diplomacy&development

Agriculture subsidies and non-tariff barriers highlighted as a specific hindrance to development. The  Communiqué sets out a road map for WTO reform; Communiqué calls for development to be at the centre of WTO reform; Agriculture subsidies and non-tariff barriers highlighted as a specific hindrance to development. Following a meeting convened by the Pan-African Private Sector Trade and Investment Committee (PAFTRAC) and hosted by the Afreximbank, a communiqué addressed to members of the WTO and the eight candidates who have been shortlisted as the institution’s next Director General was released yesterday calling for a wide range of reforms. The communiqué was formulated following numerous consultations with PAFTRAC members, its institutional partners, and through a comprehensive survey of the African private sector. Within it, the Committee have highlighted a number of recommendations to ensure the institution is more effective in growing global trade but doing so in a manner t

AGRF online will convene the most senior decision-makers of governments in the same digital space as grassroots players along the agricultural value chain The African Development Bank (AfDB.org/en) returns as a top-tier partner of the African Green Revolution Forum (AGRF) – Africa’s largest agriculture conference – to be held online for the first time from 8-11 September 2020, in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. The tenth annual AGRF will be headlined by African Heads of State and Government, and will bring together delegates from governments, civil society, the private sector and research communities. AGRF 2020 is hosted by the Government of Rwanda and the AGRF Partners Group, organized under the theme Feed the Cities, Grow the Continent. Leveraging Urban Food Markets to Achieve Sustainable Food Systems in Africa. “As COVID-19 causes disruptions across Africa, we must prioritize policy support, especially for small and medium enterprises that produce, process and market 60% of f

UN human rights experts this 8 September 2020 called on authorities in Mali to end slavery once and for all after four men regarded as born into slavery were beaten to death and an 80-year-old woman and two other people were seriously injured last week. "Nothing can justify the persistence of the practice of slavery," said Alioune Tine, UN independent expert on the situation of human rights in Mali and Tomoya Obokata, special rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences. “We condemn these barbaric and criminal acts that violate the right to life, physical integrity and human dignity, and too often go unpunished.” They called for “a prompt, transparent, impartial and thorough investigation” into the 1 September attack in Djandjoumé (Kayes region), and justice for the victims. One of the dead men, a 69-year-old considered a slave, had won a court ruling against the village imam over farmland. Some members of the community objected to

The foreign ministers of China and ASEAN agreeing for a mechanism to safeguard peace and stability/August 2018 China's State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi called for joint efforts to overcome challenges and safeguard stability in the South China Sea.  Wang made the remarks in his speech at a symposium on "The South China Sea: From a Cooperation Point of View" held in Beijing on Wednesday. Having a common interest in making the South China Sea peaceful and stable, China and the ASEAN countries form a natural community with a common destiny, Wang said in his speech titled "Working Together to Make South China Sea a sea of ​​peace, friendship and cooperation ".  "I am really happy to see that the countries in the region have maintained the momentum of dialogue and cooperation and achieved significant progress," said Wang. Noting that there are still sensitive and complex risks and challenges in the South China Sea, Wang noted that the S

Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attending the Extraordinary Meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers from Beijing Chinese State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended the Extraordinary Meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers from Beijing on the evening of September 3, 2020.  The meeting was chaired by Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Saudi Arabia, who is assuming the presidency of the G20 this year. Foreign Ministers or representatives of G20 countries and invited countries, as well as heads of relevant international organizations attended the meeting. “The world is now going through major changes that have not been seen for a century. The Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated them.  Unilateralism and protectionism are advancing, globalization faces headwinds, the international situation remains turbulent and turbulent. Multilateralism is the only way to meet these challenges. We must maintain the international order based on internat

The World Bank's board of directors last week approved $ 75 million in funding for Madagascar. The funds will be used, among other things, to make up the state budget deficit while strengthening the fight against the coronavirus. The World Bank approved on Thursday, September 3, financial assistance of $ 75 million for Madagascar. It aims to help the country fight the covid-19 pandemic.  Concretely, the financing will make it possible to close the budget deficit of the State, exacerbated by the increase in health expenditure and the fall in revenue due to the coronavirus. It will also support the implementation of reforms aimed at enhancing the efficiency and transparency of the authorities' response to the crisis, as well as economic recovery. “The economic and fiscal impact of the covid-19 crisis in Madagascar will be very significant in 2020 and could reverse the progress made in the past in poverty reduction and exacerbate fragility.  This funding will support the gove

The African Telecommunications Union (ATU) has launched the African Challenge for Innovation 2020, a competition that identifies and supports young African innovators who have developed useful mobile applications for the benefit of the fight against Covid-19 as well as for other emergencies in Africa. According to UAT Secretary General John OMO (photo), the first prize winner of the competition will win a prize of $ 5,000 in addition to being engaged in a mentorship program with the support of Union partners. “This challenge will help identify and test disruptive innovations and new business models that have the capacity to redefine Africa,” said OMO. He also underlined the importance of the support of African institutions to its innovators. The launch ceremony which took place online on August 27, 2020 in the presence of ministries, regulators, academics and ICT organizations focused on the theme: "How Africa can overcome the impact of COVID- 19 thanks to innovation? "