TICAD stands for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development.

But it's more than a conference.

TICAD has become a major global framework for Asia and Africa to collaborate in promoting Africa's development.

The first Tokyo Conference was held in 1993 and ushered in a continuing process of support for Africa and consensus-building around African development priorities. That process was bolstered with a second Tokyo conference in 1998.

The third Tokyo Conference (TICAD III) is being held 29 September - 1 October 2003 and marks TICAD's tenth anniversary. This landmark session is aimed at ensuring that regional priorities are fully addressed in harmony with the approach of Africa's own new platform for recovery — NEPAD (the New Partnership for Africa's Development).

Emphasis is also being placed upon achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, opportunities for Asian-African co-operation, the need to address damaging conflicts and consolidate peace and good governance in Africa, the full involvement of the private sector and civil society, and other vital issues for the continent's future.

The road to Tokyo 2003 has been marked by wide-ranging consultations throughout Africa. Regional workshops were held in Pretoria, South Africa, for southern Africa (22-23 May 2003), in Nairobi, Kenya, for eastern and northern Africa (5-6 June 2003 ) and in Yaounde, Cameroon, for western and central Africa (23-24 June 2003 ). The workshops developed fresh focuses on each region's needs and priorities, to feed into the final Conference in Tokyo.

TICAD enjoys the joint support of co-organizers —the Government of Japan, the United Nations, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the Global Coalition for Africa (GCA) and the World Bank. Its broad range of stakeholders includes all 53 African countries, and Africa's development partners including Asian countries, donor countries, international agencies, and civil society organizations.

Striking results have already flowed from the Asian-African co-operation that TICAD has spearheaded. These include a new variety of rice for Africa (NERICA) and trans-continental business forums which have generated substantial commercial prospects.