A Japan-supported international conference on African development — the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development, or TICAD 8 — will be held in Tunisia, August 27 to 28. TICAD 8 is expected to focus chiefly on cooperation in the health care field, including the fight against such infectious diseases as the novel coronavirus. The first meeting was held in Tokyo in 1993, and the last meeting in Yokohama in August 2019. The next conference will be the second TICAD meeting in Africa, after the one in Kenya in 2016. In the past, Tokyo largely exercised its influence on the continent through soft power and aid and development, while the private sector and commercial lenders have been more cautious.

Source: The North Africa Journal August 12, 2022 18:42 UTC