Promoters of the Pan-African Payment&Settlement System (PAPSS), namely African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank or “the Bank”) (https://www.Afreximbank.com), African Union Commission (AUC) and African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, successfully organized the first Consultative Forum of CEOs of African Banks bringing together executives of African commercial banks, bankers’ associations, payment switches, the association of African stock exchanges and other financial service providers.

Participants reaffirmed their strong support to the decisions of the Assembly of the African Union Heads of States and Governments of 2019 and 2020. The 2019 decision adopted PAPSS as the African Financial Market Infrastructure for cross-border payments and settlements while the 2020 decision mandated Afreximbank, AUC and AfCFTA Secretariat to urgently introduce and scale up the implementation of PAPSS.

The Forum therefore provided an avenue for participants to deliberate on the successes and challenges of the PAPSS payment system and explore potential path forward on how it can be optimised to facilitate seamless and efficient cross-border payments to support the implementation of the AfCFTA.

Following productive discussions, participants at the Forum agreed to take collective ownership of the success and the future of PAPSS given its significant and hugely positive impact on the facilitation of cross-border payments and the development of intra-African trade. In addition, participants advocated to leverage PAPSS as a pathway to increasing the share of African currencies in intra-African trade and other cross-border payments, as well as increasing the volume of intra-regional payments for mutual benefits to drive rapid adoption of PAPSS by businesses. Participants agreed to embed PAPSS into their digital channels to enable ease of access and seamless integration for existing customers.

Mr. Mike Ogbalu III, Chief Executive Officer of PAPSS, stated: “PAPSS is fully operational and making rapid progress. We have signed on thirteen African Central Banks, and connected over 115 commercial banks, and ten payment switches across Africa. Another 115 commercial banks are in the pipeline for connection. Our foundation is solid, and the time has come for action and acceleration. It is time to use the system to drive trade in Africa, for Africans, by Africans. We urge all banks to join us in our collective effort to promote intra-African trade and development through PAPSS.”

Further commenting, Mr. Ogbalu said: “We are pleased to see overwhelming support of this forum by the leadership of the African financial institutions. PAPSS is a revolutionary initiative that has the potential to significantly transform the financial and payments landscape of our continent. As managers of PAPSS, we are committed to ensuring it succeeds. We urge all African financial institutions to join us in transforming the way payments are done in Africa.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

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About PAPSS:
The Pan-African Payment and Settlement System – PAPSS is a centralised Financial Market Infrastructure that enables the efficient flow of money securely across African borders, minimising risk and contributing to financial integration across the regions. PAPSS works in collaboration with Africa’s central banks to provide a payment and settlement service to which commercial banks and licensed payment service providers across the region can connect as ‘Participants’. Afreximbank and the African Union (“AU”) first announced PAPSS at the Twelfth Extraordinary Summit of the African Union held on July 7, 2019, in Niamey, Niger Republic, therefore adopting PAPSS as a key instrument for the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA). Further, in its thirteenth (13th) extraordinary session, held on December 5, 2020, the assembly of the African Union directed Afreximbank and the AfCFTA secretariat to finalise, among others, work on the Pan-African Payments and Settlements System (PAPSS). The 35th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the AU further directed the AfCFTA and Afreximbank to deploy the system to cover the entire continent. PAPSS was officially launched in Accra, Ghana, on January 13, 2022, thus making it available for use by the public.

For more information, visit: www.PAPSS.com.

On May 7, 2024, Ambassador Zhao Weiping donated 200 copies of the book “Symbiotic Relationship between National Interest and Foreign Policy” written by the rector of the SWAPO Party School to Namibia School of Diplomatic Studies. The ceremony was attended by Prof. Kenneth Matengu, Vice Chancellor of the University of Namibia (UNAM), Prof. Ellen Namhila, Pro Vice Chancellor of UNAM, and representatives of the Ministry of International Relations and Cooperation of Namibia.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Namibia.

