During the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), President Adama Barrow stated that poverty and inequality have continued to ruin communities in Africa.

Speaking during the event held in Tunisia, Mr. Barrow continued that the undue stress on Africa's economies and disruption of international trade and governance, have complicated matters further.

"Also worrying are the issues of nationalism, unequal disaster financing, tougher terms of lending and other drivers of under-development. Consequently, the need to strengthen international solidarity around resilience building and sound integrated approaches to development financing is more pressing now than ever."

As a vigorous growing region, Mr. Barrow explained that Africa certainly presents unique opportunities for closer cooperation with the world, saying we must build enough capacity to sustainably finance and drive our development.

"While wise management of our natural resource base, biodiversity, and ecosystem services is essential, sharing best practices across the globe is vital to overcome our development hurdles."

Mr. Barrow further stated that Africa is expanding and strengthening partnerships to fully harness the enormous potential of "our youthful and diverse population." He added that yet, it is a population that urgently needs start-up support to explore green businesses and other development opportunities.

"Amid such concerns and the current global crises, we applaud the Government and People of Japan for assuming greater prominence in the collective endeavour to build resilient economies, communities, and environmental systems."

He finally observed that the Summit contributes to transforming Africa's challenges into opportunities for the realisation of 'our priorities and commitments'.