On the margins of the 2024 United Nations Ocean Decade Conference currently taking place in Barcelona Spain, the President of the Republic of Seychelles, Mr Wavel Ramkalawan and the Prime Minister of the Cook Islands, Mr Mark Brown held discussions on establishing diplomatic relations between the two island states.

Cook Islands is a group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean located approximately halfway between French Polynesia and American Samoa. It comprises 15 islands and has a population of around 17,500. The islands are a combination of Volcanic islands and Coral Atolls with a total land area of 236 sqkm and an EEZ of over 2.2 million square kilometers.

Seychelles and the Cook Islands share many similarities as Small Island Developing States (SIDS) championing pressing issues relating to climate action and carbon neutrality. Both Seychelles and the Cook Islands are members of the AOSIS and Organisation of African Caribbean and Pacific States, two crucial organisations for SIDS advocacy. Both countries are considered high income. In 2020, the Cook Islands attained high-income status and Seychelles graduated to high income status in 2015 and both economies are heavily dependent on Tourism.

During discussions President Ramkalawan reciprocated Seychelles’ interest in furthering talks to establishing diplomatic relations with Cook islands, “Our two countries share the common goals of furthering the cause of SIDS in the face of unprecedented threats of climate change. Therefore, establishing diplomatic relations will further enhance the opportunities of working together to promote and defend the interest of SIDS in combatting climate change as well as other important issues for our peoples. We look forward to further strengthening the ties we have discussed today” said President Ramkalawan.

On his part Prime Minister Brown reiterated  his country’s wishes to further explore and deepen areas of bilateral cooperation with Seychelles in offering the two island nations potential for productive engagements on SIDS specific issues, including strengthening international commitments to climate change matters and sharing of best policy measures in addressing climate mitigation and adaptation. 

Other areas of possible cooperation discussed also includes tourism, blue economy through ‘Deep water science Research’, shared best practices as well as Sea bed exploration techniques.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of State House Seychelles.

The Joint Commission of the Empress Shôken Fund (ESF) has announced a new funding distribution that totals CHF 485,597 and supports projects administered by Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies in 17 countries. The commission is administered by the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

The projects to be supported cover a variety of topics, including youth, first aid and rescue, disaster preparedness, dissemination of humanitarian ideals, blood transfusion services and National Society development.

The countries where the projects are being implemented are Algeria, the Plurinational State of Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Montenegro, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, South Africa and Vanuatu.

ESF received 60 applications in 2023 for the 103rd distribution of income, representing the largest number of applications ever received, covering a diverse range of humanitarian projects run by National Societies globally.

While the quality of applications submitted increases each year thanks to various learning supports, they also present more innovative proposals, confirming the need for ESF to support innovation/experimentation and learning within National Societies.

With a total value of over 14 Million Swiss francs, ESF supports projects run by National Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies that benefit the communities they serve in many different ways. The first grant was awarded in 1921 to help five European National Societies fight the spread of tuberculosis.

Since then, over CHF 16 million have been allocated to 172 National Societies. The grants are announced every year on 11 April, the anniversary of the death of Her Majesty Empress Shôken.

Increasingly, ESF encourages new and innovative approaches with the potential to generate learnings and insights that will benefit individual National Societies and the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement as a whole.

The 2024 grants

ESF continues to encourage new approaches with an emphasis on innovation and learning. For the second consecutive year, National Societies are incubating and testing their innovative solutions and experimenting with a host of ideas and approaches.

Using a pilot methodology, awardees can also potentially scale up and implement their initiatives with the support of other funding sources following their ESF pilot. In this category, details of the selected initiatives and their respective initiatives are as follows below.

Chile

Improving sexual and reproductive health in populations is such an important area of work. Chile has very high levels of sexually transmitted infection transmission and unwanted pregnancies. The Chilean Red Cross plans to use the funds to implement projects focused on education and public awareness aimed at young people, and in so doing, help bring down the incidents of sexually transmitted infections and unwanted pregnancies.

Colombia

Access to timely, affordable physical and mental health services can be a challenge for so many in Colombia as with elsewhere. The Colombian Red Cross plans to pilot faster and cheaper annual health cover to underserved families, and in so doing, better position the Red Cross as a health service provider, as well as generating funds to reinvest in humanitarian work.

