thereby fulfilling our role as a nation,” Ishiba said.
The year 2025 marks 115 years of relations between South Africa and Japan.
The two countries enjoy well-established bilateral relations within the framework of the Partnership Forum held at a ministerial level and maintain strong cooperation in the fields of trade and investment; science and technology; education; skills transfer and capacity building through development cooperation. Bilateral trade between Japan and South Africa had been expanding since the establishment of full diplomatic relations in 1992.
Japan is one of the major investors (over R90 billion) in the South African economy, with 260 Japanese companies, sustaining over 150 000 local jobs.
Japan is the 4th largest economy in the world, and total bilateral trade between the two countries in 2024 was R132 billion, with South Africa recording a trade surplus of R52 billion.