ABUJA – The 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9), which ended on Friday, was eventful for the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Bagudu, holding several meetings that focused on facilitating private investments and strengthening development cooperation partnerships for Nigeria. Supported by the Deputy Chief of Staff to the President in the Office of the Vice President, Mr Ibrahim Hadeja, and senior officials of the Federal Ministry of Budget and Economic Planning, he met with the officials of the Mihuzo Financial Services Group, Tokyo, on leveraging carbon finance to promote clean cooking and improving public health in Nigeria. Bagudu also met with the United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Africa, Ms Ahunna Eziakonwa, and the UNDP Resident Representative for Nigeria, Ms. Elsie Attafuah. They discussed the state of the Nigerian economy and the promises of the new grassroots development initiative, midwifed by the FMBEP, the Renewed Hope Ward Development Agenda, as a framework to galvanise and coordinate stakeholders’ development efforts for greater impact and improved outcomes, within the constitutional context and framework for the delivery of public services at the lowel level of government in Nigeria. They also reviewed the challenges faced by African countries in their engagement with global credit rating agencies and underscored the importance of the UNDP’s initiative to strengthen the capacity of African nations to negotiate more effectively with such institutions, thereby improving their outlook and access to investment facilities.