State Minister Hosoda Visits the Republic of Kenya (Plenary Session of the Second Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum)

1. Plenary Meeting of the Second Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum

Nine ministers from African countries including H.E. Ms. Betty Maina, Cabinet Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development, and around 250 government and company representatives from Japan and 15 African countries joined the Plenary Session of the Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum. Based on the results of the Thematic Sessions last December, the representatives exchanged views on cooperation between Japanese and African private companies and on the public and private sectors working together to promote Japanese companies' business operations.
At the Forum, State Minister Hosoda gave an address in which he announced the direction that METI will go in to deepen economic relations between Japan and Africa, given the lessons learned during and results from the Thematic Sessions. These will include (1) solving social challenges and expanding businesses through innovation, (2) developing industrial human resources and improving the business environment in order to promote Africa's industrialization, (3) promoting the concepts of green and digital, and (4) strengthening financial cooperation that supports private investment. Specifically, promotion of J-Partnership (a program in which Japanese and African companies cooperate to support business initiatives that solve social challenges), establishment of the first base for J-Bridge in Africa (a platform promoting collaborations between Japanese companies and startups), strengthening of industrial human resource development, and further enhancement of its collaborations with African financial institutions. During the speech session, representatives from Japan's and Africa's public and private sectors engaged in active discussions on the themes from the Thematic Sessions last December: (1) Innovation, (2) Integration and Industrialization, (3) Green and Digital Infrastructures, and (4) Finance. This opportunity was used to announce 18 MOUs on cooperation, including those newly signed since last year's Thematic Sessions.

2. Meeting with the Cabinet Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development

Representatives of Japanese companies taking part in the Forum that are strongly committed to doing business in Africa also attended a meeting with Ms. Maina, Cabinet Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Industrialization, Trade and Enterprise Development. State Minister Hosoda thanked Kenya for co-hosting the Forum, and the attendees exchanged views on industrial cooperation with Kenya and support measures for Japanese companies expanding into Kenya. State Minister Hosoda also welcomed and expressed his gratitude toward Kenya's participation in Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai. Cabinet Secretary Maina expressed her thanks to the multitude of Japanese companies that had joined, along with her interest in discussing how to strengthen bilateral trade relations.

 

3. Meeting with the Chief Administrative Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Energy

At the meeting with Mr. Zachary Ayieko, the Chief Administrative Secretary of Kenya's Ministry of Energy, they confirmed the importance of their existing cooperative relationships—such as those in the energy and geothermal power generation fields—and exchanged views on novel initiatives in the new energy field, which Japanese companies are taking an interest in. Mr. Ayieko shared the Ministry of Energy's hope to further strengthen the cooperative relationships between Japan and Kenya. He also pointed out the future importance to the long-standing cooperative relationships between both countries of green hydrogen, e-mobility, and smart ICT technology in the energy field (in addition to the current importance of geothermal power generation)—in both the public and private sectors—and the possibility of extracting green minerals, such as lithium and rare earth elements.

4. Meeting with Tunisia's Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines

At the meeting with H.E. Ms. Neila Gonji, Tunisia's Minister of Industry, Energy and Mines, they exchanged views on cooperation in several areas—mainly investment agreements, energy and mineral resources, and industrial human resource development—in order to strengthen bilateral economic relations. They also confirmed the importance of connecting the results from this Forum with TICAD8 (the Eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development), scheduled to be held in Tunisia in August 2022.

5. Meeting with the Democratic Republic of Congo's Minister of Foreign Trade

At the meeting with H.E. Mr. Jean-Lucien Bussa Tongba, the Democratic Republic of Congo's Minister of Foreign Trade, they exchanged views on efforts to strengthen bilateral economic relations and cooperation in the mining field. State Minister Hosoda called for stronger public-private exchange and bilateral cooperation in order to keep strengthening mutual relations in this field, and Minister Bussa expressed his desire to further enhance economic relations between the two countries, including those in this field.

6. Meeting with the Republic of Mozambique's Minister of Industry and Commerce

At the meeting with H.E. Mr. Silvino Moreno, the Republic of Mozambique's Minister of Industry and Commerce, State Minister Hosoda stated the importance of Mozambique's LNG projects given the current global situation. They confirmed the importance of stabilizing and bolstering the investment environment and strengthening the cooperative relationships between the two countries.

7. Meeting with the Union of the Comoros' Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation

At the meeting with H.E. Mr. Dhoihir Dhoulkamal, the Union of the Comoros' Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Minister Dhoulkamal introduced a project aimed at developing the Comoros into an emerging country, and they discussed how to strengthen bilateral relations.

8. Meeting with the African Trade Insurance Agency (ATI)

At the meeting with Mr. Manuel Moses, CEO of ATI, Mr. Moses welcomed NEXI's investment in ATI, and both sides confirmed that stronger cooperation between these institutions through joint investments would contribute to Japanese companies' expansion into Africa, as well as Africa's socio-economic development. They also confirmed that they will ramp up discussions on the investment process in order to establish a basic agreement for investments at TICAD8 in August 2022.

9. Related materials

• Co-Chairs' Summary of the Second Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum (Nairobi, May 3, 2022)(PDF:363KB)
• Archived Videos of the Plenary Session of the Second Japan-Africa Public-Private Economic Forum
• Presentation Materials of Speech Session 2 and 3(PDF:16,032KB)

Division in Charge

Africa Office, Middle East and Africa Division, Trade Policy Bureau