On 17 August, 2009, at its now traditional Sayonara venue, The Tokyo City Club, the ADC bade farewell to His Excellency Ambassador Daniel Antonio, Ambassador of the Republic of Mozambique, a much respected Colleague and a valued member of the ADC for the past 5 years.

In paying tribute to Ambassador Antonio for the many significant achievements of his assignment in Japan  -  which had served to further strengthen the already excellent relationship between Mozambique and Japan  -  the Acting Dean also thanked the Ambassador for the time and effort he had devoted to supporting the ADC in its broad collective diplomacy.

The Acting Dean noted that, under the framework of the Yokohama Action Plan, Japan’s profile in Mozambique was steadily assuming a much greater significance  -  both in terms of the increasing flow of development assistance across a range of sectors and in terms of the burgeoning interest, by the Japanese private sector, in the development of Mozambique’s rich natural resources  -  including natural gas and mineral deposits.

The Acting Dean expressed the warm good wishes of the ADC to Ambassador Antonio and wished him well in his next assignment.

Tribute was also paid to the wife of Ambassador Antonio for the role she had played within the Association of African Ambassadors’ Wives (AWAAJ), and regret expressed that she would now be unable to take up the Presidency of the Association, a post to which she had recently been elected by her Colleagues.

In responding to the comments made by the Acting Dean, Ambassador Antonio expressed his gratitude to his ADC Colleagues for the support and solidarity they had always manifested towards him, and expressed the hope that similar support would be extended to his replacement.

The Ambassador noted the achievements of the ADC in revitalising the TICAD Process and in ensuring a concrete outcome to the TICAD IV Summit in 2008.

The Ambassador detailed the various new projects and initiatives being undertaken in Mozambique under the umbrella of the Yokohama Action Plan  -  including the introduction of OVOP and CARD  -  and noted that he was hopeful that an announcement would be made in the coming months regarding financing, by Japan, for the development of the Nacala Corridor, linking Zambia and Malawi with the deep-water port of Nacala in Mozambique.

On behalf of the ADC, the Acting Dean presented Ambassador Antonio with an engraved silver plate as a memento of his diplomatic assignment in Japan and as a token of the friendship and esteem of his Colleagues in the ADC