The President of the Republic of Liberia, H.E. Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., will lead the Official Liberian delegation to the US-Africa Business Summit scheduled to take place in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, from May 6-9, 2024. 

The Summit which is an annual event, brings together key business and government leaders from across Africa and the United States to hold discussions on enhancing trade and economic partnerships. The event will provide a vital platform for Liberia to showcase its business potential and to explore opportunities for increased investment in key sectors such as energy, agriculture, and technology. 

The delegation accompanying the President includes senior government officials who will participate in various panels and networking events. Their goal is to attract tangible investments and partnerships that will contribute significantly to Liberia’s economic development. Liberia’s participation in the US Africa Business Summit will expand and strengthen its bilateral relations with the United States and will highlight the country as a leading destination for business in West Africa. 

The President’s participation underscores Liberia’s commitment to engaging with global partners to drive economic progress and improve the livelihoods of its people.

The Official Delegation accompanying the President to the USA-African Summit is constituted as follows:
1.    Honorable Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Minister of Foreign Affairs
2.    Honorable Amin Modad, Minister of Commerce&Industry
3.    Honorable Alexander Nuetah, Minister of Agriculture
4.    Honorable Wilmot Paye, Minister of Mines and Energy
5.    Honorable Jerolimek Piah, Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism
6.    Honorable Jeff Blibo, National Investment Commission Chairman
7.    Honorable Richardson Ndorbor, Liberia Telecommunications Corporation Managing Director
8.    Honorable Antionette Wolo, Acting Chief of Protocol
9.    Honorable Sahr Johnny, Sr. Economic Advisor

The President will also travel to Atlanta, Georgia from May 10-13, 2024, to meet with investors, business leaders and friends of Liberia.  He and his delegation are expected to depart the country on May 3, 2024 and return on May 15, 2024.

While the President is away, the Minister of State for Presidential Affairs and Chief of Staff, Honorable Sylvester M. Grigsby will act in consultation with the Vice President and in telephone communication with the President.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of Liberia: Executive Mansion.

Iran’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Hossein Amirabdollahian, leading a delegation, left Tehran for the Gambian capital Banjul earlier on Friday to take part in the 15th Summit of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).

The OIC summit, slated to be held on Saturday and Sunday, is mainly themed “Promoting Unity and Solidarity Through Dialogue for Sustainable Development.”

Various issues and challenges in the Muslim world, especially the issue of Palestine and the status quo in in the Gaza Strip will be discussed.

Three documents, including the draft of a resolution on Palestine, the draft of the Banjul Communique and the draft of the final document of the summit will be presented to the meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers and afterwards to the summit.

During the meeting, Amirabdollahian will clarify the Islamic Republic of Iran’s stance on the developments in the Muslim world, the region and other parts of the world.

On the sidelines of the summit, he will also meet with and hold talks with officials of Islamic states.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs – Islamic Republic of Iran.

The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warns that time is running out to prevent starvation in Darfur as intensifying clashes in North Darfur’s capital El Fasher hinder efforts to deliver vital food assistance into the region.

Civilians in El Fasher and the wider Darfur region are already facing devastating levels of hunger, yet deliveries of food assistance have been intermittent due to fighting and endless bureaucratic hurdles. The latest escalation of violence around El Fasher has halted aid convoys coming from Chad’s Tine border crossing – a recently opened humanitarian corridor that passes through North Darfur’s capital.

Meanwhile, restrictions from the authorities in Port Sudan are preventing WFP from transporting assistance via Adre, the only other viable cross-border corridor from Chad. The route can serve West Darfur and other locations in Central, South and East Darfur. These access constraints are jeopardizing WFP’s plans to provide vital assistance to over 700,000 people ahead of the rainy season when many roads across Darfur become impassable. 

“Our calls for humanitarian access to conflict hotspots in Sudan have never been more critical: WFP urgently requires unrestricted access and security guarantees to deliver assistance to the families struggling for survival amid devastating levels of violence. We must be able to use the Adre border crossing and move assistance across frontlines from Port Sudan so we can reach people throughout the Darfur region,” said Michael Dunford, WFP’s Regional Director for Eastern Africa. 

The recent surge in violence in El Fasher is exacerbating critical humanitarian needs in Darfur, where at least 1.7 million people are already experiencing emergency levels of hunger (IPC4). El Fasher had been a relative safe-haven for families, hosting many IDP camps that pre-date the current conflict. Yet conditions were already critical with reports of children dying of malnutrition.

