December 12, 2022

St Kitts and Nevis Prime Minister takes lessons from Dubai to position twin-island federation as a business hub

Basseterre, Dec. 12, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Prime Minister Terrance Drew of the island nation of St Kitts and Nevis was in Dubai recently for a state visit that not only aims to strengthen bilateral relations but also glean lessons from the United Arab Emirates that will pivot the island into a sought-after business and leisure hub in the Caribbean.

The new prime minister and his delegation had several meetings and engagements over the four-day trip which took place from 29 November to 3 December 2022.

The two regions have enjoyed years of fruitful relations that have resulted in several areas of cooperation in which both countries have achieved together. This includes the signing of a historic Air Services Agreement. The seminal move paved the way for air traffic between the Federation of St Kitts and Nevis and the UAE.

The UAE also expressed previous interest in assisting the twin island Federation in adapting stronger climate change resilient measures, particularly as it relates to infrastructure. As climate related weather patterns become more fierce, St Kitts and Nevis is looking to tap into Dubai’s knowledge and expertise in constructing durable and resilient structures.

Just as recently as the 1960s, Dubai’s economy was merely dependent on the revenues generated from trade and oil exploration concessions. A major chunk of revenue obtained from oil reserves started to flow in 1969 and the rapid development of Dubai began – including major infrastructure like schools and hospitals and, over the years, it transformed Dubai into the business hub we know today.

St Kitts and Nevis developed and instituted its citizenship by investment programme in 1984 as a way to increase and diversify revenue generation. For nearly 40 years the programme has been instrumental in catapulting the nation from just a small island in the Caribbean to a globally recognized investment destination.

Without this foreign direct investment into the nation, St Kitts and Nevis would have certainly progressed at a much slower pace than desired.

The government of St Kitts and Nevis has made considerable progress in reducing its public debt and is among other countries in the Caribbean that supplement their economic activity through CBI programmes which provide astute investors with the option to obtain citizenship by investing in the country. The new government administration of St Kitts and Nevis believes that residents of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have a lot to benefit from its CBI programme.

The country is looking to build its reputation on the international stage and the CBI programme is one way to direct foreign direct investment to innovative projects across the spheres of education, health, agriculture and tourism.

For example, the travel and tourism sector accounted for one tenth of the gross domestic product (GPD) in St Kitts and Nevis in 2021, dropping for the second consecutive year. Part of the funds channeled the citizenship by investment programme will be used to revitalize the sector and re-establish St Kitts and Nevis as must-visit destination.

Attracting the right kind of developers who will inject cash into developing attractive real estate projects that will charm discerning investors, is one way to grow the tourism sector. Not only that but the upgrading and development of important infrastructure such as schools, hospitals, airports and hotel chains is another way the funds will be used to not only bring up tourist numbers but investors too.

The visit was also aimed at deepening relationships with important stakeholders including international investors and government approved agents, who play a vital role in promoting and supporting the country’s recently upgraded citizenship by investment programme.

St Kitts and Nevis is the first country of the Caribbean Community to establish a formal diplomatic presence in the UAE, recently opening an embassy and consulate in the region.

The members of the delegation which included, Cabinet Secretary, Dr Natta, Attorney General, Mr. Wilkin, Minister of Tourism, Ms. Henderson, Mr. Anthony and Ms. Galloway, were positive following the visit and believe that there were many lessons learned from visit that they could take back home and implement.

The visit also signifies to the world St Kitts and Nevis is open for business. During the visit, business partners, investors and citizens were able to meet the Prime Minister and the accompanying delegation members at an exclusive cocktail event that was hosted by the High Commission of St Kitts and Nevis during the trip.

The visit provided an opportunity for St Kitts and Nevis to attract investors who seek mutually beneficial partnerships with the nation.

