President Uhuru Kenyatta, on Monday evening, left the country for Yokohama, Japan, to attend the 7th edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) that kicks off on August 28.
Uhuru jetted out after he flagged off Kenya’s first crude oil export to Malaysia, bought for Ksh1.2 billion.
The three-day international conference focusing on development in Africa will run until August 30.
Kenya will be seeking to strengthen its bilateral relations as well as consolidate cooperation with Japan, in various sectors of the economy.
Hinged on the theme of “Advancing Africa's Development through People, Technology and Innovation”, TICAD 7 provides an opportunity for Kenya to engage directly with Japanese investors.
The Kenyan delegation to TICAD 7 is also focused on optimizing the resources available in Japan, for the delivery of the Big 4 Agenda.
TICAD 7 builds on TICAD 6, the first-ever of its series of events that was held on African soil, hosted in Nairobi in September 2016.
Apart from showcasing Kenya’s growth and exposing Japan to available areas of cooperation in trade and investment, TICAD 6 also facilitated a high-level policy dialogue between African leaders and Africa’s development partners, on issues regarding growth, sustainable development, security, peace and stability.
TICAD 7 will review the progress made on these issues and chart the way forward.
Launched by Japan in 1993, TICAD has over the years grown into a major global and multilateral forum for mobilizing and sustaining international support for Africa’s development, under the principles of Africa ownership and international partnership.
