TICAD

The first Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) was held in 1993 and was co-organized by the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, the Government of Japan, the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA), the World Bank and UNDP. The TICAD process has been instrumental in mobilizing support of the international community for African development.

The areas highlighted by the first TICAD as reflected in the Tokyo Declaration were:

• political and economic reforms

• economic development through activities of the private sector

• regional cooperation and integration

• emergency relief and

• Asian - African development experience

The second TICAD Conference (TICAD II), held in 1998, formulated and adopted the Tokyo Agenda for Action. It set specific targets and required actions for both Africa and development partners in the various areas of social development, economic development and the basic requirements for development, as well as emphasizing the importance of cross-cutting approaches including south-south cooperation.

TICAD III was convened in 2003. As TICAD fully shares the basic principles of NEPAD for African development, that is, “ownership” and “partnership”, one of TICAD III’s most important objectives was to hold comprehensive discussions on mechanisms for mobilizing broad and sustainable international support including high level political commitments. The TICAD process contributes to increased partnerships through major conferences, high-level forums, regional meetings, seminars, study visits and training programs, networking and research collaborations.