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A dozen African leaders have confirmed their participation for the seventh edition of the Tokyo International Conference for African Development (TICAD) Summit taking place in Japan.

TICAD has been held in Japan, except for TICAD 6, which was held in Africa. TICAD7 is scheduled to take place in Yokohama, Japan between today to 30 August 2019.

The government of Japan leads the conference with co-hosts such as the United Nations, United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), World Bank and African Union Commission (AUC).

Among the African leaders whose attendance is confirmed are: Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Egypt and current African Union Chairperson, President Paul Kagame (Rwanda), Presidents Mohamed Abdullahi Farmajo (Somalia), Emmerson Mnangagwa (Zimbabwe), Faure Gnassingbe (Togo) and Mahamadou Issoufou (Niger).

Others are Presidents Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo (Ghana), Muhammadu Buhari (Nigeria), Cyril Ramaphosa (South Africa), Ibrahim Boubakar Keita (Mali), Edgar Lungu (Zambia) and Macky Sall (Senegal).

TICAD is a summit-level international conference regarding development of Africa launched by Japan in 1993.

TICAD was held every five years until TICADV (2013). The hosting period was shortened to three years since TICAD 6 (2016), during which it was held for the first time in Africa (Kenya, Nairobi).

Aside the main deliberations by presidents, Heads of State and government representatives, there are a number of side events slated for countries to engage in bilateral talks with the host nation and among themselves.

During TICAD 6, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, disclosed that Africa will benefit from a $30 billion investment package by 2018, including a $10 billion investment in infrastructural development.

“When combined with the investment from the private sector, I expect the total real amount to be $30 billion.

“This is an investment that has faith in Africa’s future,” he said at the time. —  africanews.com.