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A key constraint to scaling up productive activities in Africa derivesfrom infrastructural constraints and there is great scope for Japanto contribute to improving the situation as its companies have thecapacity to build world class infrastructure while its financial institutionscan support the process through structured financing.Improvements in infrastructure will not only support regional integrationand intra-Africa trade but also boost trading relations betweenJapan and Africa. Total merchandise trade between thesetwo partners amounted to about $24 billion in 2010 which itself is asignificant amount. However, if we compare this with an economy ofcomparable size such as China whose trade with Africa in 2010 wasestimated to be about $120 billion, then it can be seen that there isfar more scope for increased trade between Japan and the Africancontinent. This is also reflected in the fact that Japan’s share of exportsto an expanding African economy fell from 4% in 2000 to 2.7%last year. It is nevertheless worth recording that Japan is involved insupporting intra-African trade facilitation through joint projects suchas One Stop Border Posts for which I would like to express great appreciation.Japan can also support African development by helping countries inthe continent to take advantage of new technologies and opportunities.We are currently in the digital age and there is growing globalconsensus about the need to shift to a green economy to promoteenvironmental sustainability and to adapt to the damaging effectsof climate change. As a global leader in ICT related industries andactivities, Japan can contribute to efforts to scale-up the use of innovation,science and technology in Africa through investments inthe continent as well as in supporting capacity building activities. Toillustrate, the rapidly rising use of mobile phones and related applicationsincluding the world famous M-Pesa payment system in Kenyashows how ICTs can contribute to on-going growth in Africa. A similareffort is required in advancing the green economy in Africa, forwhile the continent has a natural resource base for undertaking suchactivities, it still requires substantial financial support and transferof technology to be able to change its current growth trajectory to amore green basis.The examples of climate change and environmental negotiationssuch as the forthcoming Rio+20 conference show that Africa has high172 Part Three