Author: Web Desk

Ethiopia and South Korea need to strengthen business and global partnership, according to South Korean Ambassador to Ethiopia Kang Seokhee.

In an exclusive interview with ENA, the ambassador stated that Ethiopia and Korea are celebrating their 60th strong diplomatic anniversary in 2023.

He added we have a good relationship with Ethiopia; Korea has in particular a strong development partnership with Ethiopia.

During his recent official visit to Ethiopia, South Korea’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Park Jin had fruitful discussion with Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and other top government officials about ways of further strengthening the existing relationship, the ambassador recalled.

“So far, the two countries focused on development issues but looking to further strengthen the future. I think we can do more, in particular, we need to focus on business partnership and also global partnership,” Ambassador Seokhee said.

South Korea is working to promote trade and investment expansion in Ethiopia, he stated, noted “we are entering a new level of stage and are upgrading the partnership between Korea and Ethiopia.”

Mentioning that South Korea will be organizing the Korea-Africa Summit next year aimed at fostering relationship with Africa, the ambassador emphasized “Ethiopia has a very important role to play in that regard.”

According to him, Ethiopia receives the largest development partnership support from South Korea.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The 9th Pan-African Mosquito Control Association (PAMCA) Annual Conference and Exhibition will open on September 17, 2023 in Addis Ababa.

Briefing journalists about the 5-day global conference, Pan-African Mosquito Control Association Chairman Professor Dilnesaw Yehualaw said about 1,000 participants are expected to attend the meeting.

According to him, the conference will advise on activities to prevent and control malaria.

The spread of waterborne and mosquito-borne diseases is increasing both in Ethiopia and Africa, he noted, adding that the main aim of the conference is to combat malaria in Africa.

Health Ministry Public Relations and Communication Director, Dr. Tegegn Regassa pointed out that 95 percent of people infected with malaria are Africans. Thus this is an African agenda.

In Ethiopia, the number of individuals contracting and succumbing to malaria has undergone a major decline of 90 percent over the last decade, he added.

Nonetheless, the spread of malaria has been on the upswing in the past two years mainly due to natural and man-made problems like climate change and security issues.

Ethiopia faces a significant malaria socio-economic burden beyond the health issues with the mosquito-borne parasites falciparum and P. vivax being the predominant malaria cases.

The ministry, in collaboration with partners, is working on the prevention and control of malaria in Ethiopia, it was learned.

Nearly seventy five percent of Ethiopia’s landmass is considered malarious.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

Addis Ababa, September 15/2023 (ENA) Ethiopia’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Mesganu Arga and his delegation had a productive meeting with Cheryl Urban, Deputy Minister at Global Affairs Canada.

They discussed various crucial bilateral matters, aiming to strengthen the already robust diplomatic ties between Ethiopia and Canada.

During the meeting, the State Minister expressed gratitude for Canada’s continuous support to the Ethiopian people and strong partnership.

They acknowledged the necessity for increased assistance, given Ethiopia’s growing needs and its role as a major regional host for refugees.

Moreover, both sides agreed to work together to enhance trade and investment relations between the two countries, solidifying economic cooperation.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

The Minister of Défense, Abdulqadir Mohamed Nur, has called on the people who fled their homes in El-la Helay and El Garas to return to their cities, which have been recently liberated from the Khawarij group Alshabaab by the national army. The minister visited El-la Helay, a city in the Galgadud region, on Thursday and assured the residents that the security situation was stable and under control.

The minister praised the national army for its successful operation against the Khawarij, who have been terrorizing and extorting the local population for years. He also commended the local heroes who supported and cooperated with the national army in the fight against the militants.

The minister said that the government was committed to providing humanitarian assistance and support to the people of the region who have been affected by the violence and displacement. He urged them to return to their homes and participate in the reconstruction and development of their cities.

The Khawarij group Alshabaab, has been waging a bloody insurgency against the Somali government and the people for over a decade. The group has lost most of its strongholds in recent months, but still carries out frequent attacks across the country.

Source: Somali National News Agency

The African Technology Foundation (AATF) and Seed Entrepreneurs Association of Nigeria (SEEDAN) have collaborated to commercialise improved seeds variety produced by Nigerian scientists.

