Day: August 27, 2022

African heads of state, representatives of international organizations and private business leaders gathered in Tunisia on Saturday for the Tokyo International Conference on African Development, a triennial event launched by Japan to promote growth and security in Africa.

Economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, a food crisis worsened by Russia’s war in Ukraine, and climate change are among the challenges facing many African countries expected to define the two-day conference.

Tensions among African countries also weighed on the meeting: On Friday, Morocco announced a boycott of the event and recalled its ambassador to Tunisia to protest the inclusion of a representative of the Polisario Front movement fighting for independence for Western Sahara.

The conference comes as Russia and China have sought to increase their economic and other influence in Africa.

While 30 African heads of state and government attended the event in Tunis, Tunisia’s capital, many key talks are being held remotely, including those involving Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the summit.

The Japanese government created and hosted the first TICAD summit in 1993. The conferences now are co-organized with the United Nations, the African Union and the World Bank. The summits have generated 26 development projects in 20 African countries.

This year, discussion around an increase of Japanese investments in Africa is anticipated, with particular focus on supporting start-ups and food security initiatives. Japan has said it plans to provide assistance for the production of rice, alongside a promised $130 million in food aid.

The Africa Center for Strategic Studies, an academic institution of the U.S. Defense Department, compared the conference’s format to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, “where government, business, and civil society leaders participate on an equal basis.”

However, this weekend’s summit has sparked controversy in Tunis, which faces its own acute economic crisis, including a recent spike in food and gasoline shortages.

Critics have spoken about the organizers’ alleged “white-washing” of the city, which has seen cleaner streets and infrastructure improvements in preparation for the conference summit. One local commentator said the North African capital looked like it had applied makeup to impress participants.

Meanwhile, the journalists’ union in Tunisia issued a statement Friday condemning restrictions on reporting and information around the summit.

Morocco’s complaint stemmed from Tunisia inviting the Polisario Front leader to attend. Morocco annexed Western Sahara from Spain in 1975, and the Polisario Front fought to make it an independent state until a 1991 cease-fire. It’s a highly sensitive issue in Morocco, which seeks international recognition for its authority over Western Sahara.

“The welcome given by the Tunisian head of state to the leader of the separatist militia is a serious and unprecedented act, which deeply hurts the feelings of the Moroccan people,” Morocco’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Morocco announced its withdrawal from the conference and the recall of its ambassador for consultations. But the ministry said the decision does not “call into question the commitment of the Kingdom of Morocco to the interests of Africa.”

Source: Voice of America

Diplomats from around the world have failed to reach agreement on a United Nations treaty designed to protect marine life on the high seas, after a fifth round of talks ended in impasse.

Negotiations at U.N. headquarters in New York were suspended early Saturday following two weeks of talks that environmentalists had hoped would close a gap in international marine protection measures.

A proposed treaty would set rules for protecting biodiversity in two-thirds of the world’s ocean areas that are outside of national jurisdictions.

Less than 1% of the high seas are protected without a new treaty, and “pockets of marine protection are not enough” for threatened species, said Maxine Burkett, the United States deputy assistant secretary of state who was involved in negotiations.

The global goal is to set aside 30% of ocean area as some kind of marine sanctuary.

Ocean health is also key to combating climate change because more than 90% of the excess heat from climate change is absorbed by the seas. Marine heat waves are getting longer and more frequent.

“The ocean cannot afford further delay,” Burkett said earlier in the week, when the negotiations looked promising.

In the Caribbean, “our livelihoods are directly dependent on the health of the ocean,” said Janine Felson, Belize’s ambassador to the United Nations.

Talks centered on how to share benefits from marine life, establish protected areas, prevent harm from human activity on the high seas and to help poor countries gain the skills and means for ocean exploration.

Campaigners expressed disappointment at the failure to reach a deal but said the talks produced some progress.

Laura Meller, who leads Greenpeace’s ocean protection campaign, accused rich countries such as the United States of being too slow to compromise.

“Russia has also been a key blocker in negotiations, refusing to engage in the treaty process itself, or attempting to compromise with the European Union and many other states on a wide range of issues,” Meller said.

The talks will resume next year unless a special emergency session is called before the end of 2022.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Monica Medina also voiced disappointment but expressed hope that the work done so far would carry forward. She said the United States remained committed to the goal of protecting at least 30% of the world’s oceans by 2030.

“We cannot let the tides and currents push us back. We must keep going,” Medina said.

Source: Voice of America

Luanda – President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela Nicolás Maduro Moros congratulated the Angolan people for the orderly and exemplary way in which the election of 24 August took place.

In a message reached ANGOP on Saturday, the Venezuelan statesman stated that the Angolan people gave a clear demonstration of civility and patriotic will.

He reiterated that the peace achieved in 2002 is the way to achieve progress and collective well-being.

“The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela expresses the firm will to continue to deepen at the highest level the strategic relations of friendship and integral cooperation with the people and the illustrious government of Angola, an example of peace and democratic spirit in Mother Africa”, said Nicolas Maduro.

Provisional results released in the last update made Thursday by the National Electoral Commission (CNE), show the MPLA at the top with 51.07% of the votes, electing 124 MPs.

The second placed UNITA, with 44.05% of the votes, managed to increase the number of seats to 90, while the PRS, FNLA and PHA emerge with two parliamentarians each.

CASA-CE with 0.75% (46,750) failed to elect any MP, as did the APN with 0.48% (29,740) and P-NJANGO with 0.42% of the votes (26,268).

Source: Angola Press News Agency

Malanje – The secretary of MPLA’s information and propaganda department in the northern Malanje province Ema Massunga said her party respects the people’s will expressed in Wednesday’s (24) elections and hopes to retrieve the seats it lost in parliament.

The provisional results released by the National Electoral Commission (CNE) give victory to the MPLA, with 51.07% of the vote, or 124 seats in the National Assembly.

In the provincial constituency of Malanje, the ruling party only elected three MPs, against the expected five.

According to the organic law of general elections, each of the provinces of Angola includes a provincial constituency, which must elect five MPs each.

Source: Angola Press News Agency