Month: February 2023

PRETORIA, Feb 28 (NNN-SANEWS) — South African businesspeople who participated in the Gulfood Exhibition that took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates last week, have said they are pleased with the trade leads that they generated.

They recorded over 4,000 promising trade leads that they hope will soon translate into substantially tangible deals.

The 16 agro-processing companies, including the South African Fruit and Vegetables Canners Export Council (SAFVEC), showcased their products in a National Pavilion that was set up by the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic).

The main objective of the support provided by the dtic through the Export Marketing and Investment Assistance scheme (EMIA) was to create a platform for these companies to develop export markets for their products.

The Founder of Makhamisa Foods and a Black Industrialists Programme beneficiary, Terence Leluma, was part of the SA delegation.

Leluma, who manufactures unique chilli-based condiments, said his company’s products received huge interest from countries such as Russia, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, India and African countries such as Malawi and Kenya.

“The UAE market received our products well and believe our products deserve to be on the global food industry platform. We met a number of prospective clients and secured strong leads. We will be back for follow-up meetings in a month or two,” Leluma said.

“We are excited to have forged these relations. Dubai is the centre of trade and I am honoured to have been offered the opportunity to fly the South African flag high in this part of the world and take our products to the global market.”

The Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Naturezone, that produces fitness waters and herbal teas from natural ingredients with zero calories, Peter Foulis, described his participation in the show as remarkable.

“We have received quality enquiries and leads. We are expecting great things to follow as we follow up on these leads. We appointed three agents at the show for UAE, Russia and India. Our neighbouring countries Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Zambia have also shown interest in our drinks,” Foulis said.

The Project Manager of RFG Foods, the manufacturers of canned fruits and vegetables and juices, Thasha Thaver, said her stand received hundreds of visitors with a lot of interest from the Middle East and Africa.

“Some existing customers came to look for new products that we have introduced. It was a great week. We have seen the value of attending the show. Being present at the trade shows has improved our turnover and offered a vehicle to create new relations,” she said.

“More South African companies should attend and see what the rest of the world is doing, benchmark and continue to improve products so as to offer the customers innovative products,” Thasia said.

The 2023 Gulfood exhibition is regarded as the largest food and beverage trade exhibition in the Middle East.

According to the Deputy Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition Fikile Majola, South Africa’s participation in the Dubai Expo 2020 was part of SA’s efforts to revive the economy and create opportunities for inclusive growth.

“It paved a way to further unlock opportunities by leveraging more trade events in the region, such as Gulfood, which offers a follow-through opportunity for South African firms,” he said. — NNN-SANEWS

Source: Nam News Network

French President Emmanuel Macron heads to central Africa Wednesday on a four-nation visit marked by what he said ahead of his planned Wednesday departure.

On Monday, he announced a revamped relationship with Africa, amid an increase in anti-French sentiment in some places— and rising Russian and Chinese influence.

“Partnership,” “humility,” and “reorganization” are part of Macron’s lexicon this week, with his new, recalibrated strategy for Africa.

He said French military bases in Africa would be reorganized — with some becoming military academies or run in collaboration with African and European partners — based on goals defined by African hosts.

He said France will conduct more training, supply more equipment and work more closely with local troops, according to their needs.

Macron also said France must show a “profound humility” and carve out a “new balanced and mutual responsible relationship” with African nations.

Macron’s revamped Africa strategy will be put to the test this week, as he heads first to Gabon on Wednesday for a summit on forests. He then goes on to visit Angola, the Republic of Congo and the neighboring Democratic Republic of Congo. Only two countries on his list — Gabon and the Republic of Congo — are former French colonies.

His Africa visit follows key setbacks for France, especially in the Sahel region, as a partnership to fight an Islamist insurgency unravels. France has ended military operations in Mali and Burkina Faso, amid deteriorating relationships with the military power-holders, and rising anti-French sentiment.

