As a side event of the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) held in Yokohama, OPPS and the Ghana Embassy in Japan co-hosted a seminar and signing ceremony at the Rainbow Ball Room in the main building of Hotel New Grand on 21^st August. Approximately 35 government and private sector officials from Japan and Ghana participated in this grand event.

Part 1: The seminar, titled “Strengthening Africa-Japan Partnerships through Infrastructure Development,” featured presentations by Hon. Kwame Governs Agbodza, Minister of Roads and Highways of Ghana (MRH), and Mr. Kenichiro Tachi, Director of International Cooperation and Engineering for Infrastructure Overseas Project Division, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT). A question and answer session followed the presentations.

Mr. Kimikazu Uemura, Vice President of OPPS

Following Part 2: the networking session, Part 3: At the beginning of the signing ceremony for the MoU；Memorandum of Understanding on the integrated development, implementation, and management of the Apemenyim-Daboase Toll Road PPP Project, greetings were given by guest speakers Mr. Manabu Sakai, Minister of State for National Public Safety, Minister of State for Land Resilience, Minister of State for Territorial Issues, and Minister of State for the Cabinet Office, and Ms. Aida Ngom, Director for Private Sector Development of the African Development Bank.

Hon. Kwame Governs Agbodza, Minister of Roads and Highways of Ghana, Mr. Kenichi Ogasawara, Deputy Minister for International Projects, MLIT, Mr. Kimikazu Uemura, CEO of Index Group, Mr. Motoi Higashiyama, Senior Managing Officer and Managing Officer of Maeda Corporation, Mr. Togbe Afede XIV, Executive Chairman of Strategic Initiatives Limited, and Mr. Raul Marques, Head of the Sustainable Infrastructure and Executive Committee Member of 3xP Global, delivered speeches in that order, followed by the signing ceremony for the toll road concession project.

Six years after TICAD7 was held in Yokohama in 2019, and following the signing of an MoU at TICAD8 in Tunisia in 2022, the PPP project in Ghana is finally set to begin in earnest. OPPS will contribute to strengthening the partnership between Japan and Africa by providing support for the formation of infrastructure projects.

Group photo of seminar participants

MoU signing ceremony