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P.Thamimul Ansari (PhD) is an Indian Expatriate teacher working in the Department of Hotel Management at the University of Gondar. He is a Tourism & Hospitality professional with 22 years of teaching, research, community and consultancy service experiences and served in various countries such as India, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Maldives. He talked to Capital about the hospitality industry and what Gondar University is doing. Excerpts;

Capital: How do you assess the hospitality sector in the country?
P.Thamimul Ansari: The hospitality sector in Ethiopia is in the right track of existence in par with international standards. The Ministry of Culture and Tourism also played a significant role in the development of this sector especially with the accreditation of the hotels with their star category standardization programs and many hotels had obtained the star categories to their hotels fulfilling the MOCT’s requirements. The industry is fascinating here having collaborations with international chains such as Sheraton, Hilton, Radisson, Intercontinental etc. that helps the hotels in attracting international visitors to Ethiopia.

Capital: How are your students better fit for the sector than other institutions?
P.Thamimul Ansari: Our students had obtained required theoretical and hands on practical knowledge in the university premises especially in the activities that are performed in the major departments of the hotels such as Front office operations, Housekeeping operations, Food preparations, Food and Beverage service and Food and Beverage cost control. Further, they had also undergone Internships/Training programs in the reputed star-rated hotels all over Ethiopia and they had equipped themselves with required skills to withstand in the hospitality employment market.

Capital: The hospitality sector is severely affected by lack of professionals in the country, how are you planning to change that as an institution?
P.Thamimul Ansari: The plans that we have as an institution is first to provide awareness creation to the community about this sector its advantages and opportunities and the like. The Department had already prepared curriculums to start BA Degree programs in the Extension and summer mode, MA Degree programs and Diploma and certificate programs to promote in the regular mode. These programs are in the verge of commencement as early as possible. The workshops with stakeholders of this sector to be organized frequently in educating the necessity of trained professionals and encouraging them to come for campus recruitment programs and guest lectures for the morale building, procurement and retaining of the quality workforce. In future, we are also going to encourage sandwiched degree programs with the collaborated institutes abroad in this field to have an international exposure in the teaching-learning processes. There are plans for the formation of Department level Industry-Institutional linkage cell for mutual relationships

Capital: How do you describe your curriculum and how effective is it?
P.Thamimul Ansari: The existing curriculum of our department is really good and suitable for producing quality work force for the hospitality sector as it covers all the areas of the industries operations. Additional subjects like Training and Development for Hotel management, Customer Care and service, Event management is proposed for inclusion in the revised curriculum for more focus as Addis Ababa and other major towns in Ethiopia encourages various conferences, meetings and events.

Capital: Is your institution the first to graduate with a Hotel Management Degree? If so, how many students are going to graduate?
P.Thamimul Ansari: Not only our institution, there also some other universities they offer similar programs and their own time framed in graduating their students. Our university as per its plan they are about to graduate the GC (Graduating Class) students by 18 January 2021. The amount of hotel management students who will graduate this time is thirty in number.

Capital: What are the additional skill development programs that were conducted in your institution other than those mentioned in the curriculum?
P.Thamimul Ansari: We had conducted various competitions in their relevant field of study such as Best chef competition, Best waiter competition, Best Guest attendant, Best House keeper and also workshops on “Vegetable carving”, “Baking and Icing” etc. for their skill developments.

Capital: What are the additional activities that are conducted in your institution?
P.Thamimul Ansari: We had conducted annual seminar programs, conferences, Food festivals and food preparation competitions for the stakeholders and certified them after critical evaluations.

