On 9 August 2024, New Chinese Ambassador Han Jing paid a courtesy call on Hon. Chipoka Mulenga, the Minister of Commerce, Trade and Industry of Zambia, and exchange views on China-Zambia economic and trade cooperation.

Ambassador Han said it’s a great responsibility for him to be appointed Chinese Ambassador to Zambia and expressed  gratitude to the Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry for the strong support in the field of economic and trade cooperation in past years and appreciation for the great achievements in the Year of China-Zambia business cooperation. Both China and Zambia should make good use of the platform of Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) to strengthen communication, deepen cooperation, tackle the concerns from the two sides, and promote transformation and development of Zambian Economy.

Minister Mulenga welcomed Ambassador Han to assume his office, and promised to provide more convenience in future to assist him in fulfilling his duties. The Minister elaborated on the long-term traditional friendship between Zambia and China and the landmark achievements in economic and trade cooperation, and said that China are warmly welcomed to participate in the economic and social development of Zambia. He believed that the upcoming FOCAC summit would inject new and greater impetus into bilateral cooperation.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Embassy of the People’s Republic of China in the Republic of Zambia.

On 16 August 2024, the University of Cape Town and the Metropolitan University of Hong Kong will sign a historic Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which is the first of its kind to establish official working relations between the two universities.

This is one of the projects that the South African Consulate coordinated to promote people-to-people relations as well as relations between institutions of higher learning of South Africa and Hong Kong.

The Consulate has established good working relations with various universities in Hong Kong, including the Metropolitan University of Hong Kong. Recently, the Consulate and the Metropolitan University of Hong Kong collaborated in partnership with Freedom Park to host the 30 Years of Democracy activities that took place in June as well as a month-long 30 Years of Democracy and Mandela legacy exhibition courtesy of Freedom Park, which ended on 31 July 2024 at the University.

The MoU is based on the principle of mutual benefit to promote and enable collaboration for joint educational, cultural interactions, training and research purposes.

The areas proposed for collaboration include:

Joint activities such as lectures on general topics and topics related to South Africa and the African continent for audiences in Hong Kong
Introducing study tours and online courses of the Centre for Extra-Mural Studies to learners in Hong Kong
Exploring possibilities of establishing joint award programmes
Professional exchanges on university continuing education and lifelong learning for staff of both Parties
Any other academic activities deemed to be of mutual benefit in promoting lifelong learning exchanges between Hong Kong and South Africa.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Republic of South Africa: Department of International Relations and Cooperation.

Today, President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi met with Prime Minister, Dr. Moustafa Madbouly, and Minister of Finance, Ahmed Kouchouk, to follow-up on the financial performance indicators of the general budget.

Spokesman for the Presidency, Counselor Dr. Ahmed Fahmy, said the meeting discussed the government’s efforts to implement the budget targets and achieve a fiscal balance, while continuing the implementation of development programs. This aims to bolster the competitiveness of the national economy and improve productivity so as to achieve higher growth rates, enhance the indicators of the general budget and reduce government debt.

President El-Sisi placed high priority on continuing intensive efforts to curb inflation, through integrated and consistent programs and policies. He confirmed that this shall  take place while ensuring the availability of goods and services in the markets for the citizens, and continuing to increase spending on health, education, and social protection sectors. The President also stressed the need to enhance the quality of services provided in these sectors to the citizens.

The meeting also focused on mechanisms to achieve tax stability in order to spur investment flows as part of efforts to boost economic growth rates. President El-Sisi was briefed on efforts by the government and the Ministry of Finance to implement the presidential directives to prepare a comprehensive package of tax incentives to govern and improve the services as well as the relationship between investors and the tax authority. These measures primarily include maximizing the utilization of the advanced technological infrastructure to improve the tax system and realize tangible progress in terms of enhancing the confidence with the business community and building a genuine development partnership between the state and the private sector.

