The lack of a fair trade system remains a major road block to African development, following the recent collapse of multilateral trade talks, and the world must respect the continent's diversity and identity, leaders from Africa and its partners said Wednesday.
In a declaration adopted to wrap up the three-day Tokyo International Conference on African Development, they also pledged to support the African self-help initiative New Partnership for Africa's Development.
Unlike the 1998 action plan adopted at the second TICAD summit, which outlined policies and goals through 2015, Wednesday's declaration focused on philosophies and concepts of African development.