Lebanon

The renewed hostilities between Israel and Hamas and other armed groups in the Gaza Strip have left a profound impact on the populations of neighbouring countries, including Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. In Lebanon, the southern border was heavily affected, causing the displacement of people and loss of households, which has left a permanent mark on its citizens. This is why the Lebanese Red Cross plans to tackle, thanks to the ESF grant, the repercussions on the youth linked to the persistent violations of international humanitarian law, to reignite a sense of purpose, resilience and belief in positive change. The initiative will act as a pilot to integrate new tools such as virtual reality in terms of enhancing the understanding of certain concepts as well as motivate engagement.

Papua New Guinea

The Papua New Guinea Red Cross Society will establish a youth emergency team to help empower youth from marginalized and vulnerable communities. Youth will develop crucial life skills, preparing them to handle emergencies, promote health and safety, and lead in community development and disaster preparedness.

South Africa

Complementing the Disaster Response Emergency Fund (DREF) initiative, the South African Red Cross Society will use their grant to minimize the exposure and risk of informal settlements to fires by piloting innovative solutions including the installation of smoke alarms. The South African Red Cross Society also plans to benefit from visibility and peer learning from the Kenya Red Cross Society, which has successfully minimized such risks in informal communities.

The other groups of beneficiaries will use their grants to address issues related to youth, first aid and rescue, disaster preparedness, dissemination of humanitarian ideals, blood transfusion services and National Society development as follows:

Algeria

The Algerian Red Crescent will use the grant to develop an online platform/application designed in addition to be a media hub (collection of important information related to volunteers, first aid procedures, emergency rescue protocols, etc.) to act as a recruitment tool for volunteers, facilitating trainings and integration.

Bolivia

Ensuring leaders of the future are developed in National Societies is a key topic. Some National Societies have very large numbers of youth volunteers. The Bolivian Red Cross, 75 per cent of whose volunteers are youth, will be promoting youth leadership and participation through a structured training programme that they will use to develop their National Society’s leaders of the future, for which the Leadership Skills Development programme of the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies will be used. A study will also be undertaken to explore tools and methodologies appropriate for today’s youth. Solferino Academy’s 100 Ideas system will be closely linked.

Kyrgyzstan

Continued investment in and upskilling of volunteers is so important for many reasons, not least to help ensure volunteers are motivated. The Red Crescent Society of Kyrgyzstan plans to create a studio where National Society volunteers are trained to develop coding, web development, video and podcasting skills that they will then in turn use to upskill other volunteers.

Lesotho

Lesotho has been affected by severe impacts of climate change such as droughts, hailstorms, snowstorms, heavy rainfall and early frost. Hence, an effective early warning system (EWS) is needed. The Lesotho Red Cross Society will use the grant to reach majority of the population through a mobile-based EWS connected to the emergency centre. Prior to official use of the EWS, a simulation exercise will be done targeting key beneficiaries. Learnings from the simulation exercise will later be adopted in the overall system.

Lithuania

In a bid to increase accessibility to much needed educational opportunities for the visually impaired and to promote independence and equality among all, the Lithuanian Red Cross Society will pilot a board game using braille, through which practical and life skills will be learned (e.g. emergency response and first aid).

Mali

Faced with the challenges related to domestic accidents and medical emergencies, the Mali Red Cross aims to use the grant to raise awareness and train youth on first aid using innovative methods. For example, some of the approaches that will be tested will compare different trained groups in order to measure the level of uptake.

Malta

Youth empowerment in the Malta Red Cross Society, as with all National Societies, is a constant need. A pilot will be developed putting disadvantaged and vulnerable youth in charge of recreational water activities.

Mauritania

The Mauritanian Red Crescent, thanks to the grant, will strengthen the preparedness and response capacities of communities to food and nutrition crises in the agro-pastoral livelihood areas of Mauritania by integrating the national EWS.

Montenegro

Blood donation in Montenegro suffers from significant challenges. The Red Cross of Montenegro is committing to develop a resilient connected and responsive blood donation community focusing on youth engagement, donor recognition and community-based events.

Nigeria

To reduce the challenges of the impacts related to climate change impacts in Nigeria, the Nigerian Red Cross Society will use the grant to focus on youth-led climate action to raise awareness in communities.

Rwanda

The grant will address critical gaps in first aid knowledge and emergency response preparedness within Rwandan communities, particularly focusing on school-based youth clubs and Rwandan Red Cross Society volunteers.

