Japan PM Kishida’s Africa tour lays groundwork for G7 summit, as China and Russia concerns loom large

Getting the African countries to take active measures against Russia will be difficult if they are not offered strong incentives in exchange, one analyst notes

While the impact of Kishida’s tour is ‘marginal, it can still send ‘a message of solidarity’ that it intends to take the continent’s concerns seriously

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Mozambique’s President Filipe Nyusi (right) welcomes Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida at the Presidential Palace in Maputo, Mozambique, on May 4, 2023. Photo: EPA-EFE

Published: 11:30am, 11 May 2023

Japan’s bid to reach out to African countries created little impact but was essential in helping Tokyo lay the groundwork ahead of the G7 summit, with Russia and China concerns high on the agenda, analysts said.

Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week travelled to Egypt, Ghana, Kenya and Mozambique in a trip widely described as an attempt to engage with the “Global South” – a broad term referring to countries with relatively low levels of economic and industrial development – ahead of the forum.

Some media reports have suggested that Kishida’s visit was aimed at expanding Japan’s presence amid Chinese and Russian influence in the region.

Kishida said Japan would act as an intermediary between developing countries and the G7 group of advanced economies. He added that he would seek to organise cooperation in areas such as energy and food security, noting that people in Global South nations were reeling from high costs during Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

African countries appear to be divided over the war; among half of all abstentions at the UN general assembly resolution in February that condemned Russia and supported Ukraine’s territorial integrity were from African countries.

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