[ 2013-06-01 ]

Japan, eyeing China, pledges $14 bn aid to Africa
YOKOHAMA, Japan (AFP) - Japan said Saturday it
would give $14 billion in aid to Africa over five
years, as Tokyo scrambles to grab resources and
market share at a time of increased interest in
the region from China.

Around half of the money will be targeted at
infrastructure development, with Japan seeking to
match its firms' desire to export transport
systems and power grids with the gaping needs of
the continent.

Japan's overseas development aid (ODA) "will be
about 1.4 trillion yen ($14 billion)" Prime
Minister Shinzo Abe told a three-day conference in
Tokyo involving the leaders of more then 40
African countries.

Including this aid, "Japan will offer up to 3.2
trillion yen in support to Africa's growth via
public and private sector investment", he said.

Despite relatively long-standing connections,
Japan's importance to Africa has slipped behind
that of China, whose more aggressive approach has
given it five times the trading volume and eight
times the direct investment.

China does not give official amounts for its ODA,
but reports suggest it gives up to $2 billion
annually. The figure Japan announced Saturday
outstrips that significantly.

The five-yearly Tokyo International Conference on
African Development (TICAD), a get-together of
political leaders from across Africa, is Japan's
two-decade-old effort to boost links.

Tokyo's commitment to Africa differed from that of
other nations, Abe said, in remarks that appeared
to have been a reference to China.

Beijing is criticised in some corners for what is
sometimes seen as prosecuting little more than a
resources grab and for not linking investment with
demands for improved human rights or more
transparent governance in recipient countries.

"Africa's abundant natural resources provide
important business opportunities for the
resource-poor Japan. But Japan would not explore
and dig resources simply to bring them to Japan,"
Abe said.

"We will support Africa so that African natural
resources will lead to African economic growth.

"Africa's rapidly growing market is not less
attractive than its natural resources to Japanese
companies."

Abe called for the introduction of transparent
rules on business and efforts to boost security
for Japanese living and working there.

The focus on private-sector investment was
welcomed by delegates, with South African
President Jacob Zuma saying the continent's
economy had to develop.

"Africa must move from a path driven by
commodities export to one led by industrialisation
and diversification," he said.

"Three points are crucial (in the path to
development): market integration, industrial
development and infrastructure development."

The broad agreement on the need for better
transport connections will be music to Abe's ears
after his ambitious pledge last month to treble
exports of infrastructure to 30 trillion yen a
year by 2020 as part of his plan to reanimate
Japan's lifeless economy.

At the same time, Japan's firms see Africa as an
opportunity for expansion at a time that their
home market is contracting and stultifying because
of a population that is rapidly ageing and is
forecast to shrink.

Those hopes were also given a boost in the form of
plans to expose Africans to Japanese companies
through education and training.

Over the next five years, Abe said, Japan will
invite 1,000 students to study in universities and
gain experience as interns at Japanese companies,
and Tokyo will work to find jobs for 30,000 people
in Africa.

"Japan will also construct hubs for human resource
development at 10 locations in the field in
Africa, including in Ethiopia and Senegal. We will
send experts in vocational training to these
hubs," Abe said.

Makoto Katsumata, professor of African studies at
Meiji Gakuin University, said Tokyo was right not
to ape Beijing.

"What Japan should do is not just emulate China's
aggressive pursuit of natural resources, but
something that builds on trust Japan has nurtured
with African nations over the past years," he told
AFP.

Source - AFP

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