Saint Kitts and Nevis administers one of the most successful citizenship by investment programmes in the world. This government delegation was aimed at showing investors, entrepreneurs and families from the UAE that they are all welcome in Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The Prime Minister’s visit has come at a time when the economies of many countries are affected by the lingering impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and by the consequences of the Ukraine-Russia conflict.

Prime Minister Drew is on a drive to find and implement solutions that will prosper St Kitts and Nevis and one of those actions included upgrading the country’s CBI programme – the government is taking measures to sustain and enhance the image of the twin-island federation’s CBI programme, so it is more transparent and follows the principles of integrity and good governance.

The St Kitts and Nevis government also recently launched its “Venture Deeper” campaign. This is a branding campaign aimed at highlighting the country’s famous and marked natural environment while introducing elements of introspective self-discovery and intention.

The campaign’s visual assets, showcased at a May 20 media premiere in New York, highlighted St Kitts and Nevis’ lush natural environment, including the territory’s rainforest, abundant historic landmarks and immersive cultural experiences.

St Kitts and Nevis’ revamped citizenship by investment programme is aimed at intelligent investors looking not only to prosper themselves, but those who are sustainability minded in their investment decisions.

PR St Kitts and Nevis
Government of St. Kitts and Nevis
mildred.thabane@csglobalpartners.com

GlobeNewswire Distribution ID 8712457

December 12, 2022

Angola, EXIM Bank seal USD 2 bln contract for energy production

Washington – The Finance Ministry of Angola and the Export-Import Bank of the United States (EXIM) Bank will sign early 2023 a financing contract worth US$2 billion for the production of renewable energies in Angola.

This was confirmed Sunday in Washington by the minister of Energy and Water, João Baptista Borges, who said that it was probably the “biggest financing ever granted” by that US Export-Import Bank for electrification in Africa.

According to the minister, who was speaking to the press, ahead of the US-Africa Leaders Summit, to be held on 13 – 15 December, the funding will mark the beginning of a new era in the relationship between the United States and Angola.

The minister said that the implementation of the project starts in 2023, once the commercial agreement has been signed with the Sun Africa group, the financing source has been identified with the approval of EXIM Bank and the US government.

“The last step that remains to be taken is the signing of the financing agreement, which will take place at the beginning of next year, the period in which the implementation of this project begins”, he assured.

The project aims to promote the use of renewable energies in the country and increase access to electricity in four provinces in the southern region of the country, which cover a total area of over 400,000 square kilometres: Cuando Cubango, Namibe, Huíla and Cunene.

Specifically, it will directly benefit more than one million inhabitants of these areas, and may provide indirect benefits, such as job creation, to thousands more.

This initiative intends to promote the improvement of the quality of life of the communities, since, in addition to the electricity systems (solar), they will bring solutions to water supply to the communities of the four provinces.

According to minister João Baptista Borges, the main objective of the financing agreement is to compensate the energy distribution deficit still registered in Angola, stressing that the project foresees the use of solar systems with batteries.

“We will store energy and distribute energy in remote areas, such as Mavinga and other regions in eastern Angola close to the border, where there are no connections and transport lines. We will use solar energy with batteries, so that we can distribute them during the day and the night to the population”, explained the minister.

He said that these systems will speed up the process of increasing the country’s electrification rate, which is currently around 43 percent. The idea is to pass it to 60 percent.

João Baptista Borges added that during the US-African Leaders Summit more details of this funding could be advanced, which is practically structured

Source: Angola Press News Agency

December 12, 2022

US: Angola improves business environment

Washington – Angola approved more than 1,000 credit operations for the productive sector between 2019 and 2022, as part of the strategy to improve the business environment.

The data were disclosed by minister of Economy and Planning, Mário Caetano João, when speaking to the press in Washington on Sunday, ahead of the US-Africa Leaders Summit, set for 13-15 December.

The minister said that in 2019, the country had only 30 to 40 credit operations for the productive sector, numbers that increased, largely in three years.

“Over the last three years, the country has seen more than three thousand credit operations approved, in an amount above USD 2 billion”, explained the minister.