President Salva Kiir has a rich experience to mediate Ethio-Sudan border conflict

Opinion

admin

January 11, 2021

By Abraham Nega

President Salva Kiir is a well experienced mediator and can assist and guide Ethio-Sudan border conflict toward their own resolution. His Excellency the President does not decide the outcome, but helps the parties understand and focus on the important issues that are needed to reach a resolution.
President Salva Kiir has a capacity as a fantastically well Peace Lover and skilled mediator to clarify the issues and assess the strengths and weaknesses of each party’s case. He also offers creative approaches and innovative solutions, while maintaining an unbiased perspective than any other regional leaders among IGAD heads of state.
The Sudanese army said that it was fighting a border war with Ethiopia, specifying it was against Federal Forces and not Ethiopian militia. Large agricultural areas have been recaptured at the border with Ethiopia, the army said, claiming that border signs were uprooted.
Meanwhile, the Ethiopian Foreign Ministry said that it would try to resolve the border crisis with Sudan peacefully.
Earlier this week the Sudanese Information Minister said that Sudan had taken control of most of the land it accused Ethiopians of encroaching upon near the border between the two countries.
Tensions in the border region have flared since the outbreak of conflict in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region in early November.Disputes have been concentrated on agricultural land in al-Fashqa.
There have been armed clashes between Sudanese and Ethiopian forces in recent weeks, with both sides accusing the other of instigating the violence. The two countries held talks in Khartoum over the issue.
Ethiopia calls for ‘dialogue’ after Sudan regains control of border areas
Some parties seek to create tensions between the two states, stressing that their historical relations are too deep to be shaken by the desire of conspirators, says Ethiopia.
Sudanese soldiers are seen on an army vehicle as they drive through the defense ministry compound in Khartoum, said Reuters.
Ethiopia has issued a statement saying that it believes the border dispute with Sudan can be solved through “dialogue”, two days after Khartoum took most of the land that it accused Ethiopian forces of attacking.
In a press briefing, the spokesperson for Ethiopia’s Ministry of Foreign affairs, Amb. Dina Mufti, said that “some parties seek to create tensions” between the two states, stressing that their “historical relations” are “too deep to be shaken by the desire of conspirators.”
“Ethiopia has always been keen on the stability of its neighborhoods to the same extent that it is keen on the stability and security of its people,” Mufti said, as quoted by the ministry’s official Facebook page. “When the revolution erupted in Sudan to achieve the demand of the people for freedom and justice, the government and people of Ethiopia stood by its brothers in Sudan.”
Mufti, despite accusing Sudan of using force since 9 November, pointed out that both sides had positively concluded a two-day meeting of the High-Level Political Committee that took place between top-level officials from both sides.
The Ethiopian delegation vowed “to translate the strong bilateral relations into more strategic cooperation,” including in areas of railway development and port utilization, Mufti said.
The two delegations said they would report to their heads of state after the meetings.
Emphasizing that Sudan also supports “dialogue,” Sudan’s information minister Faisal Saleh told Reuters that “our army will do its duty to take back all our land. Currently our army has taken back between 60 and 70 percent of Sudanese land.”
Media reports suggest that the conflict has taken place in agricultural land in Al-Fashqa, an eastern border region in which Sudan has recently deployed troops.
Gen. Salva Kiir Mayardit recently President of The Republic of South Sudan received General Shamsuddin Kabbashi, member of Sudan Sovereignty Council, and the accompanying delegation.
In a statement following the meeting, Umar Gamaruddin, acting minister of foreign affairs of The Sudan, said the delegation briefed President Mayardit on the latest developments in Eastern Sudan and conflict with neighboring Ethiopia, adding that such differences among neighbors are ordinary.
Sudan has restored all its territories, he said, adding that his country and Ethiopia would reach solutions once they agree on the issue of borders.
He called for demarcation of borders between the two countries.

