Hot SourcePresident John Dramani Mahama yesterday, Thursday, August 21, 2025, co-chaired the second plenary session of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in Yokohama, Japan, under the theme “Economy: Co-create Innovative Solutions with Africa”.
Mr Mahama co-chaired the session alongside former Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida. The discussions also featured interventions from Kenyan President William Ruto, Togolese President Faure Gnassingbé, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, with additional contributions from UN Under-Secretary-General Cristina Duarte and Comoros President Azali Assoumani.
In his closing remarks, President Mahama stressed that TICAD-9 was taking place at a moment of significant global shifts.
“The world’s largest economy, which should be the driver of global trade and investments, has become more insular and transactional in its relationship with the rest of the world,” he observed.
Addressing African leaders and citizens, Mr Mahama declared, “Africa is open for business. We wish to partner with any nation worldwide on a mutually beneficial basis. But let’s not kid ourselves! Trade and investments will not come to Africa because we merely wish for it.”
He underscored the need for bold reforms across the continent.
“Africa must undertake the hard but necessary reforms to make itself an attractive destination for investment,” he said.
“That is why we must silence the guns and stop the fighting. That is why we must reform our economies to make them more stable and predictable. This is why we must reform our governance, making public service accountable and corruption-free.”
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