According to the source, Angola has seen progress in terms of access to credit for the productive sector, stressing that the country has also managed, within three years, to list at least three companies on the stock exchange, out of a total of ten required.

Meanwhile, Mário Caetano João recognised that much still needs to be done to make the business environment more favourable in Angola, stressing, however, that at that time the country was already more attractive to foreign investment.

“There is a growing appetite from foreign investors,” he said, referring to the Angolan market, which wants to count, from now on, on the involvement of more North American investors.

In this regard, the minister announced that Angola would take advantage of the US-Africa Summit to make contact with North American businessmen, with a view to attracting more and more investors.

“We are going to want to take advantage of the US market. We need agribusiness to help us with the diversification of the economy and here we can find investors who want to invest in projects from scratch, already existing, but in the privatisation phase, or in projects with risk sharing with local operators”, he said.

During the summit, to be held from the 13th to the 15th of this month, Angola will seek to explore various engineering areas, including the possibility of achieving Public-Private Partnerships (PPP).

“The PPS will not be left out. The US has great experience in public-private partnerships and we have already listed about four projects that we would like to see developed”, he concluded.

Mário Caetano João said that the Angolan delegation is coming to the Washington Summit with a very clear idea of how it would like to see the country develop. So it will make the US to see Angola as an important economic partner.

He said that there is interest from North American companies to develop business in Angola, others are looking for partners.

“We have a pledge from the US Government of around USD 2 billion for photovoltaic projects, in the diversification of energy sources. For this, there are American companies negotiating with the government for the projects to be implemented”, he concluded.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

December 12, 2022

US: Angolan president starts four-day visit to Washington

Washington – Angolan head of State João Lourenço starts Monday (12) his four-day visit to Washington, United States, with emphasis on his participation in the US-Africa Summit, convened by his North American counterpart, Joe Biden.

João Lourenço, who has been in Washington since Saturday night, is expected to meet this Monday with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Administrator Samantha Power.

So far, the central theme of the agenda of the meeting between João Lourenço and the head of this agency is still unknown.

With a budget of over $27 billion, USAID is one of the largest official aid agencies in the world, and accounts for more than half of all US foreign aid.

It is an organisation that conducts the foreign policy of this country, through the promotion of human progress on a large scale and the expansion of free and stable societies.

USAID is the lead US agency for extending assistance to countries recovering from disasters, trying to escape poverty and engaged in democratic reforms.

Meanwhile, the agenda of the Angolan Head of State also covers participation in a Business Forum on Wednesday (14), in which he is expected to speak in one of the panels.

In addition to the Angolan Head of State, the President of Senegal and current president of the African Union, Macky Sall, will also attend the event.

In the same session, the president and CEO of the Corporate Council on Africa, Florizelle Liser, the president and CEO of the US Chamber of Commerce, Suzanne Clark, and the Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimundo, are also expected to address the event.

Delivering speech also the Presidents of Kenya, Morocco, Algeria, Burundi, Cote d’Ivoire, Namibia and Togo, as well as the host President, Joe Biden, who will address a closing ceremony of the Business Forum.

Topics to be addressed at this event include, among others, “Pacing the Course: the Future of Trade and Investment Relations between the US and Africa”, “Building a Sustainable Future: Partnerships to Finance African Infrastructure and the Energy Transition”.

Likewise, the Business Forum will address the themes “Expanding Agribusiness: Partnerships to Reinforce Food Security and the Value Chain”, and “Advancing Digital Connectivity: Partnerships to Enable Growth through Technology”.

Also on Wednesday, the Angolan Head of State is expected to attend an official dinner, to be offered by the US President to all invited African counterparts.

On Thursday, the Angolan President will take part in the US-Africa Summit, which will bring together close to 50 African leaders invited by the US statesman, Joe Biden.

His agenda foresees other audiences with figures of the American administration, among whom the Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.

