HE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Dr. Mohammed bin Abdulaziz bin Saleh Al Khulaifi met Saturday with HE State Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Federal Republic of Somalia Ali Mohamed Omar who is on a visit to the country.

The meeting discussed cooperative relationship between the two countries and ways to enhance them, in addition to the latest developments in Somalia and a range of topics of mutual interest.

HE Minister of State at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reiterated, during the meeting, the State of Qatar’s support for the efforts aimed at strengthening security and stability in Somalia and achieving development and prosperity for the fraternal people of Somalia.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of The State of Qatar.

The Bulls Daisies and Sharks Women will meet at Loftus B field on Saturday in the only match of the SA Rugby Women’s Premier Division in what should be an entertaining affair.

All teams have a bye this week, but the two teams decided after mutual agreement to play their round 11 fixture this weekend.

The Daisies have not tasted defeat in Pretoria in two years and current form does not suggest a change in that, but the Sharks Women showed in recent weeks that they have turned the corner after a slow start to the season.

The big match-ups should be in the pack, where the Daisies have not been bossed around this season, but the Sharks pack are coming into their own.

Both backlines are also capable of scoring tries from anywhere, so spectators could be in for a very entertaining match.

Match information:

Bulls Daisies v Sharks Women

Saturday, 29 June 2024

Venue: Loftus B, Pretoria

Kick-off: 12h00

Referee: Angie Bezuidenhout

Leopards, Valke Women chasing second First Division win

The Leopards and Valke Women’s teams are chasing their second win of the season,  and Limpopo Blue Bulls Women and Griffons Women a first in the third round of the SA Rugby Women’s First Division to be played in Potchefstroom, Kimberley, and Kempton Park.

The front runners in the tournament, SWD Eagirls, are enjoying their first bye of the tournament.

The Leopards are playing at home for the first time this season and will be keen to impress their Potchefstroom supporters against Pumas Women in a match that could be determined by the striking power of the Leopards backs.

The Griquas Women welcome the Limpopo Blue Bulls Women in Kimberley and will be aware of the two close defeats suffered by their visitors, who will be smarting for a first win. They have secured a four-try bonus point in each of those close defeats, but only converted one and if they can improve their conversion rate of those tries, success will not be far away.

Griquas come off a bye and will be eager for a second win at home in Kimberley.

The third match of the day, in Kempton Park, should result in a home win for the Valke Women in their match against the Griffons Women.

The Valke have scored nine tries in two outings and will be keen to keep up the tempo of play as the Griffons fell away in their defeat last week against Pumas.

Round Three fixtures (all matches on Saturday 29 June)

Leopards Women v Pumas Women

Venue: Olen Park, Potchefstroom

Kick-off: 12h00

Referee: Yohane Halgryn

Valke Women v Griffons Women

Venue: Barnard Stadium, Kempton Park

Kick-off: 12h15

Referee: Andiswa Mbilase

Griquas Women v Limpopo Blue Bulls Women

Venue: Suzuki Stadium, Kimberley

Kick-off: 13h00

Referee: Cammy Dyers

Issued by SA Rugby Communications

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Rugby.

For further information, please contact:
Andy Colquhoun
GM: Communications and Commercial
+27 (0) 21 928 7010
+27 (0) 82 926 0789
andyc@sarugby.co.za

De Jongh Borchardt
Communications Manager
+27 (0) 21 928 7021
+27 (0) 82 999 9979
dejonghb@sarugby.co.za

Rayaan Adriaanse
Junior Rugby Media Manager
+27 (0) 21 928 7013
+27 (0) 82 999 0022
rayaan@sarugby.co.za

Sindiswa Ximba
Media Operations Coordinator
+27 (0) 21 928 7011
+27 (0) 60 504 1069
sindiswa.ximba@sarugby.co.za

Zeena Isaacs
Springbok Media Manager
+27 (0) 21 928 7020
+27 (0) 82 357 3112
ZeenaI@sarugby.co.za

