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The 1st edition of the 8th Tokyo International Conference on the Development of Africa (TICAD 8) White Paper has been launched, announced on 18 March 2022, the Tunisian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCITJ).

This first edition includes 31 selected projects, 11 of which will be carried out under public-private partnerships, out of 100 submitted projects, which are likely to attract Japanese and African investors, with a view to establishing partnerships and securing possible financing, said CCITJ Vice-President Mohamed Mehdi during the launch conference of this white paper held in Tunis.

Worth $300 million, these thirty or so projects cover various priority sectors such as health, the automobile industry, renewable energy, sustainable development, agro-business and blue economy.

A presidential decree on the creation of a TICAD8 national organisation committee was published in the Official Journal of the Tunisian Republic on February 3.

These projects are expected to create 9,500 jobs and are spread over all the regions of the Republic, he pointed out, specifying that these projects are already "in the planning stage" and ready to be implemented.

These projects in the white paper are part of a triangulation between Tunisia, Japan and other African countries in high value-added sectors, Tunisian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Hédi Ben Abbés said.

He further underlined that this document is meant to be a "reference document" for Japanese and African partners, adding that a second edition will be published in July 2022, in order to help the various African diplomatic representations to Tunisia to present their projects.

The 8th edition of TICAD is a "multilateral" event for the whole of Africa, Ben Abbes considered, calling on Tunisia to make the most of it.

Japan's Ambassador to Tunisia Shinsuke Shimizu pointed out the white paper's role for Tunisia and its startups to get the best investment opportunities during TICAD 8.

Tunisia will be the second African country after Kenya to host TICAD in August 2022, after the decision adopted in 2016 to host this event alternately between Japan and an African country.

About 50 heads of State and Government and 10,000 Japanese and African participants are expected to attend the conference, Ben Abbes said, indicating that Japan had allocated one billion dollars for investment in Africa during the last TICAD.

He estimated that this amount will reach 30 billion dollars at the 2022 conference, due to be hosted by Tunisia August 27-28.