JAPAN yesterday announced a plan to provide 100 billion yen (US$1 billion) in aid over the next five years to northern Africa for economic development and humanitarian efforts, including help with security and counter-terrorism measures.

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe unveiled the assistance in a speech at a conference in Yokohama, near Tokyo, where officials from 50 African nations have gathered to talk about trade, growth and other issues.

The US$1 billion is part of the 3.2 trillion yen in government and private-sector aid unveiled on Saturday.

Japan is eager to court Africa, which is rich in resources and is growing as a market, after having fallen behind China in trade with and infrastructure projects in Africa.

The three-day conference, which ends today, has been held every five years since 1993.