Originally, Kishida had hoped to hold a direct dialogue with African leaders during the eighth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) in Tunisia in August last year. Kenya in particular hosted the first TICAD conference in Africa (TICAD 6) in 2016. On that occasion, she announced $100 million in aid for Ghana and other West African coastal states, namely Benin, Ivory Coast, and Togo, to combat Islamic extremist groups. These pledges of aid highlight the strong interest of the G-7 in maintaining stability in the West African region. Kishida’s trip was very much part of Japan’s Africa diplomacy under Japan’s G-7 chairmanship.

Source: The North Africa Journal May 17, 2023 13:31 UTC