Tunis : As Africa emerges from the Covid-19 pandemic, the Government of Tunisia is hosting the eighth edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8), supported by TICAD co-organizers including the Government of Japan and UNDP, alongside the African Union, the United Nations Office of the Special Adviser on Africa and the World Bank.

Since its inception in 1993, TICAD, has been a forum bringing together African leaders and their international partners to drive sustainable and people-centered development in Africa. Guided by the dual principles of African “ownership” and “international partnership”, this year’s TICAD will focus on the themes of peace, society and economy in the context of COVID-19 recovery on the African continent.

As the host of TICAD, the Government of Tunisia will welcome a gathering of leaders from all countries across the African continent, as well as representatives from the African Union, United Nations, World Bank, Government of Japan, private sector, and civil society to discuss the opportunities and challenges to development which African countries are facing.  Like every TICAD, this year’s conference will focus on fostering dialogue and collective action about African development led by the countries of Africa supported by the international community, shaped by their own vision of sustainable development and the priorities of their citizens and communities.

In line with its robust COVID-19 efforts to date, the Government of Tunisia set as a priority the strengthening its COVID-19 response and health systems to ensure a safe and successful Summit. To this end, the Government of Japan and the United Nations Development Programme supported Tunisia’s Ministry of Health to procure medical equipment to address health-related needs at the Summit.  The equipment procured by Japan and UNDP was handed over in a ceremony on 16 August 2022, chaired by his H.E. Mr. Ali Mrabet Minister of Health, in the presence of H.E. Mr. Shinsuke Shimizu Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Tunisia and Ms. Celine Moyroud, UNDP Resident Representative in Tunisia.

As underlined by H.E. Mr. Ali Mrabet, Minister of Health of Tunisia at the ceremony, “The Tunisian ministry of health is fully committed to take all necessary measures to ensure a smooth, safe and secure operationalization of the TICAD8 summit. The TICAD8 summit will be one of the first and most important global summits to be held in 2022 on African soil."

In his remarks, H.E. Mr. Shinsuke Shimizu, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Tunisia, welcomed the initiative taken by the Government of Tunisia to reinforce COVID-19-related health measures to ensure the smooth running of the TICAD8 Summit: “Japan thanks the Government of Tunisia, UNDP and fellow TICAD co-organizers for the tremendous collaboration which has gone into the preparations for a safe and successful TICAD8. Since its inception in 1993, TICAD has always been a forum for African countries and development actors, supported by the international community, to drive progress around Africa’s development priorities. Japan looks forward to TICAD8 as a means of renewing our shared vision and commitment to promote people-centered, sustainable recovery throughout Africa and the realization of human security for all.”

Madame Celine Moyroud, Resident Representative of UNDP Tunisia, underlined that “TICAD8 is occurring at a critical juncture when global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change and the war in Ukraine have put at risk the major gains achieved by African countries towards the Sustainable Development Goals, while highlighting the need to tackle underlying vulnerabilities. UNDP looks forward to working with Tunisia, the Government of Japan and all African countries to take forward the actions which will follow from the Summit.”

In 2021, development initiatives in Africa funded by UNDP-Japan cooperation covered the areas of peace and security, social protection, support for sustainable livelihoods, gender equality and women's empowerment, climate action, local development, support for entrepreneurship and private sector development, justice and human rights, and response to COVID-19 and health.

The eighth edition of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 8) will take place for the second time in Africa after Kenya in 2016. Tunisia will host this edition on August 27 and 28 as a testament to the renewed commitment and growing partnership with Japan for genuine economic, technological and scientific development in Africa.

for more information, please contact :

Sandra Chemam : UNDP Tunisia Communications Officer Email : sandra.chemam@undp.org

Laetitia Ouoba: Communication specialist, Regional Center Service for Africa Email : Laetitia.ouoba@undp.org