diplomacy&development

The French Ambassador to the DRC, François PUJOLAS and the Rector of Loyola University of DRC, Mr. Ferdinand MUHIGIRWA The French Ambassador to the DRC, François PUJOLAS, and the Rector of Loyola University of DRC, Mr. Ferdinand MUHIGIRWA, signed a financing agreement for supporting the engineering sector of the University of Loyola DRC, partner of the Catholic Institute of Arts and Professions (ICAM)- France since the visit to the DRC by the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean Yves Le Drian, in May 2019.  The course being created thus aims to train 50 maintenance technicians (license professional 3 years), 60 general engineers and 25 network / telecom engineers (master 5 years).  With an overall budget of € 600,000 divided between Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo, € 250,000 will be allocated to each of the 2 countries and € 100,000 to transversal activities. This project instructs by the French Development Agency (AFD) via the Technical ...

The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2020 is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet”. In line with this theme, WHO and UNICEF are calling on governments to protect and promote women’s access to skilled breastfeeding counselling, a critical component of breastfeeding support. Breastfeeding provides every child with the best possible start in life. It delivers health, nutritional and emotional benefits to both children and mothers. And it forms part of a sustainable food system. But while breastfeeding is a natural process, it is not always easy. Mothers need support – both to get started and to sustain breastfeeding. Skilled counselling services can ensure that mothers and families receive this support, along with the information, the advice, and the reassurance they need to nourish their babies optimally. Breastfeeding counselling can help mothers to build confidence while respecting their individual circumstances and choices.  Counselling can empower women ...

Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, APO Group Founder and Chairman Pompigne-Mognard brings vast experience in communications, technology and business consultancy to support the African Energy Chamber. APO Group (APO-opa.com), the leading pan-African communications and business consultancy, is delighted to confirm that its Founder and Chairman, Nicolas Pompigne-Mognard, has been appointed to the Advisory Board of the African Energy Chamber. The African Energy Chamber (AEC) (EnergyChamber.org) collaborates with African and international partners across the government and private sector spectrum, in all areas of the energy industry.  Partners and members of the African Energy Chamber have the power to shape Africa’s energy future by promoting growth, shaping policy, and providing leadership and guidance in the fast-growing energy sector.  The AEC Advisory Board is made up of CEOs, Founders and other leading figures within prominent Africa-focussed energy companies. Mem...

Wang Yi, State Councilor and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China Dear colleagues, Distinguished Guests, We are meeting today to inaugurate the Xi Jinping Thought Research Center on Diplomacy. It is an important date that will mark the history of Chinese diplomacy, and I wish to express, on behalf of all comrades on the diplomatic front, my warm congratulations.  I would also like to take this opportunity to express my sincere thanks to the experts and researchers who have been working for many years in the study and interpretation of Xi Jinping's thought on diplomacy as well as the theoretical building of Chinese diplomacy. The history of mankind shows that great times give birth to great thoughts. Since the 18th Congress of the Communist Party of China, Chinese-colored socialism has entered a new era with its head held high, and the sorely tried Chinese nation is on its way to a grand rise from a nation that has recovered. to a rich nation, th...

Xi Jinping, President of the People's Republic of China Ladies and Gentlemen, Governors, Ladies and Gentlemen, Heads of Delegation, Distinguished Guests, Ladies and gentlemen, Dear friends, On the occasion of the opening of the 5th Annual Meeting of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), I would like to express, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, and on my own behalf, my warm congratulations on the holding of the meeting and my cordial greetings to the delegates of the AIIB members. At the end of 2013, I proposed, on behalf of China, the creation of the AIIB.  The objective is to promote the construction of infrastructure and connectivity in Asia and to deepen regional cooperation for common development. On January 16, 2016, the AIIB was officially launched. For more than four years, following the modus operandi and the principles of multilateral development banks, the AIIB, an international institution that respects norms and high standards, has made...

On July 16, 2020, on the eve of the International Day of Criminal Justice, the Fund for Victims (“the Fund”) of the International Criminal Court celebrated the launch of ten new projects in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) .  The Fund has been present in the DRC since 2008 and will mainly carry out these projects in the provinces of Ituri as well as in North Kivu and South Kivu, as part of the new cycle of its assistance program. This initiative is a testament to the renewed energy and commitment of the Fund, which intends to provide long-awaited assistance to the victims and survivors of the most serious crimes committed on the territory of the DRC since July 1, 2002.  These ten new projects will be implemented in collaboration with national and international service providers working in the DRC. They are expected to last five years, but may be extended each year depending on their results and the availability of funds. These projects will revolve around sev...

