Japan pledges support to Africa

NAIROBI: Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told African leaders yesterday his country will commit US$30 billion (one trillion baht) in public and private support for infrastructure development on the continent.

Japan has long been interested in tapping Africa’s vast natural resources, even more so since dependence on oil and natural gas imports jumped after the 2011 Fukushima nuclear disaster shut almost all of the country’s reactors.

Mr Abe, in the Kenyan capital Nairobi to attend the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), said the package would be spread over three years from this year and include $10 billion for infrastructure projects on the continent, to be executed through cooperation with the African Development Bank.

“When combined with investment from the private sector, I expect that the total will amount to $30 billion. This is an investment that has faith in Africa’s future,” he told a gathering of at least 34 heads of state and government from across Africa.

The $30 billion announced yesterday is in addition to $32 billion that Japan pledged to Africa over a five-year period at the last TICAD meeting in 2013. Mr Abe said 67% of that had already been put to use.

“Today’s new pledges will enhance and further expand upon those launched three years ago,” he said.