APO News from Africa:
President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d’Ivoire Meets with Wang Yi:
On May 22, 2017, President Alassane Ouattara of Côte d'Ivoire met at Presidential Palace in Abidjan with Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Prime Minister Amadou Gon Coulibaly of Côte d'Ivoire attended the meeting.
Alassane Ouattara asked Wang Yi to convey his warm greetings to President Xi Jinping, and expressed that both sides enjoy a long-standing friendship, increasingly deepen cooperation in various fields. Bilateral relations can be called as a model of Africa-China friendship. Being proud of having such a trustworthy cooperation partner, Côte d'Ivoire admires China's development achievements, and is willing to learn from China's development experience. Côte d'Ivoire highly praises the 'Belt and Road” initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping, and believes the initiative could benefit vast developing countries as well as middle and small countries. Alassane Ouattara said the country is willing to actively participate in it, and continuously explore new areas for bilateral cooperation under the frameworks of the “Belt and Road” and the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation. Attaching importance to China's international status, Côte d'Ivoire appreciates China's diplomatic policies, and thanks China for playing an important role in safeguarding the interests of Côte d'Ivoire and African countries within the multilateral frameworks including the UN Security Council. The country believes that China is a stabilizer and catalyst of the cause of peace and development for mankind, hoping China could promote the international community to pay more attention to and care for African countries. The country adheres to the common stance of the African Union on the UN Security Council reform, and is ready to further enhance communication and coordination with China.
Wang Yi conveyed President Xi Jinping's greetings to Alassane Ouattara, expressed that both countries enjoy a long-term friendship, and China is a sincere friend and reliable partner of Côte d'Ivoire. In recent years, bilateral cooperation has showed the momentum of vigorous development. China has become the largest financing source and the third largest trading partner of Côte d'Ivoire, and bilateral mutually beneficial cooperation enjoys broad potential. In the next step, China is willing to help Côte d'Ivoire to speed up its industrialization process, uplift capacity in self-development, gradually get rid of the single development mode that depends on export of primary products, and provide assistance within its capability to the integration process of the West Africa. Wang Yi said that the “Belt and Road” initiative proposed by President Xi Jinping is an important public product for the international community, and also the largest international cooperation in current world. China welcomes Côte d'Ivoire and other African countries to participate in the “Belt and Road” construction. It is believed related construction works could mutually integrate with the implementation of China-Africa ten major cooperation plans, injecting new impetus into bilateral cooperation. China appreciates Côte d'Ivoire's prominent role in advancing the integration of West Africa, and supports the country to play a more important role in African and international stages. The Chinese is stands ready to jointly safeguard the legitimate interests of African and developing countries with Côte d'Ivoire's.
Distributed by APO on behalf of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People’s Republic of China.
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Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa
On Africa Day, UN chief says world must move from ‘managing crises to preventing them’:
‘Africa Day’ 2017 comes at an important moment in the continent’s endeavours towards peace, inclusive economic growth and sustainable development United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said, urging humanity to listen and learn with the people of Africa.
“All of humanity will benefit by listening, learning and working with the people of Africa. It starts with prevention. Our world needs to move from managing crises to preventing them in the first place. We need to break the cycle of responding too late and too little,” said Mr. Guterres in his message commemorating Africa Day.
The UN chief pointed out that most of today’s conflicts are internal, triggered by competition for power and resources, inequality, marginalization, disrespect for human rights and sectarian divides. Often, they are inflamed by violent extremism or provide the fuel for it.
But prevention goes far beyond focusing solely on conflict.
“The best means of prevention and the surest path to durable peace is inclusive and sustainable development. It is critical to continue building more effective and accountable institutions to address governance challenges, advance the rule of law and promote civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights,” he stressed.
As the international community has entered the second year of implementing the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to tackle global poverty, inequality, instability and injustice, Mr. Guterres highlighted that Africa has adopted its own complementary and ambitious plan: Agenda 2063.
“For the people of Africa to fully benefit from these important efforts, these two agendas need to be strategically aligned,” he said.
Mr. Guterres referred to last month’s first-ever UN–African Union annual conference as “a unique opportunity to strengthen our partnership and establish a higher platform of cooperation,” saying: “Our work is based on four driving principles: mutual respect, solidarity, complementarity and interdependence.
Mr. Guterres said that the UN partnership with Africa is also rooted in a deep sense of gratitude.
“Africa provides the majority of United Nations peacekeepers around the world. African nations are among the world’s largest and most generous hosts of refugees. Africa includes some of the world’s fastest-growing economies,” he elaborated.
Turning to youth, he noted “We can speed progress by doing more to provide opportunities and hope to young people. More than three out of five Africans are under 35 years of age. Making the most of this tremendous asset means more investment in education, training, decent work and engaging young people in shaping their future.”
The UN chief also stressed: “We must also do our utmost to empower women so they can play a full role in sustainable development and sustainable peace. I am pleased that the African Union has consistently placed a special focus on gender equality and women’s empowerment.”
He also reaffirmed his commitment as a partner, friend and committed advocate for changing the narrative about this diverse and vital continent.
“Crises represent at best a partial view. But, from a higher platform of cooperation, we can see the whole picture – one that recognizes the enormous potential and remarkable success stories throughout the African continent,” concluded the Secretary-General.
Distributed by APO on behalf of United Nations (UN).
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Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa
11 Libyan Women trained on Small Arms and Light Weapons Awareness by the UN:
On May 15-19, the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) involved 11 women from across Libya in a workshop aimed at enhancing trainees’ capacity to spread Small Arms and Light Weapons (SALW) awareness messages in their home communities. This event was kindly supported by the Government of Switzerland, and implemented in partnership with the Geneva-based Small Arms Survey.
UNMAS has launched this series of workshops in 2015, engaging a group of women active in civil society in different areas of Libya on four occasions. Each workshop expanded the participants’ knowledge of existing international SALW control standards, as well as of risks and mitigation measures. The project has also enabled these trainees to independently implement a variety of SALW risk awareness activities, from one-on-one sessions in households to lectures in public spaces and media. With this knowledge, the participants have enthusiastically continued to raise awareness in their communities on the safety challenge posed by SALW proliferation.
Referring to the widespread availability of SALW in Libya, a participant mentioned “It was like people woke up from one day to another with weapons everywhere, and no knowledge of how to handle them safely.” The lessons and best practices shared by the workshop trainees with hundreds of beneficiaries in their communities have the ability to mitigate the issue, and contribute to the reduction of accidents and casualties due to SALW misuse.
During the fourth workshop, participants discussed the design of risk awareness materials that will be procured by UNMAS to support follow on awareness campaigns at community level and country-wide.
A call for applications to participate in three new SALW awareness workshops for candidates age 18-29 is open until May 31, and is accessible here in Arabic and English.
Distributed by APO on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
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Source: APO – Africa-Newsroom: latest news releases related to Africa
