Expert Roundtable (TICAD8 Official Side Event)

How to Foster ‘Win-Win’ Net-Zero Partnerships Between Japan and Countries in North Africa

29 September 2022 (17:00 – 18:30 Japan time)

In the past few years in Japan and North African countries, there has been a strategic shift regarding policies and initiatives related to the energy transition, green economy, and climate change. North African countries were among the first to submit Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) to the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) while Japan recently revised its green growth strategy and pledged to decarbonize by 2050. These countries are highly interested in achieving green economies, as evidenced by the needs, willingness, and calls for international cooperation stipulated in updated NDCs submitted to the UNFCCC in 2021 and 2022 by Japan, Morocco, Tunisia, and Egypt, among others.

IGES, the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB; a multilateral development bank operating in 57 countries), and the Gulf Research Center (GRC - a think tank) initiated an exploratory study for climate action opportunities between Japan and IsDB member countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, initially targeting Egypt, Tunisia, and Saudi Arabia. The preliminary findings revealed that: i) data and information about technologies, financial schemes, capacity building, and business-matching support are available to some extent in Japan, but unfortunately scattered; ii) government-to-government efforts are bold, but private-sector efforts are lagging behind; and iii) commonly prioritized sectors for climate actions across the countries examined are those related to energy efficiency, renewables, waste management, and coastal zone protection, and other areas for which Japan’s relevant technologies, policies, and best practices are considered world-class.

Building on these findings and the political momentum (TICAD8 in Tunisia and UNFCCC COP27 in Egypt), IGES, IsDB, and GRC invited experts from government agencies, research institutions, financial institutions, and the private sector stakeholders to this roundtable to seek their insights, guidance, and suggestions about how to foster a ‘win-win’ net-zero partnership between Japan and North African countries, including through the launch of a green business matching platform.

Event Details

Date/time
29 September 2022 (17:00 – 18:30 Japan time)
Venue

Online

Co-Organisers
Islamic Development Bank (IsDB)
Gulf Research Center (GRC)
Languages
English
Contact

Secretariat: [email protected]

Presentation Materials

*Master of the conference (MC): Mr. Naoki Mori, Programme Director, IGES

17:00-17:10 Welcoming and Opening Remarks Mr. Yasuo Takahashi, Executive Director, IGES, Japan  
Keynote speech Mr. Mohamed Elloumi, Ambassador of Tunisia to Japan  
17:10-17:15 Setting the Scene
(Presentation)
Mr. Abdessalem Rabhi, Senior Programme Coordinator, IGES, Japan PDF (597KB)
17:15-17:30 Presentations
  Ms. Akiko Fujiwara, Overseas Business Development Expert, Mikuniya Corporation, Japan PDF (1.2MB)
Mr. Jihed Dridi, CEO, Mayout Seafood Products, Tunisia PDF (859KB)
Ms. Akiko Komori, Director, Middle East Division 1, Middle East and Europe Dept. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan PDF (1.3MB)
17:30-18:25 Q&A and Discussion
Moderator Mr. Abdessalem Rabhi, Senior Programme Coordinator, IGES, Japan  
Speakers Ms. Akiko Fujiwara, Overseas Business Development Expert, Mikuniya Corporation, Japan  
Mr. Jihed Dridi, CEO, Mayout Seafood Products, Tunisia  
Ms. Akiko Komori, Director, Middle East Division 1, Middle East and Europe Dept. Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Japan  
Mr. Mostafa Hasaneen, Senior Sustainable Energy SpecialistThe Regional Center for Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency (RCREEE), Egypt  
Mr. Hédi Ben Abbès, President, Tunisian-Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Tunisia  
Mr. Momar Sow, Operations Team Leader, Economic Infrastructure, IsDB, Regional Hub Rabat, Morocco  
Mr. Prosanto Pal, Associate Director, The Energy and Resource Institute (TERI), India  

The panel discussion aims to address the following questions:

  • What kinds of country-specific needs and challenges for climate actions (high-priority sectors/sub-sectors) exist?
  • How do we address these needs and challenges? Who should we engage?
  • To what extent is it necessary and feasible to establish green business matching platforms to foster Japan-MENA green business cooperation?
18:25-18:30 Closing Remarks Mr. Oskar Ziemelis, Director of Cooperation, Gulf Research Center (GRC)  
  Mr. Syed Hussein Quadri, Director, Resilience and Climate Action, IsDB