President El-Sisi also gave directives to continue efforts to tighten the fiscal balance of the general budget, increase state revenues and invest them optimally, while focusing on enhancing spending on human development sectors. This would reflect positively on improving the performance of the national economy, the competitiveness of the business community, and the standard of living.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Presidency of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

When traders bring their goods between Aflao, Ghana and Lomé, Togo, they cross one of the busiest borders in West Africa. Delays at the border have a financial cost, but also an environmental cost.

Better waste management, energy efficiency, streamlined trade processes and upgraded infrastructure can go a long way toward addressing the environmental crisis at the border.

Those are among the findings of a new research publication released by students from The Geneva Graduate Institute (IHEID) and developed with the support of the International Trade Centre (ITC).

Climate Neutrality at Borders: Mitigating Environmental Externalities of Cross-Border Activities sheds light on the urgent environmental challenges at the Aflao-Lomé border.

This release is the culmination of a year-long collaboration between the ITC and IHEID masters students who joined forces in an intensive study including desk research, fact finding survey, stakeholder engagement and analysis.

Clear recommendations to improve the Aflao-Lomé border crossing

With an estimated 11.2 billion tonnes of solid waste collected annually, the research paper underscores issues such as inefficient waste management and biodiversity loss, resulting in air, water and soil contamination. Meeting the immediate need for sustainable infrastructure and practices would address many of these problems. The paper offers holistic policy recommendations to balance trade efficiency and environmental protection:

Streamlined clearance procedures and enhanced digital platforms to reduce paper use for cross-border trade documentation
Green building practices on border infrastructures to support environmental sustainability
Health Risk management practices to expedite controls and limit the environmental impact of potential leakages or waste of perishables goods
Protected biodiversity by enforcing regulations promoting sustainable development

The enhancements can mitigate environmental impacts of cross-border trade, protecting the border ecosystem and the community while enhancing trade efficiency and economic growth.

Supporting market access and agri-food trade in West Africa

The research supports ITC’s work to improve both trade and food supplies in the Economic Community of West Africa States (ECOWAS). That includes the ECOWAS Agriculture Trade (EAT) Programme and the Promoting private sector competitiveness in Togo (ProComp) Programme, implemented in partnership with GIZ, by offering concrete recommendations for enhancing sustainable cross-border trade, market access for small businesses and trade facilitation measures.

The research conducted at the Aflao-Lomé border will complement a series of diagnostics at border points in West Africa, including the Pada-Dakola crossing (between Burkina Faso and Ghana) and the Seme-Krake crossing (between Benin and Nigeria). ITC is rolling in order to assess how sustainable practices can support agricultural trade without compromising environmental integrity.

Scaling up ITC’s offer on green trade facilitation

This successful pilot for green borders draws a clear path reinforcing ITC’s leadership in transforming trade while minimizing its environmental impacts through green trade facilitation.

About the projects

Funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), the GIZ ECOWAS Agricultural Trade (EAT) Programme is a special initiative “One World – No Hunger” dedicated to strengthening regional integration through intra-regional agricultural trade in the ECOWAS region. GIZ, the leading German development agency, is the main implementing agency, with ITC as partner, collaborating with the ECOWAS Commission with the directorates responsible for agriculture and rural development, trade, customs, free movement of people, and the Gender Development Center. The programme’s central objective is to enhance the capacity and services of regional and national organizations, with a particular emphasis on improving agri-food policies, sustainability, gender sensitivity, trade facilitation inclusivity, and active engagement with small businesses and professional associations in the sector.

The ProComp programme, part of GIZ’s broader Promoting the Competitiveness of the Private Sector in Togo (PROCOMP) addresses the economic impact of global crises on youth employment in Togo. Focusing on key sectors like agricultural processing, agri-food, and related industries, ProComp aims to enhance the competitiveness of Togolese SMEs and promote trade and exports. By tackling structural challenges such as supply chain issues and financing difficulties, the initiative seeks to unlock the full potential of Togo’s private sector and drive sustainable economic growth.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of International Trade Centre.