Guinean President Alpha Conde called on Japanese companies Tuesday to boost investment in his country, emphasizing the “potential” of the growing African nation with a young population.

“Many people living in our country are under the age of 30. Young people in our country are well familiar with state-of-the-art technology,” Conde told a seminar in Tokyo hosted by the Japan External Trade Organization.

“Japan was the first nation that recognized us as a country since we became independent in 1958” from France, Conde said. “We therefore want to open a new page of cooperation with Japanese companies.”

Conde, elected president in 2010, is on a four-day visit to Japan that started Monday.

Later in the day, Conde held talks with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, where the leaders agreed to boost economic ties between the two counties.

At their summit meeting in Tokyo, Abe told Conde, who is chairing the 55-party African Union in 2017, that Japan will support economic growth in Guinea through “concrete assistance” such as building infrastructure.

“We have placed emphasis on relations with Guinea,” Abe said at a joint news conference with Conde after the meeting.

Guinea had lagged behind the rest of Africa in foreign direct investment, as the Economic Community of West African States, a regional group aimed at promoting economic integration, imposed sanctions on its then military government.

Source : In Tokyo, Guinean President Alpha Conde calls for investment by Japanese firms