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Johannesburg - Japan has pledged $32bn in assistance to Africa over the next five years, the African Union (AU) said on Saturday.
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged his country's assistance to Africa over the next five years, the AU said in a statement.
"He announced the pledge during the opening ceremony of the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD V) taking place on June 1-3 2013 in Yokohama, Japan."
Thousands of guests, including more than 30 African heads of state and government responded positively to the invitation.
TICAD V was being attended by, among others, AU chairperson Hailemariam Desalegn, AU commission chairperson Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, United Nations secretary general Ban Ki-moon and World Bank group president Jim Yong Kim.
Abe announced that the pledged amount would be channelled toward supporting infrastructure and human resource development, health, agriculture and agro-processing, peace and stability.
Both Deslegn and Dlamini-Zuma agreed with these priority areas.
Deslegn acknowledged the relevance of the TICAD V theme, “Hand in hand with a Dynamic Africa,” to the current continental reality.
He cited the surge in Africa’s economic growth of over 6.5%, emphasising the need for African governments and the private sector to work together to create much needed jobs and enhance growth.
Dlamini-Zuma reiterated the need to invest in education and skills development to accelerate industrialisation.
Kim pledged to put Africa at the heart of the World Bank’s efforts toward ending poverty and boosting shared prosperity.
In the margins of TICAD V, Deslegn held bilateral meetings which included Abe and the Japanese foreign minister.