The US-Africa Leaders Summit will take place from 13 to 15 December.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

December 12, 2022

Zambian diplomat backs increased cooperation with Angola

Ramiros – Zambian ambassador to Angola Lawrence Chalungumana has defended increase in commercial cooperation between the two countries, in view of the potential of existing bilateral cooperation.

The diplomat highlighted the cooperation in the agri-livestock and fishing sectors between the two countries.

Speaking to ANGOP, on the sidelines of the International Agri-Business Fair held from 9 to 11 December in Belas Municipality, in the area of Mangroves of Barra do Kwanza, Chalungumana praised the relations of cooperation between the two countries.

He spoke of the agreement between Angola and Zambia in the agri-livestock sector, adding that the deal created a business environment that favours commercial cooperation between Angolan and Zambian businesspeople,

In his message to Angola, the diplomat said the countries can perform business between the southern zone and the neighbourhood.

He spoke of the need to start with neighbouring countries reaching further to the point of expanding across Africa and then move to the other continents.

Chalungumana pointed to the poor state of the roads as one of the factors that have hindered regular trade between the two countries.

At the time, the Zambian ambassador suggested the possibility of a visit by the President of his country to Angola in January, 2023.

The fair was attended by 120 companies linked to the Agriculture, Livestock, Technologies, Trade, Industry, Insurance, Banking, Restaurants and Services sectors from the provinces of Luanda, Cuanza-sul, Bengo, Huíla, Cunene, Malange, Huambo.

Also attended the event Namibia, South Africa, Brazil, Portugal, Namibia and Zambia.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

December 12, 2022

Parliament highlights actions to uphold human rights in Angola

Luanda – National Assembly Speaker Carolina Cerqueira Monday pointed to National Human Rights Strategy and the National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings as the main State mechanisms for defence and promotion of human rights in Angola.

In her speech delivered at the opening ceremony of the Workshop on Human Rights, the Speaker also mentioned the National Action Plan for the Eradication of Child Labour in Angola and the institutionalisation of the mechanisms for the defence and monitoring of human rights, through the local human rights committees.

According to Carolina Cerqueira, the challenge for Parliamentarians is to ensure that every national or foreigner who has chosen Angola as his or her home is offered a future vision that makes reality for the excluded, the marginalised and the vulnerable in society.

“The promise of the United Nations Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to live safely, without fear of existing, goes beyond the issues of peace and war,” she said.

Carolina Cerqueira said the actions promoted by the government led Angola to improve 33 positions in the international transparency index, from 2017 to 2021, in the corruption area, and in the 80th position, in the Global Peace area, among 163 countries.

She also mentioned the annual index on press freedom, in which Angola improved 22 places, and the Freedom House index on freedoms, in which the country improved seven places.

In relation to the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, she noted that Angola had improved four places in the last four years, while in the Index of Women’s Participation in Politics, it was ranked 48 in the government and 52 in Parliament, out of 188 States.

Carolina Cerqueira highlighted the role of the Ombudsman’s Office in defence of citizens’ rights, freedoms and guarantees, as part of its mission, particularly in advocacy and in monitoring public institutions, as well as in raising the awareness of society in general.

She added that the National Assembly has enabled the legal framework for the promotion of human rights to evolve considerably, with the approval of the Angolan Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure.

The event aims to contribute to guaranteeing fundamental rights, such as life, freedom, health, education, the right of opinion and expression, the right to demonstrate, the right to the environment, as well as the right to work and people’s safety.

The workshop also aims to contribute to guaranteeing the right of defence, the right to a fair trial for those accused of a crime, the creation of a national platform for the exchange of ideas, experiences and good practices on human rights.

Source: Angola Press News Agency

December 12, 2022

Franco-US Satellite Set for Unprecedented Survey of Earth’s Water

A Franco-U.S. satellite is due for launch this week on a mission to survey with unprecedented accuracy nearly all water on Earth’s surface for the first time and help scientists investigate its impact on Earth’s climate.

