AfDB President, Donald Kaberuka, on Tuesday, April 6, 2010, ended his official visit to Japan. Mr. Kaberuka used the final day of his visit to meet with the country's political authorities.
Besides meetings with the country's vice minister of foreign affairs and finance minister, Mr. Kaberuka and his delegation held working sessions with Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) officials. Discussions with JICA President, Sadako Ogata, focused on cooperation between both institutions.
Meanwhile, earlier in the day, Mr. Kaberuka met with ambassadors accredited to Japan, where he explained that the visit was part of efforts to strengthen cooperation ties between Africa and Asia, especially with Japan.
He underscored AfDB's role as a tool of choice for Japanese investors. He said the visit aimed at urging Japanese businesspeople to invest on the continent.
The ambassadors outlined areas in which they expected greater cooperation with Japan and the role the AfDB should play in the partnership.
Mr. Kaberuka also pointed out that he was in Japan to discuss a general capital increase for the AfDB with Japanese authorities. "I am here to discuss the AfDB general capital increase with Japanese authorities," he said, adding that a capital increase was necessary to meet growing demands from more fragile countries on the continent.
He recalled the Bank's role in efforts at meeting the needs of African countries during the global financial crisis. He stressed that a general capital increase for the continent's leading development finance institution was in line with decisions taken by the G8 and G20 at the beginning of the crisis.
He stressed that African countries counted on the AfDB. He pointed to development programmes in need of financing, which justified the need for a general capital increase.
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AfDB President's Official Visit to Japan
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Mokthar Gaouad