In 2023, the Regional Collaboration Centres (RCCs) strengthened their position as an enabling force for climate action, engaging governments and stakeholders in key regions ahead of the first global stocktake that concluded at COP28 in Dubai. As highlighted in their latest Annual Report, the Centres were recognized in COP28 decisions for their potential to advance and accelerate progress, for example, through capacity-building activities on developing new climate action plans (Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)) or participation in the Article 6 emissions crediting mechanism.

The RCCs Annual Report 2023: Boosting Regional Preparedness shows how collaboration by the RCCs enables global progress and accelerated climate action through the power of partnerships.

They advanced pivotal work under the Paris Agreement tailored to their region’s needs: as collaborative platforms, they facilitated Paris Agreement implementation through technical assistance, networking, matchmaking and organizing capacity-building activities relating to NDCs, long-term low emissions development strategies, climate finance, Article 6 (where countries can pursue voluntary international cooperation to reach their climate targets), and more.

Introducing the Annual Report 2023, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary Simon Stiell emphasizes the importance of regional collaboration, and notes the potential of the RCCs to advance climate action, and improve and safeguard lives and livelihoods around the world.

“Our Regional Collaboration Centres are playing their part. They are our hands, eyes, and ears on the ground,” he says. “They serve more than 140 developing countries and billions of people. RCCs map and build networks of actors and experts, assessing needs and providing support. The relationships they hold – across governments, civil society, and among experts – are incredibly valuable to the UN Climate Change secretariat.”

Among the RCC’s global RCC achievements were:

The Centres helped organize the Regional Climate Weeks 2023, which brought together more than 25,000 stakeholders at four regional events.
The six RCCs engaged organized, co-organized, or participated in a total of 235 capacity-building events on diverse topics.
RCCs advanced transition to Article 6 of the Paris Agreement while supporting 10 Clean Development Mechanism projects, help develop 17 standardized baselines to measure and compare emissions reductions in projects and over 100 individual stakeholder queries.
RCCs delivered training sessions on Article 6 at the Regional Climate Weeks, held dialogues and conducted surveys to identify the best path forward.

In their respective regions, the RCCs took a customized approach, also with a view to advancing implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals:

RCC Asia-Pacific is involved in adaptation and building resilience, needs they identified in the region and a request received from governments.
RCC Caribbean connects a diverse network to explore innovative ways to address climate change for Small Island Developing States.
RCC East and Southern Africa focuses on engaging all stakeholders in the process, including women and youth.
RCC Latin America supports action on agriculture, which is fundamental to economic growth in the region and meeting the climate challenge.
RCC Middle East and North Africa and South Asia is heavily involved in the Needs-based Finance project, where they collaborate to facilitate access and mobilize climate finance.
RCC West and Central Africa supports adaptation activities and facilitates participation of countries in the Article 6 of the Paris Agreement.

Moving forward, the RCCs have defined robust workplans tailored to their region. The next round of NDCs is in focus, as is enhancing access to climate finance, enabling Article 6 as a climate solution, addressing loss and damage and the development of National Adaptation Plans (NAPs). The Centres will continue to engage widely with youth, indigenous communities, business leaders and experts for an inclusive and coordinated approach to climate action.

Interested collaborators are invited to explore the RCCs Annual Report 2023: Boosting Regional Preparedness to better understand the work of the Centres in each region. Check out the RCCs on the web, sign up for regular newsletters and join the LinkedIn group to connect with a community of collaborators for climate action.

Partner Voices

The RCCs Annual Report 2023: Boosting Regional Preparedness features messages from our regional partners that host the RCCs and are key to the Centres’ ongoing success. They share their perspectives on the RCCs in their own words below.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

Parties to the conflict must end collective punishment and enable access to life-saving telecommunications. In the midst of the devastating humanitarian crisis that is fast deteriorating in Sudan, we, representing 94 humanitarian, civil society, human rights organizations and members of the #KeepItOn coalition, urgently appeal for the re-establishment of telecommunications infrastructure across the entire country.