Signing trade agreement between the European Union and China

Business & Economy

January 11, 2021

Paul Antonopoulos, a noted Greece Economist stated that after seven years of tough negotiations, the European Union and China were close to signing an investment agreement. However, at the last moment, it hit a road block as it faced pressure from those wanting the United States’ involvement, or those wanting to impose Western Liberalism on China.
Paul Antonopoulos also noted that a strategic analysis document by the European Union in November 2019 claimed that China is “a systemic rival promoting alternative models of governance.” Josep Borrell, the head of the European Union’s diplomacy, called on Brussels to adopt in May 2020 a “more robust strategy” vis-à-vis Beijing. The investment agreement that was hoped to be reached between the European Union and China seems to reflect this European ambition.
Launched in November 2013, negotiations accelerated in mid-December and was leading to the imminent conclusion of a compromise to mutually protect European investments in China and Chinese investment in the European Union. During a press briefing on 18 December 2020, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said “negotiations are in the final stage”.
Significant progress was made during the ten negotiation sessions organized in 2020, and the European Commission seemed confident that an agreement could be reached. “We are not quite there yet but it is definitely feasible that, if things move forward as they are moving now, that we can conclude still this year,” Valdis Dombrovskis, the vice-president of the European Commission in charge of the Economy, said to Bloomberg in mid-December 2020.
According to Paul Antonopoulos, it is likely that if China makes real concessions by opening its market to Europeans in the biotechnology, electric automotive and the medical sectors, the European Union would allow the presence of Chinese companies in the renewable energy market. The European Union’s objective is to ensure reciprocity as certain economic sectors must not become completely dependent on China.
While it was essential to speed up the timetable for talks in order to crown the end of the German presidency of the European Union, whose six-month mandate has only been marred by failure to protect European interests and servitude to Washington’s demands, it evokes just a purely symbolic text. The terms of the agreement remain vague as ratification by the European Parliament is unlikely because many European Members of Parliament continue a hostile policy against China due to its alleged human rights violations.
Some speculate that an agreement was never supposed to be reached but is rather an exercise to maintain dialogue between the two economic powerhouses. For the Chinese, their desire is to quickly conclude these negotiations, particularly during the American presidential transition period. However, despite this Chinese desire, certain European countries are resisting efforts to make an agreement with China before the self-imposed deadline on 31 December 2020.
Unsurprisingly, Poland was the first European Union member to openly resist the “premature” investment deal with China. “Europe should seek a fair, mutually beneficial Comprehensive Agreement on Investment with China. We need more consultations and transparency bringing our transatlantic allies on board. A good, balanced deal is better than a premature one,” Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau tweeted on 22 December 2020. He effectively called for a European-Chinese deal to have the United States’ blessing and involvement by highlighting the necessity to have “transatlantic allies on board.”
President Elect Joe Biden’s incoming national security adviser, Jake Sullivan, expressed his satisfaction that Poland wants to involve United States in a European-Chinese trade deal, stating in a tweet that “The Biden-Harris administration would welcome early consultations with our European partners on our common concerns about China’s economic practices.”
Robert MacBride of Leeds University stressed that the skepticism was not only reduced to Poland as France also joined the fray, albeit for different reasons. Franck Riester, France’s Junior Minister for trade, said to Le Monde: “We can’t facilitate investment in China if we don’t work to abolish forced labor.” He also admitted that trade deals should be used as a tool to “advance social issues” in China. In fact, it is this demand that trade deals be connected to domestic issues of a country that has resulted in France losing influence in Africa, while China, which makes no such demands in trade agreements, continues to advance on the continent as it does not interfere in the internal running’s of a country.
The French and Polish skepticism also has the support of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, and many Members of the European Parliament, such as Germany’s Reinhard Butikofer who challenged the trade deal by questioning whether Europe should “really help Chinese President Xi Jinping show Joe Biden the middle finger?”
According to Robert MacBride, what this demonstrates is that the European Union is stuck with a 20th century outlook for the 21st century. Whereas Western Liberalism was protected and projected by Washington during the Cold War and the unipolar-era after the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, European leaders and lawmakers are unwilling to relinquish this antiquated thinking. Poland’s insistence that Washington be involved in negotiations between Europe and China demonstrates that many countries in the Old Continent lack the confidence to engage in the multipolar system as part of an independent European bloc.
Although the French are attempting to make the European bloc independent, it faces tough resistance by those wanting Washington’s approval. However, France also limits itself by imposing Western Liberalism as a condition for trade negotiations, not only with China, but with most post-colonial countries.
As well anticipated by many analysts and observers, China and the European Union fail to reach an agreement by the self-imposed deadline of 31 December 2020. This is due to Europe’s own lack of confidence as a Great Power, insistence that they do not act independently by continuously wanting United States input, and the insistence of imposing Western Liberalism on a Far East country. If European strategic thinking could change, an agreement could rapidly be made, however, it is highly unlikely to occur by the end of the year.