At their continental summit in Tunis, Japanese diplomats stepped up the financial and rhetorical rivalry with China, Japan s pledge to direct US$30 billion to Africa in aid, loans and investments over the next three years is part of its plan to boost flows to the continent by 40%, its officials said in Tunisia. The $30bn promise was made by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the opening of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) on 27 August as part of a wider bid to win over Africa to the western alliance.
With the declared aim of "creating a sustainable world together", Japan will launch its aid conference for Africa on Saturday, where rival China has invested
Middle-East Arab News and Opinion - Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities