Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Burundi
On August 24, 2024, was held in Tokyo the Plenary Session-2 of the Ministerial preparatory Meeting of the TICAD-9.
In his statements, His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO thanked the Government of Japan for the invitation and the warm welcome they extended to the guests since their arrival in Tokyo.
He said that the session is an excellent opportunity to assess the implementation of the commitments made at TICAD-8 in Tunis, Tunisia in August 2022, and to prepare for TICAD-9 in all its aspects.
About the sub-topic under discussion namely “Peace and Stability: Guaranteeing Human Dignity and Human Security”; He said that it is of particular relevance not only to Africa, but to the world as a whole because, without peace, security and stability, there can be no development, and vice-versa.
With regard to Peace and Security, His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO mentioned that Burundi, being always on the side of solutions and not on the side of problems, reiterates its commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflicts through the tools that preventive diplomacy places at disposal, namely dialogue, cooperation, consultation and negotiation.
His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO added that within the framework of collective security, Burundi has been contributing to peacekeeping and counter-terrorism operations since 2007, mentioning that Burundian troops are present within ATMIS in Somalia, MINUSCA in the Central African Republic and in the east of the DRC, supporting these brotherly countries in restoring peace throughout their territories.
He continued by saying that in its efforts to promote peace in the region, Burundi hosted the African Youth Continental Dialogue in December 2023 in Bujumbura, the African Youth Capital, and the Regional Women’s Forum on August 22, 2024 in order to contribute to regional peace efforts, in line with the recommendation of the summit of Heads of States and Government of the signatory countries of the framework Agreement for Peace, Security and Cooperation in the DRC and the region, whose follow-up mechanism has been chaired by Burundi since May 6,2022.
His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO also informed that Burundi is preparing to host the 23rd Summit of Heads of State of the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) on October 31, 2024, during which issues of peace, security, development and regional integration will be discussed. He took the opportunity to invite the 21 COMESA member countries to participate at the highest possible level.
In his closing remarks, His Excellency Ambassador Albert SHINGIRO uttered that Burundi reiterates its commitment to the TICAD process which, in many respects, responds to the concerns of the African and Japanese people, particularly with regard to issues of peace, security and development, and in that respect, Burundi calls for the strengthening and perpetuation of this platform, which has already proved its worth since TICAD-1 in 1993.
