diplomacy&development

Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej, CEO of Merck Foundation with doctors • Merck Foundation marks World Cancer Day with African First Ladies by  providing 140 scholarships of Oncology Training to African doctors from  28 countries. • Merck Foundation marks World Cancer Day together with Africa First  Ladies and Ministries of Health through building cancer care capacity and  increasing the limited number of oncologists in their countries by  providing more than 140 Scholarships of One-, two- and three-years  fellowship, diploma and Master Degree of oncology to African doctors from  28 Countries. • Merck Foundation is making history in Africa by training the first African  Oncologists and first cancer care teams in countries such as The Gambia,  Sierra Leone, Burundi, Liberia, Guinea Conakry, Central African Republic,  Chad, Burundi, Malawi, Niger, Namibia, Zambia, Zimbabwe and more . Like every year, Merck Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Merck...

The 3-year bond was priced at 100bps over EUR midswap rate to yield 3.806% (annual fixed coupon 3.750%) well inside initial price thoughts of 120-125bp respectively. The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) ( www.Afreximbank.com ), is pleased to announce that it has successfully acted as Joint Global Coordinator on the inaugural EUR 500M RegS-only senior unsecured social bond issuance by the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa (BADEA) under its newly-established Euro Medium Term Note (EMTN) program listed on the London Stock Exchange. BADEA is a development finance institution established in 1974 by 18 member countries of the League of Arab States (LAS) to provide targeted developmental financing to 44 non-Arab Sub-Saharan African countries, with total assets of USD 5.7bn as of June 2023. BADEA, rated Aa2/AA/AAA (positive/positive/stable) by Moody’s/S&P/JCR, issued a debut EUR 500mn 3-year social bond with use of proceeds to fund eligible projects under the issuer’s ne...

Merck Foundation CEO Senator, Dr. Rasha Kelej with The First Ladies of Africa during their MFFLI Committee Meeting Merck Foundation has provided till today, more than 1700 scholarships to young doctors from 50 countries in 42 critical and underserved specialties. Prof. Dr. Frank Stangenberg-Haverkamp, Senator Dr. Rasha Kelej and The First Ladies of Botswana, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Central African Republic, The Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Malawi, Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, Zimbabwe, Democratic Republic of Congo conducted MFFLI committee in India on 2nd day of 10th Merck Foundation Africa Asia luminary 2013 (Merck-Foundation.com) in India; Africa’s First Ladies marked together the 6th Anniversary of Merck Foundation and 11 year journey of Merck foundation development programs  by sharing the impact of their partnership programs with Merck Foundation to build healthcare capacity, support girl education and break infertility stigma, in their respective countries. Merck Fou...

A milestone in the relationship between Afreximbank and the Government, the facility is the largest financing facility ever provided by the Bank in support of Cameroon’s economic development. The African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) ( www.Afreximbank.com ) today in Yaoundé signed a EUR200 million financing facility to support the Government of Cameroon in the implementation of its National Development Strategy. Dr. George Elombi, Executive Vice-President, Governance, Legal and Corporate Services, signed the facility agreement on behalf of Afreximbank while Louis Paul Motaze, Minister of Finance, signed for the Government of Cameroon during a ceremony held at the headquarters of the Ministry of Finance. Under the terms of the agreement, the Government of Cameroon will deploy the facility to implement trade enabling infrastructure projects approved in the country’s financing plan as part of the national development strategy. Commenting on the agreement, Dr. Elombi said: “This facilit...

The Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Ahmed Fahmy, said the US Secretary of State conveyed US President Biden’s greetings and appreciation to President El-Sisi. President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi received today the US Secretary of State, Mr. Anthony Blinken, and his accompanying delegation, in the presence of the Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Service, Major General Abbas Kamel. The Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Ahmed Fahmy, said the US Secretary of State conveyed US President Biden’s greetings and appreciation to President El-Sisi, noting the continued Egyptian efforts to calm the situation in the region and reinforce peace and stability. This was appreciated by President El-Sisi, who stressed Egypt’s keenness to continue coordination between the two sides for the interest of regional security and stability. The meeting touched on the regional situation, especially in the Gaza Strip and the Palestinian territories. Mr.Blinken was keen to share with President...

The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Third Review under Mozambique’s three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement. The IMF Executive Board completed the Third Review under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Arrangement for Mozambique, providing the country with access to SDR 45.44 million (about US$60.7 million); The three-year ECF arrangement aims to support Mozambique’s economic recovery and reduce public debt and financing vulnerabilities, while fostering higher and more inclusive growth through structural reforms; Program performance has been satisfactory. Parliamentary approval of the Sovereign Wealth Fund bill in December 2023 was an important step toward ensuring transparent and sound management of natural resource wealth. The Executive Board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) completed the Third Review under Mozambique’s three-year Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement. The Executive Board’s decision allows for an immedi...

Turk Eximbank’s investment in AFC is its first in an African entity and aligns with Türkiye’s strategic vision of fostering resilient and sustainable growth in Africa, as outlined in the government’s Africa Partnership Policy. Africa Finance Corporation (AFC) ( www.AfricaFC.org ), the continent’s leading infrastructure solutions provider, today announced an equity investment from Turk Eximbank on behalf of the Republic of Türkiye, marking a historic milestone in onboarding the Corporation’s first non-African sovereign shareholder. The equity subscription from Türkiye’s official export credit agency advances AFC’s mission to be the bridge between Africa and global stakeholders wishing to play a key role in the continent’s development and prosperity.  Turk Eximbank’s investment in AFC is its first in an African entity and aligns with Türkiye’s strategic vision of fostering resilient and sustainable growth in Africa, as outlined in the government’s Africa Partnership Policy, underlini...