Joel K. Richards’ Post

On the complexities of China's Belt and Road Initiative in Africa, Ezra writes about the AfCFTA and how it can steer investments towards mutual benefit and sustainable growth. Read more: https://t.ly/E4oxM #afcfta

[OPINION]   COEGA EXPLORES STRATEGY TO UNLOCK AFCFTA OPPORTUNITIES IN EASTERN CAPE   “…As the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) rapidly transforms the continent's economic landscape, the Eastern Cape province stands at a pivotal moment, writes Mr. IDRISS MOUCHILI, Director of the Coega Africa Programme (CAP) for the Coega Development Corporation (Coega), who recently participated in a panel discussion on Trade under the African Continental Free Trade Area at the Eastern Cape Export Symposium and Exhibition 2024 at the East London International Convention Centre.    The discussion highlighted the province's strategic position in leveraging the AfCFTA agreement to boost economic growth, increase exports, and attract investment, while addressing regional challenges and opportunities within the Southern African Development Community (SADC) context…”   Read more: https://lnkd.in/du2577gy   #coegadevcorp #coegasez #AfCFTA #EconomicDevelopment #ECExportSymposium

🔷  Meeting of the FIA Moldova Leadership with the New UN Resident Coordinator in Moldova Today, September 27, 2024, the leadership of the Foreign Investors Association in the Republic of Moldova (FIA), represented by Mr. Alphan AKPECE - Acting President and Ms. Ana GROZA - Executive Director, participated in a bilateral meeting with the new UN Resident Coordinator in Moldova, Ms. Yesim ORUC. The discussions focused on the presentation of the objectives and priorities of FIA, including the progress of preparations for the upcoming “SDG Cooperation Forum - Private Sector for Sustainable Development” to be held on October 3, 2024, organized at the joint initiative of the UN, FIA and the Government of the Republic of Moldova; but also, reconfirmed the UN's commitments to support the sustainable, inclusive, and resilient development of the Republic of Moldova. In this context, it is important to emphasize that FIA is the only business association in the Republic of Moldova that signed the “Joint Declaration of Intent with UN Moldova concerning cooperation in meeting the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development in the Republic of Moldova” in 2021. #FIAMoldova #FIAmeetings #SDGForum #UN #SDG

Dr. Oswald Chinyamakobvu in his presentation on Confirmation of the African Quality Policy Council and Adoption of the their RoP highlighted the collaboration between the African Union - Economic Development, Trade, Tourism, Industry, Minerals (ETTIM), African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat, and the Pan African Quality Infrastructure to create the Draft African Continental Technical Regulatory Framework (ACTRef) to improve cooperation among AU Member States in technical regulation development, application, & enforcement" #STCTTIM #Malabo🇬🇶

Institute for Development and International Relations IRMO's Jakša Puljiz on Cohesion Policy in the #TEPSArecommendations to #HU24EU🇪🇺🇭🇺 🗣️ "The impact of Cohesion Policy on the ground is primarily related to the amount of funds available for investment, making the MFF debate a crucial moment" Read in full 👉 https://lnkd.in/e-TgQZ2t

History has had innumerable agreements and treaties that African leadership never took advantage of. Unfortunately, these agreements remain sovereign matters. Europe has been comming to East African Indian ocean coast states with many agreements signed as EU or individual states but they predictably exhibit less effect to justifiable economic balance. My concern is on what these agreements bring with them to East Africa. Kenya Government debt as a share of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)by 2023 is 66.6%. The climate change aggressively trigger land issues among societies and sustainable food production is slightly low, Constant terrorist disturbances especially in the Northern boarder from the unpredictable Somalia insurgence and slightly political frictions between the ruling and opposition parties.Let Europe aid Kenya out of the climate change disgraces and support the government to water it's citizens and ensure control on food shortage and fuel prices.

~ Suriname 🇸🇷 & CARICOM ~ "Fostering regional identity and solidarity" The Caribbean Community and Common Market, better known as CARICOM, stands as a testament to regional cooperation and economic integration among Caribbean nations. Established on August 1, 1973, by the Treaty of Chaguaramas, CARICOM aimed to promote economic integration and development, coordinate foreign policy, and strengthen ties among its member states. The signing of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas on July 5, 2001, marked a significant milestone in CARICOM's evolution. This revised treaty expanded the community's objectives to include deeper integration, particularly in areas such as trade in goods and services, the free movement of people, and economic policy coordination. The establishment of CARICOM and the signing of the revised Treaty of Chaguaramas reflect the region's ongoing commitment to unity, integration, and sustainable development. Suriname 🇸🇷 became the 14th Member State of the CARICOM on 4 July 1995.

🤝 Our Collaboration with the Ministry of Trade Industry and Cooperatives of Uganda 🇺🇬 Continues. ➡ The next activity under the Ad-hoc Support Fund is a workshop to strengthen the capacity of the AfCFTA National Implementation Committee, taking place 7-8 August 2024. 🎯 The workshop focuses on deepening the understanding of key #AfCFTA protocols, enhancing policymakers' capacity on trade protocols, and fostering understanding of the AfCFTA Guided Trade Initiative. The goal is to enhance preparedness for starting actual trade under the trade preferences through GTI. #TeamEurope GIZ African Union

 🔔 **Project Update: Strengthening Return Mechanisms in the Western Balkans** 🔔 This week marked the successful conclusion of the first round of technical discussions focused on return mechanisms in the Western Balkans. The dialogue in Belgrade provided valuable insights into strategic cooperation under the Western Balkan Return Mechanism Project (WBRM). We had the pleasure of meeting with representatives from the Serbian Ministry of Interior to explore how EU Member States can contribute to enhancing Serbia’s return management system. It was agreed that further technical-level discussions involving various departments will be essential for strengthening the return process. These consultations with our Western Balkan partners are critical in adding value to the WBRM project, aimed at supporting the efficient operationalization of third-country national returns across the region. A heartfelt thank you to all our partners for their availability and contributions during these consultations. We are excited for the upcoming project activities across the WB region! #WBRM #WesternBalkans #MigrationManagement #InternationalCooperation #ReturnMechanisms #CapacityBuilding #Belgrade #RegionalPartnerships #PolicyDevelopment #MigrationPolicy #ICMPD

👉Today our Project Manager Marija Askovic Matic , represented the Western Balkans Six Chamber Investment Forum (WB6 CIF) at the “Civil Society High-Level Conference: Continuing the success story of the EU Enlargement – Bringing benefits to the Western Balkans in advance of accession” held in Ljubljana. Celebrating two decades since the EU’s significant enlargement and Slovenia’s accession, this conference gathered key stakeholders to discuss progress and future steps. The conference also provided an opportunity to follow up on the European Economic and Social Committee’s (#EESC) opinion New Growth Plan and Reform and Growth Facility for the Western Balkans, adopted by the EESC plenary in April 2024. “The Reform and Growth Facility significantly increases financial assistance based on ambitious reform agendas. Recognizing the importance of the reform agendas in this process we believe that involvement of the business sector and all CSOs is the key element for ensuring full benefits of the Growth Plan and the Facility.” was stated by Marija Askovic Matic during the panel discussion themed: “Accelerating the socio-economic convergence of the region with the EU.” #wb6cif #westernbalkans #europeaneconomicandsocialcommittee #westernbalkanscivilsociety #UccialAlbania; #KosovoChamberofCommerce; #komorabih; #vtkbih; #stkbih #PrivrednaKomoraCrneGore; #Privrednakomorasrbije; #economicchamberofnorthmacedonia