Vanuatu

By integrating gender-based violence considerations into disaster training, tools and frameworks at the community level, the Vanuatu Red Cross Society aims to amplify efforts to address gender-based violence in emergency situations in targeted provinces.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

Angolan logistics and supply chain management company Cabship has joined the Angola Oil&Gas (AOG) conference – scheduled for October 2-4 in Luanda – as a gold sponsor. The sponsorship aligns with the company’s mission to deliver innovative market solutions to Angola’s oil and gas industry and Cabship’s participation will strengthen dialogue surrounding logistics support and opportunities.

AOG 2024 unites players from across global and regional markets under the theme ‘Driving Exploration and Development Towards Increased Production in Angola.’ Taking place with the full support of the Ministry of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas; national oil company Sonangol; the National Oil, Gas and Biofuels Agency; the African Energy Chamber; and the Petroleum Derivatives Regulatory Institute, the event is a platform to sign deals and advance Angola’s oil and gas industry. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

Cabship offers a range of services across the oil and gas value chain, including shipping services for liner and petroleum vessels; material management services for onshore and offshore projects; pipe yard management and sourcing and procurement services.

Cabship signed an MoU with Angolan maritime services provider Octomar in 2023 for the creation of a diving and offshore marine support company in the Cabinda Special Zone. The newly-formed company aims to offer comprehensive subsea and offshore maritime support services in both shallow and deep waters, thereby strengthening Cabship’s product portfolio. Cabship also signed a heads of agreement with South Korean companies DSHI and DB Group in 2019, formalizing a partnership to obtain contracts and perform on both on- and offshore projects.

Going forward, services from companies such as Cabship will be instrumental in driving successful project developments. During the AOG 2024 conference, Angolan-based service providers will be connected to project and partnership opportunities.

The AOG 2024 conference takes place in Luanda. For more information, visit www.AngolaOilandGas.com and secure your place at this exciting event!

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.

Affirming TotalEnergies’ long-standing commitment to Africa’s energy development, Senior Vice President for Africa Mike Sangster will deliver an opening keynote at Invest in African Energy (IAE) 2024 – a two-day investment forum taking place in Paris next month.

TotalEnergies represents one of the leading investors on the African continent and is currently spearheading a diversified, multi-energy approach targeting enhanced energy security and distribution to local and regional markets. In Nigeria, the company started production from the Akpo West field last February – set to produce an additional 140 million cubic feet of gas per day by 2028 – and has announced plans to invest $6 billion in Nigeria’s gas production and deep offshore in the next few years. In Angola, the company is developing the Quiluma and Maboqueiro gas fields – Angola’s first non-associated natural gas projects – which will supply gas to the Angola LNG plant in Soyo to produce up to four billion cubic feet per year by 2026.

IAE 2024 (https://apo-opa.co/3UMOOtQ) is an exclusive forum designed to facilitate investment between African energy markets and global investors. Taking place May 14-15, 2024 in Paris, the event offers delegates two days of intensive engagement with industry experts, project developers, investors and policymakers. For more information, please visit www.Invest-Africa-Energy.com. To sponsor or participate as a delegate, please contact sales@energycapitalpower.com.

In Africa’s emerging oil and gas markets, the company is forging new frontiers in LNG, green hydrogen and upstream exploration. TotalEnergies is in the process of restarting its $20-billion Mozambique LNG project in 2024, as well as taking FID on a new LNG import terminal at the Port of Matola, which could enable first LNG exports to South Africa upon its completion. In Namibia – where the company invested half of its 2023 exploration budget – TotalEnergies is appraising its Venus-1 discovery and yielded another hydrocarbon discovery at the Mangetti-1X well last February. The company also acquired a new exploration license in Block 3B/4B offshore South Africa last month, located within the prolific Orange Basin.

In Mauritania, TotalEnergies and partner Chariot Energy recently concluded feasibility studies on a planned 2.3 million-ton-per-annum green hydrogen facility set to export hydrogen to Europe, as well as present offtake options for green steel and green ammonia production. Meanwhile, company subsidiary Total Eren has secured 1,700 km² in Morocco’s Guelmim-Oued Noun region to develop a $9.9-billion green hydrogen project, leveraging 10 GW of wind and solar power. 

“At IAE 2024, the company will showcase its latest project developments, as well as connect with local and international service providers. TotalEnergies’ latest investments indicate that European and global energy majors remain deeply committed to bringing energy access to the continent and that oil and gas investment in Africa is not just stabilizing, but accelerating,” says Sandra Jeque, Event&Project Director at IAE 2024 organizers, Energy Capital&Power. 

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.