President Cyril Ramaphosa has called for a reimagined partnership between Africa and Japan, emphasising that the continent is looking for meaningful collaboration that drives shared prosperity rather than handouts.
“Africa is not seeking aid. It is seeking partners. Partners that understand value co-creation, sustainable development and mutual industrialisation,” President Ramaphosa said.
The President was delivering remarks to the Plenary Session 2 on the Economy at the Tokyo International Conference on African Development Summit ((TICAD9) on Thursday.
President Ramaphosa told the plenary session that the gathering comes at a defining moment for global trade and industrial development, with Africa determined to shape the new economic order rather than simply respond to it.
“We gather at a critical time, where global economic uncertainty, the reshaping of trade and new industrial revolutions demand bold action and strategic collaboration. Africa must not merely react to these forces. We must help to shape them.”
He further outlined South Africa’s progress in stabilising energy supply, modernising infrastructure, and opening ports and rail to private investment.
He stressed the country’s reindustrialisation agenda focused on localisation, green energy and regional integration.
Additionally, South Africa is incentivising the production of electric vehicles and batteries and supporting green hydrogen value chains through infrastructure and skills investment. South Africa is also growing its health manufacturing capacity, with a focus on vaccines, diagnostics and therapeutics.
The President added that South Africa is also expanding digital infrastructure to bridge gaps in access and to enhance service delivery.
He underscored the central role of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in the country’s economic vision, noting that South Africa aims to position itself as an industrial hub for Japanese and other global firms looking to expand into African markets.
The President said the country is actively working with the AfCFTA Secretariat to finalise value-chain protocols in automotive, agro-processing, pharmaceuticals and textiles.
He added that he supports the Rules of Origin harmonisation to encourage manufacturing in Africa and the upgrading of border infrastructure to enable faster movement of goods.
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“Recent tariff actions by the United States on African goods have highlighted the need to diversify our export markets. South Africa is a leading exporter of agricultural produce and high-quality industrial products such as auto vehicles and components.
“We call on our Japanese counterparts to support tariff cooperation to ease market access for African goods,” the President said.
Beyond trade, President Ramaphosa appealed for deeper collaboration in infrastructure, energy, and digital development through blended finance.
“We seek partnerships in infrastructure, energy and digital development through blended finance. We also seek partnerships in financing skills development, youth innovation and small business scaling,” the President said.
President Cyril Ramaphosa is in Japan leading South Africa’s high-level delegation at the TICAD9 in Yokohama City.
The President arrived in Japan on Tuesday.