The Ambassador of France in DRC, François Pujolas, The Deputy Director of the French Development Agency (AFD) in DRC, Gianni Sartena, and Mr. Jean Claude Thetika Banzodila, General Director of FPM ASBL (Fund for financial inclusion in DRC)  during the signing ceremony of the finacial Agreement. France gives concrete form to its support to the Democratic Republic of the Congo by signing this Tuesday 28 July 2020, a grant agreement for an amount of 5 million euros intended to contribute to the consolidation of financial inclusion in the DRC.  This agreement was signed between the ambassador of France in the DRC, François Pujolas, deputy director of the French Development Agency (AFD) in the DRC, Gianni Sartena, and Mr. Jean Claude Thetika Banzodila, Director General of FPM ASBL (Fund for financial inclusion in the DRC). This signature took place in the presence of Madame Mamie Kalonda Managing Director of FINCA DRC and President of the National Association of Instituti...

Pépin Guillaume Manjolo, Minister of International Cooperation, Regional Integration and Francophonie since September 2019 in the Ilunga government . The Ministers of the CEEAC are meeting by videoconference this Monday 27th July 2020 for; -Presentation of the report of the Advisory Commission;  -Examination and adoption of the recommendations of the Advisory Commission;  -Examination of the program of the Conference of Heads of State of 30.07. Cassien Tribunal Aungane, Editor

The top 50 Finalists of the Africa's Business Heroes competition, half of which are female and represent 21 countries across Africa and 18 sectors The 50 finalists were selected from more than 22,000 entries from 54 African countries; The finalists represent 21 African countries, half of which are women, and work in 18 sectors of the economy such as agriculture, Artificial Intelligence (AI), e-commerce, fashion, health, renewable energies and ICTs; The finalists will participate in the next selection round and in a virtual and exclusive training camp, starting July 28.  For its 2020 edition, the Africa's Business Heroes (ABH) competition (https://AfricaBusinessHeroes.org), a flagship philanthropic program set up by the Africa Netpreneur Prize Initiative (ANPI) of the Jack Ma Foundation, has named its 50 finalists after the first step of the selection process (https://bit.ly/2OVyzaw).  The second stage has now been launched: these 50 entrepreneurs will have to c...

The African Development Bank has committed $ 1 million in funding from an ongoing project for science and technology development for two research projects for the mitigation of the novel coronavirus in Angola.  The Science and Technology Development Project, which is executed by the Ministry of Higher Education, Science, Technology and Innovation, aims to contribute to the economic diversification of Angola through scientific and technological research and through the promotion of an innovative enabling environment.  The Angolan government intends to promote research and strengthen health capacities, in a context marked by the Covid-19 pandemic. The first research project focuses on the epidemiological, clinical and laboratory profile of Covid-19. It will receive support of $ 431,590. The second relating to capacity building in the face of the coronavirus will have support of $ 613,029.  Funding agreements between the coordinator of the project implementation unit,...

The program is based on an integrated response to the health crisis articulated around the three interdependent axes of the response plans of the G5 Sahel countries. The Board of Directors of the African Development Bank approved, on Wednesday July 22 in Abidjan, budget support of US $ 284.8 million for support the efforts of the G5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Chad) in the implementation of their response plans to the Covid-19 pandemic and economic recovery.  This financial support, provided under the Rapid Response Facility against Covid-19 endowed with 10 billion US dollars, intended to help regional member countries of the Bank to do faced with the consequences of this pandemic, is broken down by country. Burkina Faso will benefit from funding of $ 54.6 million divided into a grant of $ 27.3 million and a loan of the same amount, from the African Development Fund (ADF), the concessional rate loan window of the institution. Total financial assista...

European Union's Flag 12 southern African countries will receive humanitarian aid of $ 74 million from the European Union (EU).  The funding will help targeted populations cope with the combined effects of the coronavirus and the extreme weather disasters that have rocked the region in recent years. Southern African countries will benefit from funding of $ 74 million from the European Union (EU).  This is what the institution said in a statement released Monday, July 20, 2020. The new funding is aimed at helping targeted populations cope with the combined effects of the coronavirus pandemic and the extreme weather disasters that have rocked the region in recent years.  Concretely, it will provide food aid to vulnerable households and support farmers in affected areas to restore their livelihoods. The new funds will also finance coronavirus prevention and preparedness actions aimed at supporting local health systems and facilitating access to health care, prote...

Independent power producer Nek aims to install 1,000 MW of wind power. This capacity will be achieved in several phases, with the support of the investment facilitation fund in the renewable energy sector, and will help to diversify the national energy mix.  Swiss energy company Nek aims to build several wind farms with a combined capacity of 1,000 MW in Ghana.  The independent energy producer will implement its project in several phases. The company will indeed build, among other things, a 200 MW power plant 80 km from the Ghanaian capital Accra. It also plans to set up a 225 MW wind farm in Ayitepa in the south-east of the country. Studies for the construction of this infrastructure have already started and the company hopes to sell its production at 8.9 cents per kilowatt hour to ECG, the national electricity company.  The implementation of the entire program will diversify Ghana's energy mix. The country produces 2,800 MW from thermal sources and 1,580 MW fr...