A three-day international conference on African development has kicked off in Japan.

 

　　It is expected Japan will encourage economic cooperation between Asia and Africa.

 

　　Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged to aid Africa's growth through public and private means in the next five years.

 

　　"What Africa needs now is private sector investment. 'PPP' or 'public-private partnership', leverages that investment. If we recognize this as a new reality, then it will be necessary to revolutionize the way of providing assistance to Africa."

 

　　Ethiopian Prime Minister Hailemariam Desalegn told delegates Africa is ripe for investment.

 

　　"And the most recent forecasters point that Africa's economic trajectory is indeed promising, again highlighting the real possibility that Africa could be the next global growth pole."

 

　　Abe pledged that Japan will provide 6.5 billion US dollars, in infrastructure projects in the near future.

 

　　The "ABE Initiative" also sets a goal in the next five years in bringing more people to study or experience working as interns at Japanese companies.

 

　　Japan is hosting the fifth Tokyo International Conference on African Development or TICAD.