On March 3 and 4, the United States and Japan held the third senior level U.S.-Japan Development Dialogue and related events in Washington, D.C. The Dialogue addressed a broad range of development policy priorities and assistance efforts to address global and regional challenges, including global development frameworks and the Sustainable Development Goals, Japan’s G7 leadership, Japan’s Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD), and the emergence of new donors and institutions into the international system. The U.S. and Japanese delegations also discussed joint efforts on global challenges such as global health, addressing gaps in infrastructure investment, disaster response and relief, and the importance of collaborating on humanitarian assistance coordination in the lead up to the World Humanitarian Summit (WHS).
Both sides highlighted the importance of gender and women’s economic empowerment as cross-cutting issues in global development frameworks and development assistance around the world, and pledged to utilize international platforms including the G7 and APEC to raise these issues and advocate for concrete policy changes. They affirmed the critical role women play in ensuring peace, prosperity, and stability around the world and reaffirmed the importance of girls’ education, especially for adolescent girls, in reducing poverty, promoting economic growth, and fostering stable communities.
Across the Development Dialogue meetings, representatives of the United States and Japan addressed key regional development challenges, including enhanced connectivity in the Asia-Pacific and beyond, improving the investment and business environment in Africa, responses to the conflict in the Middle East and North Africa region, and efforts to respond to refugee crises, as well as democratic transitions in new and emerging governments such as Myanmar.
Charles H. Rivkin, Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs and Wade Warren, Assistant to the Administrator for Policy, Planning and Learning, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), participated in a strategy meeting with Takio Yamada, Director General of the International Cooperation Bureau, Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Development Dialogue discussion was co-chaired by Lisa Kubiske, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for International Finance and Development and Patricia Rader, Senior Deputy Assistant to the Administrator for Policy, Planning and Learning, USAID, with Director General Yamada, and Shinya Ejima, Director General of the Operations Strategy Department, the Japan International Cooperation Agency. Director General Yamada and Kurt Tong, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Economic and Business Affairs also participated in a side event including civil society organizations, hosted by the Center for Strategic and International Studies.