For NASA and France’s space agency CNES, which have worked together in the field for 30 years, it’s a landmark scientific mission with a billion-dollar budget.

French President Emmanuel Macron went to NASA’s Washington headquarters at the end of November alongside U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris.

He highlighted the liftoff — scheduled for early Thursday on the U.S. West Coast — of the Surface Water and Ocean Topography (SWOT) mission to monitor the levels of oceans, lakes and rivers, including in remote locations.

Its predecessor, TOPEX/Poseidon, launched in 1992, was also a Franco-U.S. joint venture that measured ocean surface to an accuracy of 4.2 centimeters (1.7 inches).

It aided the forecast of the 1997-1998 El Nino weather phenomenon and improved understanding of ocean circulation and its effect on global climate.

The 2.2-metric ton SWOT mission will be put into orbit from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California atop a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The satellite’s primary payload is an innovative instrument to measure the height of water called KaRin, or Ka-band radar interferometer. Its two antennas, separated by a big boom, create parallel swaths of data.

“We’re going to get 10 times better resolution than with current technologies to measure sea-surface height and understand the ocean fronts and eddies that help shape climate,” said NASA Earth Science Division Director Karen St. Germain.

“It’s like looking at a car number plate from space when before we could only see a street,” added Thierry Lafon, SWOT project leader at the CNES.

The stakes are high. While the impact of major ocean currents such as the Gulf Stream is known, more local flows and eddies covering dozens of kilometers remain more of a mystery.

But they too affect sea water surface temperatures and heat transfer as well as the absorption by the oceans of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.

SWOT will improve weather and climate modeling, the observation of coastal erosion and help track how fresh and saltwater bodies change over time.

With an “optimal” orbit of 890 kilometers (about 550 miles) above Earth, Lafon said SWOT will “take in all the components that affect water levels such as tides and the sun.”

NASA said SWOT will survey nearly all water on Earth’s surface for the first time.

It will monitor water levels, surface areas and quantities at more than 20 million lakes with shores of more than 250 meters. The entire length of rivers more than 100 meters wide will also be observed.

Water management, flood and drought prevention will be improved, said Lafon.

Flying the satellite to Vandenberg from the Thales Alenia Space (TAS) site in Cannes, southern France, proved a headache.

“Due to the conflict in Ukraine, there were no more Antonov 124s available, and the 747 cargo is too small,” said TAS project leader Christophe Duplay. “We decided to ask the [U.S. Air Force] to provide one of its C-5 Galaxies.”

And that meant counting on NASA to have the air force supply one of its rare giant aircraft to ship the huge payload.

SWOT has an estimated three-year lifetime — although Lafon said “nothing precludes the mission to last five to eight years” — and is set to become the first satellite to make a controlled reentry into Earth’s atmosphere, reducing the amount of space debris, in line with the French space operations act.

Nearly 80% of the 400 kilos (880 pounds) of onboard fuel will be used to that end.

Source: Voice of America

December 12, 2022

Explainer: Why Fusion Could Be a Clean-Energy Breakthrough

The Department of Energy planned an announcement Tuesday on a “major scientific breakthrough” at the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, one of several sites worldwide where researchers have been trying to develop the possibility of harnessing energy from nuclear fusion.

It’s a technology that has the potential to one day accelerate the planet’s shift away from fossil fuels, which are the major contributors to climate change. The technology has long struggled with daunting challenges.

Here’s a look at exactly what nuclear fusion is, and some of the difficulties in turning it into the cheap and carbon-free energy source that scientists believe it can be.

What is nuclear fusion?

Look up, and it’s happening right above you — nuclear fusion reactions power the sun and other stars.

The reaction happens when two light nuclei merge to form a single heavier nucleus. Because the total mass of that single nucleus is less than the mass of the two original nuclei, the leftover mass is energy that is released in the process, according to the Department of Energy.

