The Japanese government is making final arrangements to include the promotion of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific strategy led by Japan and the US in a declaration at the upcoming Tokyo International Conference on African Development (Ticad).

The declaration will be adopted at the end of the conference, which is to be held in Yokohama on August 28-30. In the statement, the government will express its stance that Japan and the US will take the initiative in providing assistance to African countries, apparently with China’s growing influence in Africa in mind.

A declaration summarising the future direction of African development has been adopted at almost every Ticad meeting since the first was held in 1993.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled the Indo-Pacific initiative for the first time during his keynote address at the previous meeting held in Kenya in August 2016. It is a diplomatic strategy aimed at promoting peace, stability and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, which connects the Asian and African continents.

Some African countries have been burdened with debts exceeding their repayment capacity as a result of relying on Chinese funds for development. With this in mind, the Japanese government plans to explain to African countries the Indo-Pacific plan, which will provide investment in such infrastructure as railways and ports based on international standards.

The government hopes to stipulate the initiative in a declaration as a guideline for assistance to Africa.

In recent years, a series of pirate attacks have been reported in the Gulf of Guinea and other areas. Ticad members are expected to confirm the importance of maintaining maritime order not only in the Indo-Pacific region but also in the Atlantic region. THE JAPAN NEWS