By Deogratias Mmana:
Malawi is gearing up for the ninth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad), which is scheduled to take place from August 20 to 22 2025 in Yokohama, Japan.
According to the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a ministerial meeting for all African countries participating in Ticad will be held in Tokyo from August 24 to 25 to discuss preparations for the conference.
Malawi will be represented at Ticad 9, and Minister of Foreign Affairs Nancy Tembo is expected to attend the ministerial meeting next week.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Charles Nkhalamba confirmed the arrangement in an interview yesterday.
A press statement from the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicates that through the Ticad process, Japan aims to strengthen its relations with African countries.
It adds that approximately 30 years after the launch of Ticad in 1993, Japan has been committed to supporting Africa-led development.
“Japan has been leading the conference since 1993, co-hosted by the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme, World Bank and African Union Commission,” the statement reads.
Among the Ticad initiatives in Malawi are the Coalition for African Rice Development (Card) and the Initiative for Food and Nutrition Security in Africa.
The Card initiative aims to support African countries in increasing rice production through the Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa (Agra), the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (Nepad) and the Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica).
Malawi joined the initiative in Phase 2 in 2019.
Jica Malawi is working closely with the Ministry of Agriculture to maximise benefits from the initiative.
Card helps member countries prepare their National Rice Development Strategies by organising a series of workshops known as Working Weeks.
Under this initiative, Malawi is one of 32 African countries receiving support to double rice production by 2030, in collaboration with Agra and Nepad.
In a recent interview, Jica Chief Representative Kazuhiro Tambara confirmed his institution’s efforts to double Malawi’s rice production.
He, however, said Jica is awaiting approval of the revised draft National Rice Development Strategy, which expired in 2018 and was submitted to the Ministry of Agriculture in June 2023.
Deputy Director of Crops Development in the Ministry of Agriculture, Martin Kaisi, said the draft strategy needs management approval before it can be disseminated.
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