Paris is also feeling pressure from other foreign powers on the continent. That includes the private Russian military group Wagner, present in places like Mali and the Central African Republic, where it is accused of committing human rights violations.

Macron derided Wagner as a so-called “life insurance policy for failed regimes and putschists.” His government accuses Russia of spreading anti-French disinformation.

“The past 10-15 years, every French president comes to power with the idea of sort of reforming the relationship with Africa — moving beyond the old legacy of post-colonial relations,” said Martin Quencez, the Paris office director for the German Marshall Fund. He spoke to VOA before Macron’s speech. He said every recent reset effort has failed.

Shortly after becoming president in 2017, Macron called for turning a “new page” in French-African relations at a meeting with university students in Ouagadougou, the capital of Burkina Faso. It didn’t happen the way he planned — at least not in Burkina Faso.

“Macron right now is in a position where clearly France has lost influence in a region where we have invested a lot of money and military capacity in the region,” Quencez said. “The results are quite limited, to say the least.”

It’s not clear how Macron’s latest recalibration effort will fare.

Some Africans interviewed by French media said they heard nothing new in Macron’s speech. But others were more receptive.

Speaking to France’s TV5 Monde, Alioune Tine, founder of Dakar-based research group the Afrikajom Center, noted Macron was addressing not just African allies, but countries like Mali where France has problems. He said it was good the French president was trying to improve ties — but that it takes two to do so.

Separately, Macron’s push to return African artifacts taken during colonial times has also drawn praise, and objects have been returned to Benin and Senegal. He announced draft legislation to return objects to more African countries.

Source: Voice of America

Copenhagen, Feb. 28 (BNA): Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the Kingdom of Denmark, residing in Brussels, Abdullah bin Faisal bin Jabur Al-Doseri, met with the Deputy Director for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Affairs at the Danish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anders Kaldan, in the presence of the Deputy Director-General for Development Policy at the Ministry, Casper Jensen.

During the meeting, the Ambassador affirmed the keenness of the Kingdom of Bahrain to develop the friendship and cooperation relations between the two countries, noting the importance of advancing these relations in many fields in the service of common interests.

Kaldan expressed his appreciation for the level of cooperation and coordination between Denmark and Bahrain at various levels, stressing the interest of his country to continue to intensify joint bilateral cooperation and coordination to achieve common goals.

The two sides reviewed the existing relations between the two countries in various fields, and discussed a number of regional and international issues and topics of common concern.

Source: Bahrain News Agency

More than 314,000 people (54,926 households) were affected by floods in the Far North region, with Logone-and-Chari being the most affected department. More than 33,600 shelters were destroyed and 151 schools were flooded, depriving nearly 54,000 children from attending school.

Cameroon faced one of the longest cholera epidemics with eight out of ten regions being affected. More than 15,000 cases and over 301 deaths were recorded as of December 2022.

An estimated 418,381 students have access to primary and secondary education in 3,013 operational schools in the NWSW. The number of functioning schools represents only 46 per cent of the total 6,515 schools, and the students present represent 54 per cent of the 771,186 expected students for the 2022-2023 academic year.

The HAC remained underfunded by 83 per cent.

Source: UN Children’s Fund

Cairo, Feb. 27 (BNA): Minister of Social Development, Osama bin Ahmed Khalaf Al Asfoor, participated in the first regional conference organized by the Ministry of Social Solidarity, in Egypt, on “Social Care Policies and the Achievement of Social Security”.

The conference was held under the patronage of Egyptian President Abdelfattah El-Sisi with the participation of a number of Arab Ministers of Social Affairs, the Arab League and relevant parties in the Middle East, Africa and Europe. It aims to exchange visions and practical ideas about social care policies and ways of achieving social security amidst contemporary changes.

The conference also shed light on regional and international practices in implementing social care policies, the international experiences in alternative care systems and shaping a future vision for social care policies to achieve social security.

Source: Bahrain News Agency