adminKenichi Kasahara
This week, President Emmerson Mnangagwa will attend the Tokyo International Conference on Africa’s Development (TICAD) in Japan. The summit will unlock massive investment opportunities for Zimbabwe and give further impetus to Zimbabwe’s engage and re-engagement drive. Our Chief Reporter, Kuda Bwititi spoke to the Counsellor at the Japan embassy in Zimbabwe, Mr Kenichi Kasahara, to get an appreciation of the TICAD summit. Below is what he had to say.
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It is an interesting coincidence that Japan is just the same size, in terms of landmass, as Zimbabwe, but the only difference is that Zimbabwe has 16 million people while Japan has 120 million.
Prime Minister (Shinzo) Abe sent a special envoy, Mr Kazunori Tanaka, with a message to convey to the President of Zimbabwe at his inauguration with hope that there will be a strengthening of bilateral relations.
On the African continent, Japan has 35 embassies. We are here because we want to make great friends with African countries — in politics and economics. One question that can be asked is, why does Japan seek to help African people to develop?
It’s because Japan itself has recovered from destruction, after World War 2, which ended on 15 August 1945. After that, we started to regain ourselves and Japan is now one of the top three economies in the world after the United States and China in terms of the gross domestic product (GDP).
We received a lot of international support in grant aid as well as loans mainly from the United States and some European countries.
It took Japan until 1990 to repay all the international debt that we borrowed.
Through that experience, Japan has learnt that to develop you need international aid to become one of the world’s international powers.
Japan put a lot of emphasis on the education system, focusing on the young people. We saw to it that the children and the youth of those days made structural changes in the education system so that it would suit the modern trends and raise a new generation to be functional in the industrialisation of Japan.
Japan imports a lot of natural resources: we have no gold, we don’t have diamonds and we don’t have any natural resources at all.
Zimbabwe has great human resources, to add to its natural resources. That is why I believe that Zimbabwe is one of the great hopes of the future.
But it will take time; during that time, you will need international help and that is how Japan comes in. You can be our business partner and contribute to international security someday, just like some African countries are helping the UN peacekeeping.
Of course, Zimbabwe is helping internationally, but if you are more powerful, you can help more people. You may, in the coming days, help Asian countries such as Japan.
Japan has offered many solutions to neighbouring countries in Asia, Africa, South America, Oceanic countries and in particular, Africa.
TICAD Summit
Formulation of TICAD started in 1989, after the end of the Cold War.
The first TICAD summit was held in 1993.
TICAD was the mother of all international conferences on development with regards to Africa. TICAD had been held every five years, since 1993, until TICAD 5 in Japan in 2013 when we decided that it should be held every three years.
This led to the hosting of TICAD 6 in Kenya in 2016. It is an international conference where we are just the host and we will be represented by our first citizen, Prime Minister Abe.
We are honoured that Zimbabwe has attended all the previous TICAD meetings.
TICAD promotes inclusive and open dialogue, talking about Africa’s development.
We are not only inviting African countries, but donor countries and donor agencies.
Many international organisations will also attend as the summit is co-organised by the United Nations, the World Bank and the African Union Commission. The guiding principles of this summit are ownership and partnership. TICAD is not the place to tell Africa what to do; Africa has its resources and nobody is going to dictate to them. Africa is captain of the ship.
On our side, we are a donor country and we are not a coach to tell what to do. That is why we want to promote partnership.
Another factor is that of steady implementation; it is influenced by the Japanese way of doing things. Some might argue that Japanese government is slow to make a move, but when we move, we can prove why we are moving, where we are moving and how we are moving, in a transparent way.
When we pledge to donate something, we do it, we adhere to transparency and the process. Every move that Japan makes, you can trace it. When Japan makes a pledge, we have a high level mechanism of following up.
What Zimbabwe can expect
Through TICAD, Zimbabwe will be known to many sectors in Japan.
The topmost point is that the President himself, President Mnangagwa, is going to Japan and he will meet Prime Minister Abe.
We are actually arranging a bilateral meeting to be held on the sidelines of the summit.
My understanding is that the President will be flanked by at least four Cabinet Ministers.
Zimbabwe will definitely be known.
