OREANDA-NEWS. July 28, 2015. The President of the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) Donald Kaberuka, has urged Japanese businesses to take advantage of the comparative cost of labour to invest in mutually beneficial production in Africa.

Speaking at the end of a two-day farewell visit to Tokyo, Kaberuka said both sides would benefit if Japanese authorities could assist their firms to set up businesses in Africa while urging African governments to enable such companies establish viable businesses especially in the energy sector.

He commended the decision to organize the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Africa in 2016, and underscored the need for the conference to build on the momentum and outcomes of TICAD V held in Yokohama in 2013, by scaling up the conversation between the governments and businesses on both sides.

During the Visit, the AfDB President met Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, the minister of finance and deputy prime minister, Taro Aso; the President of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Akihito Tanaka, and Central Bank Governor, Haruhiko Kuroda, among other top government officials and business leaders. He also gave a talk on how to further consolidate relations between African and Japan at a luncheon attended by the African Diplomatic Corps in Japan.

Japan joined the African Development Fund (ADF) in June 1973 and the African Development Bank (AfDB) in December 1982. Japan is the second largest contributor to ADF in cumulative terms after the United States and the third largest shareholder in the AfDB after the United States and Nigeria.

In addition to TICAD organized every five years since 1993, Japan collaborates with the Bank Group in many areas including the Japan Policy and Human Resources Development Grant (PHRDG) and the Joint Bank-Japan Enhanced Private Sector Assistance (EPSA) Initiative, among others.

The Bank opened its first external representation office in Tokyo in October 2012 and has been strengthening its ties with Asian member countries of Japan, China, South Korea and India.