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NAIROBI. — Trade, not aid, should drive Japan-Africa relations, Ghana President John Dramani Mahama has stated. While showing appreciation for Japan’s generosity in standing behind Africa at a time other partners suffered from aid fatigue, the President said it was increasingly becoming rather difficult to see aid as the path to attain sustainable development for African countries.He was speaking at a High Level Plenary Session on Private Sector Development at the 6th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Nairobi.

Buttressing his point with figures, President Mahama said Japanese Overseas Development Assistance loans to Africa rose from $758 million in 2000 to about $10 billion in 2014.

But while admitting that the loans were a demonstration of “true friendship” between Africa and Japan, he was quick to add that sharing $10 billion between 54 countries would not have the expected impact on the continent.

“We have to move away from aid to trade. Japan has never failed Africa and we are confident Japan will rise up to the challenge,” the President stated.

President Mahama, however, noted that the responsibility was not on Japan alone and indicated that Africa must put its house in order to benefit from such partnerships.

He stated that he wanted to see African countries create the appropriate legal framework for investment.

“We should continue to take measures to reduce the cost of doing business in Africa. This will include restructuring the public sector and improving data efficiency,” he emphasised.

TICAD, which is co-organised by Japan, the United Nations, the World Bank and the African Union (AU), also focuses on the private sector.

At TICAD V in Tokyo, greater attention was placed on empowering the private sector and other non-governmental partners and civil society groups to collaborate with African governments to accelerate the continent’s development.

President Mahama said the private sector could not be overlooked in the development process.

“The private sector and civil society groups must be constantly involved in the development process through a consultative process,” he said.

President Mahama further stated that Africa must invest in its youth to guarantee a brighter future for the continent.

“We need to empower our people to achieve their aspirations and transform their lives. That is the primary concern of any government,” he said.

On the potential of Africa, the President said, “Africa has the potential to be the world’s next most dynamic growth sector and we are ready to partner those ready to unleash this potential.

“The continent can become the next bread basket of the world given its vast arable land and potential for increased agricultural productivity with the right investment”.

According to the President, fears about insecurity in Africa should not be an impediment to the aspirations of the continent because “the world is so interconnected today that we have to work together to create a more safe and peaceful world”.

He said Africa was working to address its challenges and expressed the hope that with the right partnerships, the future looked brighter for the continent.

Taking a specific look at Ghana-Japan relations, President Mahama said Ghana wanted to use the TICAD forum to work with Japanese partners to develop businesses that would grow the Ghanaian economy and “create an environment that supports the development and expansion of its private sector”.

“We also want to take advantage of the appropriate technologies to produce efficiently and competitively, attract investment, resources and create new businesses,” the President added. — Online.