If the delegation meets the Japanese side, they can certainly impress their counterparts with their background and potential.
Sending a delegation headed by the President himself is an advantage in terms of TICAD.
Aside from the Government delegation, the business sector is also attending TICAD. Among the six sessions, one is organised for co-operation among the private sector. So, the business delegations will also be conducting their own activities and they will be attending their own side events.
Japan is known for automobiles, but there are many other opportunities which will be open for Zimbabwe. The actual interaction between businesses will open up numerous opportunities. It’s a new era for co-operation.
If more people approach us, we will be very happy on our side and more opportunities will also be created.
Expected deliverables
Japan was the chair of G20 this year and they adopted the final document that has a lot to do with SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals) or other international issues that can be followed up at TICAD. Japan has made it clear that what the top G20 countries are thinking must be connected to what will be discussed at TICAD, so African countries will not be left out.
The G20 summit took place in Japan in June.
It covers so many different things. Among others, one of the annex talks is about infrastructure in terms of economic development.
Japan is also a member of G7. The G7 will take pace just before TICAD, so Japan will make sure that what is going to be discussed at G7 will be informed of the TICAD so that TICAD meeting has direct connectivity to the G7 summit in its outcomes.
So as you can see, the outcomes of the G20 and G7 meetings are very important for TICAD.
Infrastructure is one of the main areas that will be talked about extensively at the summit. What is important is the quality of the infrastructure. It doesn’t help to do a cheap job. If you start with cheap infrastructure, it costs you in the long run.
This is one of the points that the G20 countries agreed on: to improve the quality of infrastructure. So this portion of discussion will also be discussed at TICAD. Another aspect talks about healthcare. From the Japanese experience, we are promoting quality healthcare with the rest of the world.
This is one of the reasons why Japan has the highest life expectancy rate in the world, of 80 years. I believe that TICAD can be the thrusting element in terms of development of Zimbabwe’s economy. I know that Zimbabwe is seeking financial aid from one of the G7 members.
But at the same time, the international financial system is a tight system, we have to focus on the fact that Zimbabwe has cleared its arrears with IMF, but it cannot get finance from the IMF, because it has to clear its arrears with WB and the African Development Bank also. Yes, Japan is a member of G7, G20 and also a member of the Paris Club, but the issue of finance must be collectively resolved with everyone’s consent.
I don’t think Japan is the only example that Zimbabwe can learn from. There are many peer African countries which have developed well, and South East Asia as well.
My own personal advice is that people should trust in their own possibilities and to understand that things take time. I am not talking about centuries, but years. People must understand that it is for the people of Zimbabwe to decide which direction to go.
Bilateral trade between Zimbabwe and Japan
One US dollar is equivalent to 108 Japanese Yen. Figures from 2016 show that Zimbabwe exported 1,8 billion (yen) worth of goods. Zimbabwe imported 1,5 billion. So Zimbabwe enjoyed a surplus. Japanese business side is keen to make business, so I want Zimbabwean people to know that, basically, it is not only on the Japanese side, but they also need to look for the opportunities for themselves.
There are only two Japanese companies operating here, but more than 200 in South Africa.
It’s not that Japanese companies do not like Zimbabwe, but they do not feel that they can be lucrative. But if they can conduct business in South Africa, why not Zimbabwe? So it’s also up to the local businesspeople to work with the Japanese in terms of partnerships.
Zimbabwe is very rich in mineral resources; secondly, Zimbabwe is known for previously exporting widely in Europe and other parts of the world. I know South Africa is exporting flowers to Japan as well as mineral resources.
There is tourism, and Zimbabwe is one of the best destinations for Japanese tourists. Annually, there are between 40 000 to 50 000 tourists who come into the country.
TICAD is a chance for each and every African country that is going to participate.
It is a chance to present to the rest of the world that we are reaching out to African countries to develop in a healthy way.
I think Zimbabweans should be assured that the rest of the world is hopeful about the future of Africa.
With the high-powered delegation, Zimbabwe is going to take a very important part at the conference.
I feel privileged to work at the embassy of Japan in Zimbabwe and I am confident that given the potential of Zimbabwe, in many areas, that Zimbabwe will be a very a good and powerful partner of Japan in the near future.
Online Reporter