Ramaphosa heads to TICAD9 summit to boost AU agenda, bilateral trade

By Thebe Mabanga

President Cyril Ramaphosa is leading a high-level delegation to Japan, the Land of the Rising Sun, for the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD9).

The summit runs from tomorrow until Friday in Yokohama, a vibrant city about 30 kilometers south of Tokyo. As Japan’s second most populous city, it serves as a vital commercial port, industrial hub, and economic powerhouse.

“The 9th TICAD Summit takes place at a time of unprecedented threats to global peace and security, ongoing conflicts in various regions, disruptions to global trade, and a troubling shift by some states toward unilateral action, when multilateralism and collective solutions to common challenges are most needed,” the Presidency said in a statement.

The remarks were made in reference to conflicts in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, as well as the global trade crisis sparked by the United States’ imposition of tariffs on about