JJ Harmse
Sevens and Women’s Rugby Media Manager
+27 (0) 21 928 7014
+27 (0) 71 480 4570
jjharmse@sarugby.co.za

Media Resources:
Women’s Premier Division:
Latest News (https://apo-opa.co/4cIyCPI)
Fixtures&Results (https://apo-opa.co/4cyIfAM)
Standings (https://apo-opa.co/3zloVse)

Women’s First Division:
Latest News (https://apo-opa.co/4cIyCPI)
Fixtures&Results (https://apo-opa.co/4cnC42x)
Standings (https://apo-opa.co/3W0fMOG)

SA Women’s Rugby on social media:
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Please note, all match details are subject to change and will be kept updated on www.Springboks.Rugby.

Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus and his team wrapped up their training camp in Pretoria on Friday gearing up for ‘Ireland mode’ in preparation for the opening Test of the Castle Lager Incoming Series against their arch-rivals from the northern hemisphere next Saturday.

Erasmus was pleased with the structures put in place as the squad prepared to move into full Test match mode next week in anticipation of the first of two Tests against Ireland, at Loftus Versfeld. The second test is a week later at Hollywoodbets Kings Park.

“We had a good and productive training week despite our flight from London to South Africa being cancelled on Sunday night, and it was pleasing to see how the players who joined us this week stepped back into Test mode and got stuck in at training,” said Erasmus.

“Some of the players have been in our set-up for a while, which certainly assisted, and the new players also wasted no time familiarising themselves with the systems and we are pleased with how they slotted in.”

The Springboks returned to South Africa on Tuesday where they were joined by the rest of their team-mates named in Erasmus’ 39-man squad and they immediately got down to business with their first training session of the week. They had two further training sessions on Wednesday and closed off the week with their final field session on Friday morning.

They will return home for the weekend to spend time with their families and reassemble in the city’s capital on Sunday.

“I must give credit to our head of high performance and operations team for their hard work to ensure that the week functioned as smoothly as possible despite arriving in SA a day later than expected,” said Erasmus. “I believe we are in the right frame of mind for the challenge ahead against the world’s No 2 ranked team.

“We had a chance this week to analyse what we did well against Wales and the areas we need to put more emphasis on going into the Ireland Tests, and we were delighted with the professional manner in which the players made the mind-set switch to the Castle Lager Incoming Series.

“There is a huge excitement in the group for the challenge ahead and that was evident on and off the field this week.

“Everyone knows that a big step-up is required next week, but we are pleased with the momentum we built up by defeating Wales and getting international game time under the belt.

“Obviously with new members on our coaching staff, the overseas-based players and new recruits will have some work to do to ensure the entire group is fully aligned in terms of our new structures, but this week served as a good start in that process.”

Erasmus will name his matchday team to face Ireland on Tuesday.

Issued by SA Rugby Communications

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of South African Rugby.

For further information, please contact:
Andy Colquhoun
GM: Communications and Commercial
+27 (0) 21 928 7010
+27 (0) 82 926 0789
andyc@sarugby.co.za

De Jongh Borchardt
Communications Manager
+27 (0) 21 928 7021
+27 (0) 82 999 9979
dejonghb@sarugby.co.za

Rayaan Adriaanse
Junior Rugby Media Manager
+27 (0) 21 928 7013
+27 (0) 82 999 0022
rayaan@sarugby.co.za

Sindiswa Ximba
Media Operations Coordinator
+27 (0) 21 928 7011
+27 (0) 60 504 1069
sindiswa.ximba@sarugby.co.za

Zeena Isaacs
Springbok Media Manager
+27 (0) 21 928 7020
+27 (0) 82 357 3112
ZeenaI@sarugby.co.za

JJ Harmse
Sevens and Women’s Rugby Media Manager
+27 (0) 21 928 7014
+27 (0) 71 480 4570
jjharmse@sarugby.co.za

Today, African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank or “the Bank”) (www.Afreximbank.com) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the World Trade Organization (WTO) to amplify the impact of their strategically aligned joint efforts of promoting global trade leveraging Africa’s unique resource endowment. The MoU will allow the two organizations to pursue a collaborative framework for harmonizing and coordinating their efforts towards deepening key trade development activities on the continent.

