Japan’s industrialisation plans for Kenya aligned to Big Four agenda

On Thursday, the Japanese embassy in Nairobi will host a follow-up workshop two years after the sixth Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD-VI) was held in Kenya.

Japan’s ambassador to Kenya Toshitsugu Uesawa spoke to the Business Daily’s Kipchumba Some on the theme of the workshop, focused on promoting industrialisation in line with Kenya’s “Big 4” agenda.

Japan’s economic engagement with Kenya is quite extensive and some of the main projects were proposed under the framework of TICAD including the construction of the Dongo Kundu Economic Zone and the expansion of the port of Mombasa. Could you describe the progress of the work? First, the Special Economic Zone:

The development of Mombasa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), a 1,326-hectare industrial and commercial hub in Dongo Kundu is vital for the future economic growth of Kenya.

The development of the SEZ, led by the Kenyan government in conjunction with Japan, is expected to create tens of thousands of jobs.

Driven by high-quality infrastructure, the SEZ together with the port of Mombasa and several planned industrial clusters will advance the future economic development of Kenya.

And the port of Mombasa?

Mombasa Port already faced a chronic shortage of capacity for increasing volume of container cargo transaction resulting from Kenya’s rapid economic growth over the past decade or so.

Taking this need into consideration, Japan implemented the first phase of the Mombasa Port Development Project, which was completed in 2016 with Japanese cutting-edge technology.

This project enhanced the facilitation of logistics, which is a key for economic development. Expecting its continued container cargo volume growth, Japan in cooperation with the Government of Kenya is jointly implementing the advancement and expansion of Kenya’s maritime infrastructure development.

TICAD has been going on since 1993. Could you explain the idea behind TICAD and what are some of the benefits from the initiative?

When the Cold War ended, the interest of the developed countries’ in providing assistance to Africa began to wane. Under such circumstance, it was Japan that argued for the importance of Africa, and TICAD was the proof of Japan taking action.

TICAD is a multilateral forum whose participants include not only African countries but also international organisations, partner countries, private companies and civil society organisations involved in development.

What are some of the achievements of TICAD since its inception?

In the TICAD process, Japan has established follow-up mechanisms. For example, pledges are announced at the summit-level meetings, and the status of their implementation is confirmed at the ministerial meetings.

Nowadays, there are various fora through which many countries engage themselves with Africa, but TICAD launched by Japan was the forerunner of such fora for African development.

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Over the course of quarter century since TICAD I in 1993, the forum has a track record of improving social and economic conditions in Africa mainly through grant aids and technical assistance.

In the five years starting fiscal year 2008, the Government of Japan built 1,321 elementary and middle schools, improved 4,778 healthcare and medical facilities, and provided safe water to additional 10.79 million people.

At TICAD VI, held in Nairobi in 2016, Japan announced that it would invest for the future of Africa through implementing measures amounting to approximately $30 billion under public-private partnership for the period of three years from 2016 to 2018.

Two years after the historic TICAD VI held in Nairobi, your embassy is hosting a follow up workshop, what is the agenda and expectation of the workshop?

It is very much the Japanese way – and also the Kenyan way I believe – that you must constantly pause to review your plans and your achievements as well.

I suppose you could call it some form of “monitoring and evaluation”, which as you know is key to the success of any long-term project which is expected to have a great and positive impact on the people of a country or even of a community.

It is from such a point of view that we are hosting this workshop.

Beyond that, we will continue with the development of Kenya’s economic and social infrastructure such as through the construction of Olkaria geothermal power plant, Mombasa SEZ development and Mwea irrigation development.

We also plan to develop mechanisms for each sector, develop human resources and transfer technology, and work together with the people of Kenya in creating solutions linked with policy priorities.

In our workshop, I would like to discuss how to tackle these issues related to Kenya’s policy priorities, by sharing the TICAD milestones towards TICAD VII such as “BIG 4” agenda.

Japan has been heavily involved in improving infrastructure in Kenya but there is a long history of people-to-people exchanges too. Can you expound on some of the initiatives to boost these exchanges?

In 2014, Kenya and Japan celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations and an enduring, multi-layered relationship, which has evolved into a strategic partnership.

Since Kenya’s independence to date, Japan has contributed Official Development Assistance (ODA) worth Sh550 billion and developed high-quality infrastructure across the country, such as the Mombasa Port and the Olkaria Geothermal Power Station, with the aim of establishing a strong and stable foundation for the modernisation and industrialisation of Kenya.

The development of talent, however, starts with education. About 128 Kenyan students have received overseas education in Japan through the African Business Education Initiative (ABE Initiative), whilst over 12,300 Kenyan experts participated in technical trainings hosted by the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA).

These future leaders will contribute to the industrialisation and economic development of Kenya, and Japan will continue to contribute to the realisation of Kenya’s industrialisation as set out in the country’s Vision 2030 through the development of high-quality infrastructure and personnel training.