Sudan has become the world’s worst displacement crisis and is on the brink of becoming the world’s worst hunger crisis. In total, more than half of Sudan’s population – nearly 25 million people – need humanitarian aid. Over a year of relentless warfare and indiscriminate violence have destroyed homes, towns, livelihoods, and critical civilian infrastructure.

Indiscriminate attacks and disruption of telecommunications by warring parties have severely affected civilians’ ability to cope with the effects of the war, as well as aid workers’ capacity to deliver essential services, with local responders most severely impacted. Both sides have consistently used targeted attacks on telecommunication infrastructure or the imposition of bureaucratic restrictions (such as the banning of the importation and use of certain satellite-internet devices). severely impacting civilian populations.

When available, internet access has been instrumental in assisting civilians share and receive critical and often lifesaving information, including about safe areas and routes. Civilians also use the internet to access cash and bank transfers—often receiving support from relatives living overseas—which for many has become a lifeline, allowing them to purchase the most basic necessities, such as food and water. Local aid groups, who have been the first and main responders in most conflict-affected parts of the country, rely heavily on telecommunications to reach vulnerable communities and receive funding for their lifesaving activities. In areas where formal telecommunication is barely functioning, both civilians and local responders, such as Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), often connect through informal Starlink internet cafes. Humanitarian organizations also rely on functional telecommunications to coordinate and deliver relief efforts safely, particularly to provide cash assistance into the most remote areas.

A nationwide telecommunication shutdown in February 2024 left almost 30 million Sudanese without access to the internet or telephone calls for more than a month. Across the country, those experiencing the horrors of war have been separated from and unable to contact their families and loved ones. While some levels of services were restored in the east of the country, large swathes of territory remain disconnected from the network providers, such as Zain, MTN and Sudani – namely the Darfur region, and parts of Khartoum and the Kordofans. The same areas are also the most exposed to conflict and risk of famine, making the consequences of telecommunications blackout even more life-threatening. In some areas cut-off from broader telecommunications, the only available service has been via satellite connectivity devices such as Starlink. While the cost of satellite services is prohibitive to most civilians and there are significant restrictions on the importation of satellite equipment, such services remain critical for both international humanitarian organizations and local responders to remain operational in Sudan. While there remain valid concerns around the use of this technology—and other telecommunications systems–by the parties to the conflict, the potential shutdown of Starlink (as announced in April 2024) would have a disproportionate impact on civilians and the aid organizations who are trying to reach them.

We call upon all stakeholders to ensure the uninterrupted provision of telecommunication services in Sudan. Any shutdown of telecommunication services is a violation of human rights and may be considered to be a collective punishment that will not only isolate individuals from their support networks but also exacerbate the already dire economic situation facing millions.
Telecommunications infrastructure must be considered as critical civilian infrastructure. As such, parties to the conflict must refrain from attacking, destroying, damaging, or otherwise rendering inoperable telecommunications infrastructure, facilitate the rehabilitation of damaged systems, and ensure telecommunication services are accessible to all, regardless of where they live. In addition, they should lift restrictions on all satellite-internet and actively facilitate the importation of satellite-internet devices.

All service providers able to ensure connectivity in Sudan must immediately ensure that access to the internet remains accessible without interruption or additional cost increases. This includes diversifying the means to access the internet, such as solutions based on satellite (including, though not limited to, Starlink) and WiMAX technology, or the use of e-SIMs near the country’s borders.
 Development donors and financial institutions should support the development of the telecommunication sector in the longer term, by promoting decentralized infrastructure and reducing barriers for smaller businesses to enter the telecommunications market.
The United Nations, through the Emergency Telecommunications Cluster, must urgently increase emergency telecommunication capacity in Darfur and the Kordofans, and provide access to the services to all humanitarian actors, including expanding its services to civilians until other options become available.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Norwegian Refugee Council.