The AU Special Representative to Somalia and Head of the African Union Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS), Ambassador Mohamed El-Amine Souef and Somalia’s Federal Minister of Information, Culture and Tourism, Daud Aweis, have expressed satisfaction with the ongoing military offensive against Al-Shabaab.
The officials spoke during a joint press conference on Wednesday held at the ATMIS Mission Headquarters to brief the media on the implementation of ATMIS mandate and the progress made in restoring peace and security in Somalia.
Minister Daud announced that the Federal Parliament had already passed a National Act establishing the National Intelligence Security Agency (NISA) that will improve intelligence gathering and play a key role in the fight against Al-Shabaab.
In addition, he added, the Somali cabinet had approved a military cooperation deal between the Federal Republic of Somalia and the United Arab Emirates which will allow thousands of Somali troops to be trained in the Middle Eastern country.

The Kenya based Strathmore Business School (SBS) and Capital Business School in Ethiopia officially launched their collaboration in offering executive education training for executives working in Ethiopian organizations.
It is noted that Strathmore Business School of Kenya and Capital Business school signed a Memorandum of Understanding of the collaboration on June 28th 2022.
Speaking during the launching event, Addis Alemayehou, Chairman, Kazana Group and Capital Business School noted: “Educational partnership is common practice in higher education with higher education institutions establishing academic collaborations and partnerships with other institutions for reasons such as resource sharing and curriculum innovation, among others.”
Dr, Caesar Mwangi, Executive dean of Strathmore Business School, for his part stated: “Through this program, Strathmore Business School and Capital Business School will support each other and collaborate with an aim of establishing a well-recognized center for the provision of executive education in Ethiopia.
Global Chairman Fairfax Africa Fund, Zemedeneh Nigatu noted: “Business development is the way of national wealth for future generations. I believe focusing on developing a generation of leaders across developing and emerging economies and businesses who have a deep understanding of capital markets, a commitment to good governance, and the strategic tools to make investment decisions that benefit their nations will be the main goal of this emerging school”

UNFPA and UNICEF call for a sustainable partnership and engagement with men and boys of Ethiopia to enforce the actions against Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) and transform the deeply rooted social and gender norm, underpinning the practice, and allowing girls and women to fully realize their rights and potential. The call was made in observance of the International Day of Zero Tolerance against FGM under the theme, “partnering with men and boys to transform social and gender norms to end female genital mutilation”.
Ethiopia has made remarkable progress in the last decade in the reduction of FGM prevalence among girls and women aged 15-49 from 74 per cent in 2005 to 65 per cent in 2016. However, Ethiopia is still home to 25 million circumcised women and girls. This accounts for the largest absolute number in Eastern and Southern Africa.

African countries should institute wide-ranging fiscal reforms to expedite sustainable recovery from multiple crises which have hindered industrialization and economic diversification, the Economic Commission for Africa’s (ECA) Acting Executive Secretary, Antonio Pedro, has urged.
“Ensuring a sustainable recovery, which protects populations and economies from the shocks of future pandemics and other crises, will require a range of reforms and initiatives at both the national and international levels,” said Mr. Pedro in his remarks at the 2023 Coordination Segment of the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) on 2 February in New York City.
Pedro highlighted that Africa’s recovery efforts have been undermined by the ongoing war in Ukraine, tightening international financial conditions and the climate crisis.
“For African countries, appropriate policy choices through fiscal reforms as well as building coherent and effective frameworks for mobilizing domestic revenue are needed,” Pedro said, calling for a reprioritisation of public expenditure to invest in more growth-enhancing projects.
He noted that the COVID-19 pandemic has led to the largest drop in Africa’s growth rate since World War II, and pushed more than 55 million Africans into extreme poverty.