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On August 31, 2018, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe attended the Core Group Meeting of the Eminent Persons Group on Peace and Stability in Africa held in Tokyo.
 
The Prime Minister said in his opening address,
 
“Your Excellencies, former President Chissano of Mozambique, former President Soglo of Benin, former President Mkapa of Tanzania, former President Obasanjo of Nigeria, and former President Mbeki of South Africa, I would like to extend my most heartfelt appreciation to you for coming all the way to Japan to attend the Core Group Meeting of the Eminent Persons Group on Peace and Stability in Africa.
 
It gives me great pleasure to see this Core Group Meeting take place today with the attendance of former Prime Minister Mori, who was the first Japanese Prime Minister to visit Sub-Saharan Africa, and Chairman Sasakawa of the Nippon Foundation, who is co-organizing this meeting.
 
Japan will host the Seventh Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 7) in Yokohama in August of next year. TICAD is a unique forum which brings together African leaders and various United Nations agencies, conducts discussions open to experts and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and pools global wisdom on the future of Africa, and we expect to achieve meaningful outcomes at TICAD 7.
 
I have visited Africa twice as Prime Minister. Development and stability in Africa are directly linked to the peace and prosperity of the world, and Japan has made active efforts to further deepen our partnership with African countries under the policy of ‘Proactive Contribution to Peace’ based on the principles of human security and international cooperation.       
 
I firmly believe that efforts built upon the voices of the people of Africa are the short cut to achieve peace and prosperity by strongly promoting development in Africa.
 
At today’s Core Group Meeting, we hope to hear the candid views of the eminent persons who have overcome numerous difficulties and brought peace and prosperity to the African continent in order to further advance the preparatory process for the success of TICAD 7.
 
I sincerely look forward to your lively exchanges of views and meaningful outcomes at today’s meeting. Thank you very much.”