Day: July 4, 2022

ACCRA (Ghana)— West African leaders attending a regional summit agreed Sunday to lift sanctions on two neighbors led by military governments that are now promising a return to democratic rule.

The summit of the Economic Community of West African States resolved to lift all economic and financial sanctions imposed on Mali and Burkina Faso, although those countries will remain suspended from the regional bloc, said Jean-Claude Kassi Brou, an Ivorian politician who has been serving as president of the ECOWAS Commission.

Guinea, the third country under sanctions, received no reprieve because it did not submit an acceptable roadmap toward elections, he said.

He said the suspension of all three nations from ECOWAS would remain in force until they hold elections.

In lifting the sanctions on Mali and Burkina Faso, leaders at the summit in Ghana’s capital, Accra, accepted transition plans presented by military authorities in those countries. Mali’s junta proposed scheduling a presidential election by March 2024. Burkina Faso proposed a 24-month transition leading to polls.

ECOWAS sanctioned Mali severely in January by shutting down most commerce with the country, along with its land and air borders with other countries in the bloc. The measures have crippled Mali’s economy, raising humanitarian concerns amid widespread suffering.

The wave of military coups began in August 2020, when Col. Assimi Goita and other soldiers overthrew Mali’s democratically elected president. Nine months later, he carried out a second coup, dismissing the country’s civilian transitional leader and assuming the presidency himself.

Mutinous soldiers deposed Guinea’s president in September 2021, and Burkina Faso leader Roch Marc Christian Kabore was ousted in a January coup. Burkina Faso authorities said Saturday that Kabore, who has been under house arrest, is now a free man.

The political upheaval came as many observers started to think that military power grabs were a thing of the past in West Africa, an increasingly restive region that also faces growing danger from Islamic extremist fighters.

Some leaders who spoke at Accra’s one-day summit urged action as armed groups expand their footprint in the region.

“These terrorist attacks are now not only focusing on the Sahel, but also expanding to the coastal states in our region,” Ghanaian President Nana Akufo-Addo. “It is imperative for us to continue to implement our regional action plan against terrorism and to coordinate our various security initiatives.”

In the first half of 2022, the region recorded a total of 3,500 deaths from 1,600 extremist attacks targeting countries including Togo, Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria, according to Brou.

In Burkina Faso, where attacks blamed on Islamic extremist fighters are soaring, gunmen killed at least 55 people in the country’s northern Seno province last month.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

BANJUI— Cryptocurrencies are the solution to tackling financial exclusion in the Central African Republic, its President Faustin-Archange Touadera said, citing the cost of opening bank accounts.

“The alternative to cash is cryptocurrency,” Touadera said at a launch event for crypto initiative Sango hosted by the country, after it became the first African state to make bitcoin legal tender in April. “For us, the formal economy is no longer an option.”

The move to adopt cryptocurrencies in a country where internet use is low and electricity unreliable has raised eyebrows among crypto experts, puzzled lawmakers and residents, and drawn words of caution from the International Monetary Fund.

The Sango project, including a Sango Coin, was backed by the Central African Republic’s National Assembly and spearheaded by Touadera, who said the token would provide access to the country’s “mountain” of natural resources, including gold and diamonds.

The country’s “Sango” website says that it will “facilitate the tokenisation of Central African Republic’s resources for worldwide investors”.

“Sango Coin will be the currency of the new generation of the Central African Republic,” Touadera said, without providing specifics.

The Central African Republic’s enthusiasm for cryptocurrencies does not seem to have been dented by recent losses in their values, with the price of bitcoin falling over 58 per cent in the past three months, according to Refinitiv data.

Source: NAM NEWS NETWORK

The West African bloc ECOWAS has lifted economic and financial sanctions against Mali’s military government after it vowed to hold elections in February 2024. The move was welcomed by many Malians who have been struggling under the restrictions and the global rise in fuel and food costs.

Early Monday morning, Bamako’s grand marché, or central market, slowly comes to life.

On Sunday evening, regional bloc ECOWAS announced the immediate lifting of economic and financial sanctions against Mali following a summit in Accra, Ghana.

The sanctions, imposed in January after military leaders delayed elections until 2026, were lifted after leaders announced a new election timetable in June with elections in 2024.

Mali is a landlocked country and depends on its ECOWAS neighbors for trade. The economic sanctions prohibited the trade of goods and closed borders between Mali and its neighbors, with exceptions for food, fuel and medicine.

Moussa Souare sells clothing in Bamako’s grand marché out of a small kiosk. He says his merchandise comes from Senegal, Benin and Nigeria — all countries that were cut off from Mali during the sanctions.

Taking a small break from speaking to clients, he says the sanctions made an already difficult situation worse.

Everyone works a little bit here and there to make a living, he says. Especially here, it’s a poor country. Our merchandise, it’s not made here. We don’t have those factories here.

In Bamako’s ACI 2000 neighborhood, a group of motorcycle taxi drivers gathered near a roundabout waiting for dispatches.

Seydou Coulibaly says he only began driving a motorcycle taxi, which pays little, because of a lack of available work in Mali. He says he hopes the lifting of sanctions will open up the country to more investment, and more jobs.

