President William Ruto has accepted the resignation of Inspector General of the National Police Service, Japheth Koome.

The President expressed his gratitude to Mr. Koome for the service he has rendered to the nation and extended his best wishes in his future endeavours.

In his place, President Ruto appointed Mr. Douglas Kanja as the acting Inspector-General of the National Police Service.

Mr. Kanja is currently the Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service.

He will serve in an acting capacity pending the nomination, parliamentary approval, and appointment of the next Inspector-General.

The President also appointed Mr. Patrick Mwiti Arandu as the Commissioner General of Prisons.

Mr. Arandu takes over from Brigadier (Rtd) John Warioba, who is proceeding on terminal leave pending the end of his tenure of office.

The President also redeployed Mr. Noor Gabow within the Public Service.

Mr. Eliud Lagat was appointed acting Deputy Inspector General of the Kenya Police Service, and Mr. James Kamau was appointed acting Deputy Inspector General of the Administration Police Service.

Other senior appointments include Mr. Ranson Lolmodooni, who was appointed Commandant, General Service Unit (GSU), while Mr. Gilbert Masengeli was appointed Commandant, Administration Police Training College (APTC), Embakasi.

Mr. William Yiampoy is the new Director of Operations, Police Headquarters, and Mr. Kainga Mathiu is the new Commandant, National Police Leadership Academy (NPSA), Ngong.

The changes take effect immediately.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of President of the Republic of Kenya.

Algeria participated with a delegation headed by the Algerian Ambassador to Japan, Mr. Farid Boulahbel, which also included the CEO of Sonatrach and a representative from Sonelgaz, in the 5th Japan-Arab Economic Forum held in Tokyo on July 10-11, 2024. The forum was jointly organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry of Japan, and the League of Arab States.

The meeting was attended by Japan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ms. Yoko Kamikawa, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Mr. Ken Saito, the Secretary General of the League of Arab States, Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, as well as the economy ministers from several Arab countries.

The forum’s activities focused on the Public-Private Business and Economic Conference held on July 10, which emphasized enhancing mutual trade, responding to climate change, emerging technologies, and supply chain resilience.

The ministerial conference, held on July 11, included two sessions: the first focused on resilient economic development between Japan and Arab countries, and the second on sustainable economic development between Japan and Arab countries. These sessions discussed issues such as energy security, digital infrastructure, clean energy technologies, actions related to the Millennium Development Goals, and human resource development.

A joint press release that offers directions for the future economic cooperation between Japan and the Arab countries was released after the closing session on the 11th . It was also announced that the two sides decided to hold the 6th Japan-Arab Economic Forum in one of the Arab countries in 2026.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria to Japan.

As Ethiopia’s public universities transition to new governance models, strong policies and practices to administer research are key to helping universities secure financial resources, improve their research facilities and labs, attract talented faculty and students, and build international partnerships.

Continuing its effort to support for Ethiopia’s public universities’ as they transition to autonomous governance, the U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia organized a five-day workshop July 8-12 on university research administration for 20 vice presidents and directors of research from the nation’s leading research universities.  The workshop was organized by Institute of International Education (IIE) and The Ohio State University’s Global One Health initiative (OSU-GOHi) in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

Experienced research administrators and senior research leaders from The Ohio State University facilitated the workshop and shared practical experiences, with the goal of building the capacity of research administrators and strengthening the institutional systems and research culture at Ethiopian public universities.  The president of Europe Canadia Centre for Innovation and Research also shared experience as a research administrator outside the United States.

The speakers discussed different ways to structure research administration offices, and how to manage research proposal writing, grant management, and budgets, as well as research ethics and regulatory compliance.  The Ministry of Education’s Research Administration team presented the key aspects of the Ministry’s research policies, strategies, and programs that guide research and innovation in the Ethiopian higher education system.  Participants also joined panel discussions on the opportunities and challenges of research in Ethiopian public universities and developed key recommendations to help improve the research and innovation ecosystem in Ethiopia.

The Ohio State University is one of the United States’ leading public land grant universities. It’s Research and Innovation Enterprise administers an astounding annual budget of more than $1.4 billion USD in research funding, with much of this funding coming from U.S. federal agencies through competitive funding opportunities.

Since the August 2023 proclamation that initiated the transition of the nation’s public universities to autonomous governance, the U.S. Embassy has assisted the Ministry of Education and Ethiopian universities in developing the leadership, management, and governance policies and practices necessary for universities to succeed as independent institutions.

This partnership in higher education continues a long tradition of government-to-government, university-to-university, and faculty-to-faculty relationships that date back to the 1950s to the founding of Haramaya, Jimma, and Gondar Universities under the U.S. government’s Point Four program.  The U.S. government and the American people have been committed to the success of higher education in Ethiopia since the very beginning our 120-year long bilateral relationship.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of U.S. Embassy in Ethiopia.

I would like to start by welcoming the agreement of this Council of a Presidential Statement on UNOWAS. During what is a challenging period for the region, that was an important signal of the Council’s full support for the region’s peace and security. We commend the penholders Sierra Leone and Switzerland for their excellent work to get it agreed. 

We wish to make four points today.

First, the UK congratulates Mauritania and Senegal for their peaceful transfers of power. But democracy and civic space are under pressure in the region. We note that timelines for restoration of constitutional governments in Mali and Burkina Faso have been extended, and we reiterate the Council’s call, in its recent Presidential Statement, for the restoration of constitutional order. Guinea’s transition timeline has also slipped, but we welcome ECOWAS’ assessment that some progress has been achieved in Guinea, including a planned referendum on the constitution in 2024.

Second, security across the Sahel is deteriorating. The threat of terrorism is growing, and requires a serious cross-regional response. Foreign mercenaries and proxies are not the answer. They have a track record in the region of worsening existing conflicts and undermining long-term development, and the way they operate often poses grave threats to the protection of civilians, as we saw at Moura in Mali. The UK remains concerned about the security situation in Mali, especially after the withdrawal of MINUSMA. We encourage UNOWAS to help bring all parties back to the negotiating table. 

We also note the recent ECOWAS and Alliance of Sahel States summits. We urge all states in the region to seek collective solutions to the growing shared security challenge. As we heard in the Arria meeting called by Sierra Leone on 19 June, effective counter-terror efforts require regional collaboration.

Third, the humanitarian situation in the region continues to get worse. Food insecurity, fueled by violence and displacement, is reaching record levels in the Central Sahel and Nigeria. Climate change is compounding these problems. 

Since 2019, UK aid has supported over 15 million people in the Sahel with life-saving assistance, and 3 million in Nigeria since 2017. But access is increasingly restricted, and needs are still going unmet. We call on all actors to ensure safe and unimpeded access for humanitarian assistance. 

Fourth, we welcome the IMF’s improved economic forecast, which demonstrates the enormous opportunity for growth across the region despite today’s many challenges.  The UK looks forward to deepening our partnerships in the region, working collaboratively to ensure that we drive forward both growth and security.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Kingdom Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.