The U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa officially reopened the Col. John C. Robinson American Corner on the campus of St. Mary’s University (SMU) near Mexico Square in Addis Ababa. The Col. John C. Robinson American Corner has been closed for in-person programs and services since the Covid-19 lockdown in 2020.
Ambassador Tracey Jacobson, Chargé d’Affaires of the U.S. Embassy in Addis Ababa, officially opened the Corner along with President Dr. Wondwosen Tamrat of St. Mary’s University. During her remarks, she noted that this latest American Corner is another example of the American peoples’ commitment to Ethiopian youth. Attending programs at American Corners is often the first step for students interested in studying in the United States. Education USA resources and counseling as well as English language programming, in-person services and hands-on practical skills, such as STEM and Maker Space Tools, are among the programs that are free and open to the public at all American Corners in Ethiopia. The Ambassador commended the continued strong collaboration with St. Mary’s University, which also hosts an Embassy English Language ACCESS program.

The Sputnik International News Agency and Radio held a roundtable, Russia – Africa: Prospects for Economic Cooperation.
Speaking about fostering expert and analytical personnel’s competencies in Russian-African cooperation, Director of the Institute of Asian and African Studies Alexei Maslov announced that “for the first time at least four Moscow schools will teach Swahili and Amharic for children starting September 2023 as part of the new special program.” Maslov added that, “we are also exploring the possibility of Moscow schoolchildren studying Yoruba. An abrupt turn to Africa requires a completely different type of specialists who could work directly with the economy and would realize that Africa is not just one big continent, but in fact, a patchwork of diverse national, religious and linguistic traditions”.

Botswana to host High-Level Africa Regional Review Meeting of the Vienna Programme of Action to address challenges facing LLDCs.
The United Nations Office of the High Representative for the Least Developed Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States (UN-OHRLLS) jointly with the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) and the Government of Botswana will hold a High-level Africa regional review meeting of the Vienna Programme of Action (VPoA) for Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs).
The meeting will be held under the theme, “From Vienna to Kigali: towards a new decade of partnerships for a transformative Programme of Action for LLDCs” in Gaborone, Botswana from 29-30 May 2023.
The outcomes of the Regional Review Meeting will feed into the preparatory process of the Third United Nations Conference on LLDCs to be held in 2024. The Conference will review the implementation of the Vienna Programme of Action for LLDCs for the Decade 2014-2024, formulate and adopt a renewed framework for international support to address the special needs of LLDCs.