He says the sanctions were implemented, and we had a lot of difficulties. Different products became expensive, and there was also the rise in gas prices.

Though fuel was not subject to sanctions, gasoline prices have risen in Mali recently as they have worldwide.

Political analyst and political science professor Kalilou Sidibe says that though the lifting of sanctions is a turn in the right direction, it’s too early to say how the 2024 elections plan will play out.

For the moment, he says, the sanctions have been lifted. But the international community is watching the government. How will they proceed? How will concrete progress be made on the ground? It’s only after all of this that confidence can be re-established, he says.

The military government, which first took power in a 2020 coup, originally promised elections in February of 2022. It delayed elections in December 2021, citing lack of security.

Sidibe added that the management of Mali’s rampant insecurity will be an important issue for the junta and their ability to hold elections as promised.

With the lifting of sanctions, ECOWAS member states’ ambassadors will be able to return to Bamako. During the summit, ECOWAS leaders also agreed to a 24-month transition to civilian rule in neighboring Burkina Faso, which has also been under military rule since January. Burkina Faso and Mali have both seen increasing Islamist violence under military rule.

Source: Voice of America

The State of Qatar affirmed its interest in building a cohesive society based on justice and equality among all its members and providing them with equal opportunities to access quality education and quality work. It emphasized that government policies supporting Qatari women contributed to building their capabilities and providing them with full opportunities to effectively contribute to the comprehensive renaissance witnessed by the country.

This came in the statement of the State of Qatar delivered today by Second Secretary of the Human Rights Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Hissa Al Sulaiti, at the 50th session of the Human Rights Council, during the annual thematic panel discussion on technical cooperation and capacity-building.

Al Sulaiti said that promoting women’s rights requires promoting the principle of equality and equity and raising society’s awareness of the important roles and responsibilities of all its members.

She added that the State of Qatar has adopted, in this regard, specific initiatives directed at promoting women’s involvement in the labor market, in political participation, and in decision-making positions, which was positively reflected in strengthening its role as an active and essential partner in development.

Al Sulaiti noted the initiative of the Women’s Work Group recently adopted by the Ministry of Labor in the State of Qatar with the participation of the public and private sectors and academic institutions in the country to serve as a joint cooperation platform for the exchange of experiences, information and best practices that ensure the presence of women at all levels and enhance their active presence, especially in the labor market.

She stressed that the State of Qatar has adopted relevant legislation in the field of protecting women from all manifestations of violence, and has also established specialized institutions such as the Aman center, which operates under the umbrella of the Qatar Foundation for Social Work and seeks to protect and rehabilitate women and children victims of violence and family breakdown and reintegrate them into society.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs

The UAE has strongly condemned the shooting incident that took place in a shopping center in Copenhagen, which resulted in the death of a number of innocent people.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MoFAIC) affirmed that the UAE expresses its strong condemnation of these criminal acts, and its permanent rejection of all forms of violence aimed at destabilizing security and stability and inconsistent with humanitarian values and principles.

The Ministry expressed its sincere condolences to the government and people of Denmark, and to the families of the victims of this heinous crime, and its wishes for a speedy recovery for the injured.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation

President His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan has issued a Federal Decree-Law renaming the Ministry of Presidential Affairs as the Presidential Court.

The Decree stipulated amending some provisions of Federal Decree-Law No. 4 of 2004 regarding the establishment and organisation of the Ministry of Presidential Affairs. The phrase “Presidential Affairs” will be replaced with “Presidential Court”, provided that the responsibilities, tasks and roles remain the same as stated in the aforementioned Federal Decree-Law.

The Decree also stipulated that the phrase “Minister of Presidential Affairs” shall be replaced by “Minister of the Presidential Court,” and “Ministry” should be replaced by “Court”.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation

His Excellency Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan Al Nahyan, Minister of State, and his accompanying delegation met with His Excellency Wavel Ramkalawan, President of the Republic of Seychelles, in the presence of His Excellency Ahmed Afif, Vice President of the Republic of Seychelles, and His Excellency Sylvestre Radegonde, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Tourism of the Republic of Seychelles.

His Excellency Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan conveyed the greetings of His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE President, and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, to His Excellency and their best regards on the occasion of the National Day of the Republic of Seychelles, as well as their wishes for his country and people to achieve further progress and prosperity.

For his part, His Excellency Wavel Ramkalawan conveyed to Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan his greetings to His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum and his best wishes to the government and people of the UAE for further development and growth.

His Excellency Wavel Ramkalawan also extended his gratitude to the UAE for attending his country’s National Day celebrations, praising the strong relations between the two countries and constructive cooperation at all levels.

His Excellency Sheikh Shakhboot bin Nahyan thanked His Excellency Wavel Ramkalawan for the invitation to participate in the National Day celebrations as a guest of honor, stressing that the relations that unite the UAE and Seychelles are continuously growing, and there are many opportunities to advance them for the benefit of both countries.

During the meeting, the two parties discussed the distinguished bilateral relations between the UAE and Seychelles and ways to enhance them in various fields of common interest.

Source: Ministry of Foreign Affairs & International Cooperation