Tokyo, 6 June, /AJMEDIA/
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to visit Tunisia for an international conference on African development in August if the meeting is held in person, Japan’s top government spokesman said.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno met with visiting Tunisian Foreign Minister Othman Jerandi on Friday and received a letter from Tunisian President Kais Saied inviting Kishida to visit the North African nation.
“If the situation permits, the prime minister is planning to visit Tunisia and attend TICAD 8. We hope that it will produce meaningful results,” Matsuno told a press briefing, referring to the 8th Tokyo International Conference on African Development.
During their meeting, Matsuno and Jerandi agreed to cooperate and make the forthcoming conference a success, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
TICAD is a framework for Japan and African nations to discuss what is necessary for further development of the continent with high growth potential, known as the last frontier. Japan has been leading the conference since 1993.
Japan hosted the previous TICAD meeting in 2019 in Yokohama.