Japan to hold follow-up African development meeting in March+

TOKYO, Dec. 20 Kyodo - Japan plans to hold in late March a ministerial-level follow-up meeting to a major conference on African development it hosted last May, government sources said Saturday.

Japanese Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone hopes to attend the event, to be
co-hosted by other countries in Botswana, to highlight the steady support the
country is offering ahead of 2012, the target year for an assistance plan
compiled at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development held in
Yokohama in May.
By stressing Japan's contribution, Nakasone apparently hopes to win support
from African countries for Japan's bid for a permanent seat on the U.N.
Security Council.
Prior to the meeting, a working-level meeting of TICAD will be held in Tokyo in
February to work out an annual report on the progress made in areas to support
African countries, such as power development and tackling infectious diseases.
Based on the report, the ministerial meeting is expected to discuss ways to
support the countries and call for the steady implementation of TICAD's
assistance plan.
The plan, which covers a wide range of areas such as agriculture, education and
health, is supported by Japan, Britain, Thailand, the World Bank and others.