Remarks Made by H.E. Mr. Kinichi KOMANO, Permanent Representative of the Government of Japan to the African Union

Remarks Made by H.E. Mr. Kinichi KOMANO, Permanent Representative of the Government of Japan to the African Union, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Embassy of Japan to Ethiopia. The 16 January 2007 1. General Introduction : As early as the mid 1990s, Japan initiated the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, known as TICAD, and has since attached great importance to its relationship with Africa. Together with the African Union (AU), we hope to work as closely as possible not only bilaterally but also in various multilateral fora, including the World Trade Organization (WTO). Mr. Junichiro Koizumi, the then Prime Minister of Japan, visited Addis Ababa from the end of April to the beginning of May last year, and delivered a policy speech on Africa at the AU headquarters. Whilst there, he held in depth talks with the leaders of the AU. Although Mr. Koizumi was succeeded in September last year, the new Prime Minister Abe maintains the Japanese government's keen interest in Africa. In the TICAD process, Japan places a high priority on "poverty reduction through economic growth" as one of the three key pillars of policy. In this context, we have been helping African countries to promote their trade and investment. In November 2004, we hosted a ministerial-level TICAD conference in Tokyo aimed at promoting trade and investment between Africa and Asia. From the 12th to the 10 of next month, the Fourth Africa-Asia Business Forum (AABF IV) will be held in Tanzania. Preparations are being made to hold this forum on a larger scale than ever before. Trade and investment are also one of the priority areas in Japan's support for the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD). In 2008, we will hold TICAD IV, and are redoubling our efforts towards this occasion. 2. WTO It is Japan's basic foreign economic policy to maintain and promote a free and stable multilateral trade system. As in the Koizumi Administration, it is also a basic policy of the Abe Administration to seek an early, successful conclusion of the Doha Round negotiations. We will continue to exert our utmost effort towards this goal. We hope to first establish a basis for the agreement by this Spring by maintaining contact at ministerial level and through active participation in negotiations at the working level. Development is a key issue of the Doha Round. The success of the DDA Round negotiations is of crucial importance for the development of the developing countries. We cannot afford to let this opportunity pass. The government of Japan hopes to maintain close and constructive cooperation with the members of the AU so that we can reach a successful conclusion of the Round Negotiation. 3. Development Initiative for Trade "Aid for Trade" is definitely important for developing countries to reap the benefits of the multilateral trade system and trade liberalization. From this point of view, Japan has launched the "Development Initiative for Trade" prior to the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial Conference. This initiative aims to support the sustainable development of developing countries though trade promotion, combining various ODA schemes and other relevant measures such as duty-free and quota-free treatment for LDCs in a comprehensive manner in each of the three stages that comprise trade, namely "Produce", "Sell " and "Buy". The government of Japan sent instructions to its embassies immediately after the announcement of the Initiative and began work in many countries in searching for and identifying promising products and projects to be supported under this initiative. In February 2006, we started the "One Village, One Product Campaign" which aims to support the efforts of developing countries in regards to product development and the marketing of these local products. As a part of this campaign, we held the "African Fair", an exhibit of African products, in Tokyo last September, in which the then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi participated. We have also opened the One Village, One Product Market in 7 major airports in Japan to exhibit the products of developing countries and to promote their sales. Furthermore, this year, we plan to organize a "National Week" in order to feature products from specific countries with the cooperation of their respective embassies in Tokyo. Morocco and Tanzania are going to be the first countries to participate in this program. We are also currently having consultations with Egypt, Democratic Republic of Congo, Madagascar and other countries. In August, 2006, the then Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, Mr Shoichi Nakagawa, visited Kenya and held a conference on Japanese cooperation in the area of agriculture, fisheries and forestry. As one of the most important elements of the Development Initiative for Trade, Japan announced its intention to enhance the duty-free, quota-free treatment for products originating from LDCs. Japan intends to implement this regardless of the progress of the Doha Round Negotiations. In continuing with this policy, the Abe Administration, which was inaugurated last September, is making preparations towards submitting the legal amendment necessary to implement the duty-free, quota-free treatment for products originating from LDCs for the coming Diet session. With the implementation of this legal draft, we expect that duty-free, quota-free market access will be granted for 98% of imports, based on tariff line, or 99% based on import value, originating from the LDCs. In order to identify good projects to promote, a close coordination between development partners is indispensable. We hope that the members of the African Union, based on the idea of ownership, will take active initiatives in these efforts. One good example of our cooperation in this area is the support for the industry of shea butter, a traditional product in Ghana and other West African countries. Japan has been providing assistance in the production, processing, distribution and sales promotion of shea butter and its products. Today, products made from shea butter, such as soap and cosmetics, are sold at many fashionable stores in Tokyo. These projects offer assistance with the view to developing rural communities as well as supporting the empowerment of women. We invite you to consult our embassies in your country should you have any requests or ideas on a specific product or project to endorse. We really hope to have a new success story under the "Development Initiative for Trade" in the near future. Tel: 251-11- 551 10 88 P.O. Box: 5650 Fax: 251-11- 551 13 50  HYPERLINK mailto:japan-embassy@ethionet.et E-mail: japan-embassy@ethionet.et