The First Ministerial Follow-up Meeting of the Fourth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) took place in Gabarone, Botswana, on March 21-22. The Meeting was co-chaired by the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Japan and Botswana. The opening session was attended by the Vice President of Botswana, H.E, Lt. General Mompati Merafhe and the former Prime Minister of Japan, H.E. Mr Yasuo Fukuda, who both made introductory remarks. (To read more about the speeches, including that of Minister Nakasone, please click on these links.)

       >Speech of H.E. Lt. General Mompati Merafhe, Vice President of Botswana

       >Speech of H.E. Mr. Yasuo Fukuda, Former Prime Minister of Japan

       >Speech of H.E. Mr. Hirofumi Nakasone, Foreign Minister of Japan

According to the Communiqué issued, the Ministerial Follow-up meeting assessed the progress achieved in the implementation of the Yokohama TICAD IV Action Plan, 9 months after its adoption. It also, as a message to the upcoming G-20 Summit, discussed practical measures and make policy recommendations on how to mitigate the impact of Global Financial Crisis on Africa. The last part of the Communiqué is on the need for enhanced partnership with Africa not only to deal with the global economic and financial crisis, but also to consider the African countries, as potential contributors towards the global economic recovery. (To read more about the Communiqué, please click the link below.)

        >TICAD IV Follow-up Ministerial Meeting Botswana Communiqué