Afreximbank and the WTO are part of an inter-agency partnership that is championing transformative change in the cotton industry in Africa’s Cotton-4 plus (C4+) countries, which include Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad and Mali as well as Côte d’Ivoire as an observer. The MOU will afford the Bank and the WTO Secretariat the opportunity to expand and deepen their collaboration to support the cotton sector beyond the C4+ countries. Their support will entail development of local and regional value chains of cotton in Africa as well as their integration into the global value chain.

Another area of collaboration under the understanding will be on Trade Finance matters, addressing non-tariff barriers to trade, the digital economy, capacity building, the oceans’ economic and fisheries subsidies, the sports and creative economies and trading in the context of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement.

While speaking at the MoU signing ceremony, Prof. Benedict Oramah, President and Chairman of the Board of Directors of Afreximbank said: “The WTO Secretariat is a natural partner to Afreximbank given our shared mandate of promoting trade and trade-related activities. We are already working with the Secretariat on FIFA’s C4+ Cotton Initiative, for which we have committed financing for project preparation for cotton transformation projects in Africa. Formalizing our relationship today signifies that we can go beyond our present collaboration to include other equally impactful interventions across key economic sectors in Africa.”

“The Bank recently signed a Charter with Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF) and the Rebranding Africa Forum (RAF) to build a robust sports’ economy, which will include commercializing and monetizing African made sports apparel and athleisure wear. This is yet another undertaking that will benefit from this MOU with the WTO Secretariat.” He added.

H.E. Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the WTO Secretariat said: “The signing of this MOU is timely as it reflects some of the key priorities of many of our Members. I am particularly pleased to see that it will support Members’ efforts in Agriculture and Food Security, advance efforts to address harmful fisheries subsidies, and promote cooperation on Trade Finance. I am especially pleased that Afreximbank has committed to explore the opening of a finance window that would assist the C-4 plus countries on their journey to scale value addition on the continent. I look forward to seeing real, on-the-ground results from this partnership.¨

The C4+ countries have historically exported raw cotton for processing outside of the continent. Developing local industries to process and transform cotton into textile, could potentially create 500,000 jobs in the West African region. If harnessed well, it is expected that within the next 10 years, the C4+ countries could process up to 25% of their cotton crops. This undertaking requires circa US$ 5 billion in investment in production facilities and training for workers. Which in turn calls for capacity building, access to finance for businesses, and improved infrastructure.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Afreximbank.

Media Contact:
Vincent Musumba
Manager, Communications and Events (Media Relations)
Email: press@afreximbank.com  

About Afreximbank:
African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) is a Pan-African multilateral financial institution mandated to finance and promote intra-and extra-African trade. For 30 years, the Bank has been deploying innovative structures to deliver financing solutions that support the transformation of the structure of Africa’s trade, accelerating industrialization and intra-regional trade, thereby boosting economic expansion in Africa. A stalwart supporter of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFTA), Afreximbank has launched a Pan-African Payment and Settlement System (PAPSS) that was adopted by the African Union (AU) as the payment and settlement platform to underpin the implementation of the AfCFTA. Working with the AfCFTA Secretariat and the AU, the Bank is setting up a US$10 billion Adjustment Fund to support countries effectively participating in the AfCFTA. At the end of December 2023, Afreximbank’s total assets and guarantees stood at over US$37.3 billion, and its shareholder funds amounted to US$6.1 billion. Its total revenue amounted to US$ 2.6 billion during 2023. Afreximbank has investment grade ratings assigned by GCR (international scale) (A), Moody’s (Baa1), Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR) (A-) and Fitch (BBB). Afreximbank has evolved into a group entity comprising the Bank, its impact fund subsidiary called the Fund for Export Development Africa (FEDA), and its insurance management subsidiary, AfrexInsure (together, “the Group”). The Bank is headquartered in Cairo, Egypt.

For more information, visit: www.Afreximbank.com