Now many are being forced to flee El Fasher and surrounding areas – some for the second or third time – and are becoming increasingly vulnerable. On top of the impact of the escalating violence, WFP is concerned that hunger will increase dramatically as the lean season between harvests sets in and people run out of food.

“The situation is dire. People are resorting to consuming grass and peanut shells. If assistance doesn’t reach them soon, we risk witnessing widespread starvation and death in Darfur and across other conflict-affected areas in Sudan,” said Dunford.

Over the last six weeks, WFP has delivered emergency food and nutrition assistance to over 300,000 people in North, West, and Central Darfur using the Tine and Adre border crossings and a crossline route from Port Sudan. These breakthroughs followed lengthy negotiations. But the progress appears to have been short-lived with all routes now blocked. WFP and the rest of the humanitarian community needs to be able to deliver humanitarian assistance consistently and at scale to prevent a worsening of the crisis.  

One year of conflict in Sudan has created an unprecedented hunger catastrophe and threatens to ignite the world’s largest hunger crisis. With almost 28 million people facing acute food insecurity across Sudan, South Sudan, and Chad, the conflict is spilling over and exacerbating the challenges already faced by its neighbours. The window to avert the worst is rapidly closing. A concerted diplomatic effort by the international community is needed to push the warring parties to provide access and safety guarantees and adhere to their obligations under International Humanitarian Law.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of World Food Programme (WFP).

Over a year since the start of the war in Sudan, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, remains extremely concerned about shocking levels of violence and devastating humanitarian and protection risks as many areas across the country remain beyond the reach of aid organizations.

For the first time since the conflict started, a UNHCR team with Sudan’s Commissioner for Refugees and national aid agency, JASMAR for Human Security, reached Omdurman in Khartoum State, a city severely impacted by the conflict. UNHCR staff saw the massive destruction caused by the war, with vast needs and high levels of suffering among a population which has been out of reach to humanitarians for months.  

During the two-day mission to Omdurman, which hosts over 12,000 refugees and more than 54,000 internally displaced people, UNHCR met with local officials and people impacted by the conflict to identify needs and understand the protection risks. 

Displaced families, including Sudanese and refugees who were in Sudan before the war, told UNHCR of their struggles to get enough food due to soaring prices, leading to fears of children becoming malnourished. Children have no access to schools, or places to play, and they are distressed by the sounds of clashes. Displaced people do not have adequate shelter, with many living in overcrowded conditions in gathering sites located mainly in schools. While two hospitals remain open, there is not enough medicine, especially for those with chronic illnesses. Pregnant women are not able to access prenatal care. People also shared serious concerns for their safety, reporting increasing sexual violence as well as limited legal support. Many are severely traumatized.

UNHCR identified relevant national agencies, NGOs and other community groups on the ground to whom we could offer support and supplies. 

Beyond Khartoum State, escalating hostilities in Darfur’s El Fasher city are aggravating the already perilous protection situation for civilians. According to available reportsLink is external, tens of villages have been targeted, some razed to the ground, killing innocent people and destroying public property and crops. Indiscriminate violence, including sexual violence as well as cases of separated and missing children, are on the rise. Movement restrictions on key roads are preventing people from fleeing to safer areas, forcing them to shelter in severely overcrowded displacement sites or open spaces, adding to risks.

UNHCR continues to call for the safety of civilians, safe access for aid agencies so that support and supplies can be delivered and, above all, for a cessation of hostilities. Humanitarian partners also need more support to boost their capacity to respond.

UNHCR, alongside UN partners, remains in Sudan to support its people and continues to operate wherever it has safe access. In Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan State, we are working with local partners, refugee leaders and community-based protection networks to monitor needs and assist where we can. We are also present in Red Sea, Northern, White Nile, Blue Nile, Gedaref and Kassala states, which host hundreds of thousands of refugees already in the country prior the conflict.

Nearly 6.7 million people have been internally displaced in Sudan, and the situation remains dangerous and volatile. The over 920,000 refugees in Sudan, mainly from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, include over 200,000 who have been displaced several times within the country since the start of the war.

A year on, thousands continue to leave Sudan daily in search of safety in neighbouring countries. To date, 1.8 million people have crossed into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic.

As the humanitarian situation continues to worsen, financial resources needed to meet needs across Sudan and in neighbouring countries are dangerously insufficient. To date, only 10 per cent of the $2.6 billion required to reach over 18 million people with life-saving assistance within Sudan have been received, and only 8 per cent of the $1.4 billion financial requirements outlined in the 2024 Regional Refugee Response Plan for Sudan have been met.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).