In the case of the sun, its intense heat — millions of degrees Celsius — and the pressure exerted by its gravity allow atoms that would otherwise repel each other to fuse.

Scientists have long understood how nuclear fusion has worked and have been trying to duplicate the process on Earth as far back as the 1930s. Current efforts focus on fusing a pair of hydrogen isotopes — deuterium and tritium — according to the Department of Energy, which says that particular combination releases “much more energy than most fusion reactions” and requires less heat to do so.

How valuable would this be?

Daniel Kammen, a professor of energy and society at the University of California at Berkeley, said nuclear fusion offers the possibility of “basically unlimited” fuel if the technology can be made commercially viable. The elements needed are available in seawater.

It’s also a process that doesn’t produce the radioactive waste of nuclear fission, Kammen said.

How are scientists trying to do this?

One way scientists have tried to recreate nuclear fusion involves what’s called a tokamak — a doughnut-shaped vacuum chamber that uses powerful magnets to turn fuel into a superheated plasma (between 150 million and 300 million degrees Celsius) where fusion may occur.

The Livermore lab uses a different technique, with researchers firing a 192-beam laser at a small capsule filled with deuterium-tritium fuel. The lab reported that an August 2021 test produced 1.35 megajoules of fusion energy — about 70% of the energy fired at the target. The lab said several subsequent experiments showed declining results, but researchers believed they had identified ways to improve the quality of the fuel capsule and the lasers’ symmetry.

“The most critical feature of moving fusion from theory to commercial reality is getting more energy out than in,” Kammen said.

Source: Voice of America

December 12, 2022

Angola holds 1st International Conference on “Languages in Education and Teaching

Luanda -Angola’s minister of State for Social Affairs Dalva Ringote Allen announced on Monday the 1st International Conference under the theme “The languages of Angola in the education and teaching system.

The event aims to share experiences and collect subsidies that will contribute to the outlining a strategy that will be adopted in the insertion of the languages of Angola, Bantu and Khun, into the school curriculum.

Speaking at the opening of the 2nd CPLP Seminar on Portuguese as a second language, Dalva Ringote Allen said that the event is part of the development of the country’s language policy and the transformation of education.

According to the Minister of State, the insertion of the languages of Angola in the school curriculum may grant, depending on the development of the studies, the right to study in the mother tongue, so that education may be meaningful, integrative, equitable and of quality for all.

The Minister of State said, on the other hand, that the member States of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries (CPLP) should make the community a point of departure and arrival, with education policies always aligned with the Sustainable Development Goals, referring to education, of the United Nations Agenda 2030.

Dalva Ringote knowledge that sharing in the field of primary education among member states allows seeking improvement in the teaching of the Portuguese language, whose learning is a right and is an asset.

“The event brings the possibility of reformulating the education and teaching system, because the transmission of knowledge should result in quality translation and open doors to its applicability,” she said.

Dalva Ringote recalled that at the domestic level Angola has approved the Human Capital Development Plan, which establishes the vision and strategic objectives for the countries, regarding the development of national human capital in accordance with the country’s development priorities.

The official announced plans to increase the rigour of the Portuguese language proficiency requirement for university applicants.

“The diplomatic efforts of our community have led to the officialisation of the Portuguese Language with various international organisations. Since 2019, the World Portuguese Language Day is celebrated on 5 May.”

In turn, the minister of Education, Luísa Grilo, said that the three-day seminar aims to help create methodologies for teaching the Portuguese language to children who do not have it as their first language.

“As Angola is a multilingual country – Portuguese emerged from colonization – but it is still the mother tongue of many Angolans. But we have children with the national language as their first language, that is the reason why the teaching methods should be differentiated,” she stressed.

The II seminar is a segment of the first held in 2019, which gather integrants from 9 CPLP member countries.

The event is being attended by teachers, researchers, students and writers from member states, in a face-to-face and virtual way.

Source: Angola Press News Agency