President Jacob Zuma: Address at sixth TICAD Summit

Your Excellency, Uhuru Kenyatta, President of Kenya

Your Excellency, Shinzo Abe, Prime Minister of Japan

Your Excellency, President Idriss Deby, President of Chad and Chair of the African Union

Your Excellency Dr Nkosazana Dlamini-Zuma, Chair of the African Union Commission

Excellencies,

Senior Representatives from Multilateral Co-organising Bodies,

Esteemed delegates

Ladies and gentlemen

 

Allow me to thank, our gracious host His Excellency, President Uhuru Kenyatta, the Government and people of the Republic of Kenya for their legendary hospitality, provided for the first Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) Summit to be held on African soil.

 

The great Liberation Father of this country, President Jomo Kenyatta, would surely be proud that we have gathered in Nairobi with a shared vision of improving the lives of ordinary African citizens.

 

We are also pleased to welcome Honourable Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on our continent, and wish to acknowledge his untiring efforts to ensure that TICAD is evolving into a partnership that promotes socio-economic development.

 

Your Excellencies will recall that in 2013, Africa decided to take a metaphorical leap 50 years into the future, to define “The Africa We Want”. The blueprint for socio-economic growth that we arrived at is Agenda 2063, and that, to my mind, should be the guiding star of our substantive priorities for this TICAD 6th Summit.

 

We have the duty and the opportunity now to redefine how we interact with each other, as we strive to uplift impoverished and marginalised communities, with particular emphasis on women and the youth, by implementing thoughtful and strategic policies with our like-minded partners.

 

This is where the value of TICAD lies. 

 

Excellencies, as we meet today in Nairobi, we must acknowledge that the Africa of 1993, when this highly valued Partnership was formed, is a substantially different place. It is vibrant, and rapidly changing, with some of the fastest growing economies in the world.

 

Most importantly, Africa is increasingly taking ownership and responsibility for its socio-economic destiny. We are committed to placing the continent firmly on a path to sustainable economic growth and development, and thus addressing the scourges of inequality, poverty and unemployment.

 

Bearing this in mind, collaboration and investments by both the public and private sectors in infrastructure, manufacturing and ICT are essential for regional and continental growth.

 

Furthermore, continental integration, boosting Intra-African trade and improving the continent's capacity to resolve its own challenges, as identified by Agenda 2063, have been woven into every discussion I have had across the globe, from climate change, to governance and industrialisation.

 

Let me briefly cite one example of what the continent is doing in terms of infrastructure development, namely the Presidential Infrastructure Championing Initiative (PICI) under the aegis of NEPAD. The Algerian section of the optic-fibre link between Algeria and Nigeria via Niger has been completed and is now fully operational, improving internet services and reducing the cost of ICT.

 

It is expected that the optic fibre will be further extended to neighbouring states. This is but one good example of the success of these projects in our continent. There are massive mutually beneficial opportunities available in Africa.

 

In conclusion, Excellencies, as we continue with this momentous path of profoundly transforming our Continent, we must ensure that our Partnerships are responsive and increasingly of mutual benefit. I wish to further urge all parties within TICAD to focus on effective implementation, and for us to intensify our collaborative efforts in pursuit of our mutual objectives in support of the African Agenda.

 

I thank you.