13 May 2022 – HE. Ahmed Araita ALI is a seasoned educator and ambassador who spent about 13 years as Ambassador of the Republic of Djibouti to Japan. In recognition of his contribution to bilateral relations between both countries, he was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star by His Imperial Majesty Emperor of Japan, Naruhito. After years of dedicated service to his country, H.E. Ahmed Araita ALI has just been appointed by the APR Forum of Heads of States to serve as Member of the African Review Panel of Eminent Persons. His Excellency was accompanied by Dr. Valery Yao. Ambassador YONETANI Koji, Director-General for African Affairs, the Ambassador of the Republic of Tunisia and Hisafumi KOGA, President of Asia Africa 20, also attended the meeting.
The APRM delegation participated in a series of meetings scheduled on the sidelines of the award ceremony to capitalise on Amb. ALI’s knowledge of Japan and work strategically to strengthen the relations between the continent and Japan.
Paricipating in the ‘Asia Africa 20’ Meeting hosted by the Embassy of Tunisia, HE. Ahmed Araita ALI extended the sincere appreciation of the Panel and Prof Eddy Maloka, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the APRM Continental Secretariat to Asia Africa 20, the Government and the people of Japan, for their remarkable efforts in facilitating APRM participation in the meeting. The Panel Member explained the philosophy of the Mechanism and highlighted its successes in the promotion of good governance in Africa, including the conduct of twenty-six (26) country review reports, the completion of five second-generation reviews, the production of two (2) Africa Governance Reports (AGR, 2019 and 2021), technical assistance to Member States, and the increase in its membership to 42 Member States to date. To ensure more effectiveness in the implementation of his mandates, the Panel member requested the support of the Japanese Government and institutions. Ambassadors of non-APRM member States were also sensitised and committed to accede to the Mechanism in a bid to secure universal accession to APRM by 2023.
14 May 2022 – The delegation was later received by the Director of ‘Inspire Africa Association’, Mr. Koji YAMAGUCHI who promised to reach out to various institutions to mobilise support both from public and private institutions to APRM.
15 May 2022 – HE. Ambassador Araita was received by Prof. Mieko IKEGAME who served at various national and international positions as former Director, United Nation’s Office of Under Secretary General, New York Representative of Japan-UN Friendship Association as well as Senior Consultant for Private Sector Companies in Japan, USA and Africa.
Prof. IKEGAME emphasised that most Africa’s challenges result from governance deficiencies. She further said that some gaps exist in the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) which is traditionally viewed as the ‘voice of Africa’. As the premier home-grown governance institution on the continent, APRM needs to be brought at the heart of the TICAD process where a key role is expected in terms of value addition. The Mechanism is needed to provide proper monitoring of the Nairobi or Yokohama Plan of Action. Various reports such as country review reports and the Africa Governance Report (AGR) are not only relevant sources aiming at providing the status update on the major governance issues on the continent, but also possible avenues for policy decisions at the continental, national and local levels within the context of TICAD. Finally, the discussion between His Excellency and Prof. Ikegame reached the consensus of submitting a request to persuade the Japanese Government to appoint APRM as a formal member of the TICAD Joint Monitoring Committee.
