Participants in a one-day seminar held Friday in Tokyo called for the Group of Eight countries to agree at the upcoming Okinawa summit to cooperate with African efforts to reduce debt, fight infectious diseases and meet the challenges of globalization.
The seminar, "A Global Partnership for Peace, Progress and Poverty: A Message from Africa," was jointly organized by the Foreign Ministry, African diplomatic corps and the United Nations University.
"When we in Africa contemplate the global economy and the global information highway, the question is: how do we know where to get on?" said K.Y. Amoako, executive secretary of the U.N. Economic Commission for Africa.
Citing African problems of over-indebtedness, HIV and AIDS as well as an inability to enjoy the benefits of information technology, Amoako urged the G8 to help Africa gain sufficient strength to compete at the global level.
Hisashi Owada, president of the Japan Institute of International Affairs, also underlined the need for the international community to integrate Africa into the global economic system, as Africa has a great economic potential to prosper.