The effort is to make quality seeds available for farmers to achieve food security.

Hosting SEEDAN’s new executives in Abuja, the AATF Regional Representative for West Africa, Dr Jean Baptiste, said the product to commercialise included the Pod Borer Resistant (PBR) and cowpea developed in Nigeria.

Other products, he said, were the Tela Maize which he noted would be released by the end of the year.

Dr Baptiste, however, called on the Nigeria seed industry to support agricultural technology, so it could spill over to other countries still hesitating in adopting gene technology.

He reiterated the need for seed entreprises to take their marketing strategy to farmers in hinterland.

He further noted that AATF was ready to work with seed entreprises for Nigeria and Africa to achieve commercialisation of those varieties that could help improve food security and tackle malnutrition in the country and other parts of the continent.

“We hope that we’ll be able to collaborate in a synergistic way so that we can achieve commercialisation of a certain number of products AATF is promoting in Nigeria.

“And among those products we have PBR cowpea, hybrid rice and the Tela maize that will be released by the end of this year or January 2024.

SEEDAN President, Yusuf Ado-kibiya, lamented that they produced enough seedlings but there was no market to sell.

He called on the government to make relevant policies, funds and the enabling environment for provision of quality seeds.

Ado-kibiya said they would unify all seed companies just like other countries for Nigeria to achieve food security.

He added that the universities and research institutes had been dormant for years due to lack of funds but expressed the hope of partnering with them to do more research to produce quality seeds for Nigerian farmers

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

Chief Olusegun Osunkeye, Chairman, Board of Directors, Omnibus Business Solutions Ltd., has emphasised the need for corporate governance code to address governance gaps in the public sector.

Osunkeye gave the advice at the Investiture Ceremony of Alhaji Tijjani Borodo as 18th president of the Chartered Institute of Directors (CIoD) on Thursday in Lagos.

According to him, a Nigerian code of governance is urgently needed in the public sector to regulate the functions and activities of Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs).

“Public establishments must be subjected to the same regulations as private corporations.

“I request a code of corporate governance for public sector as a bedrock to support the reform agenda of the current administration.

“The incoming CIoD president should as part of his priorities ensure the Nigerian public sector code of corporate governance is achieved and enforced during his tenure,” he said.

Mr Oscar Onyema, Chief Executive Officer, Nigerian Exchange Group Plc, stated that corporate governance and leadership development remained two critical areas required for every organisation to maintain value-addition and relevance in its operations.

He said the institute stood out as the premier corporate governance and leadership development body due to the huge impact it had had on the leadership of many organisations in Nigeria.

He noted that over the last 40 years, the CIoD had organised about 1,100 onshore and offshore courses, training over 19,000 directors in the process.

Onyema observed that these directors had contributed significantly to building successful organisations rooted in strong corporate governance and ethical practices.

He, however, noted that in recent times, boardrooms were evolving due to the fact that the coronavirus pandemic disrupted “normal” working practices.

This, he said, ultimately adversely affected board composition and operations such that the expectations of boards and individual directors were now expanded beyond the traditional roles to accommodate new trends and current realities.

“The new status of the institute though with some challenges shows great opportunities in areas of transparency, enhanced board effectiveness practices and increased focus on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues.

“The newly elected president has spoken of his strategic agenda to continue to promote excellence in corporate governance and advocate for policies and practices that foster growth and innovation.

“I wish the CIoD Nigeria great success in executing its vision and achieving major milestones during the two years of this presidency,” he said.

In his acceptance speech, Borodo said his tenure would be driven by the broad strategic vision and aspirations of CIoD Nigeria as approved and currently being implemented by the Institute.

Borodo, however, stated that there would be new initiatives to drive the full actualisation of the strategic plan of the Institute.

He said his tenure would focus on the development of the roadmap for implementation of the chartership of CIoD Nigeria.

He said his strategic agenda was to continue promoting corporate governance excellence and advocate policies and practices that fostered growth and innovation, built on his three-point agenda, tagged 3Rs, ‘Review, Reform and Reinvigoration.’

“Over the next two years, we would also continue to work with our existing partners, create a wider platform to accommodate new ones and ensure that our corporate governance advocacy achieves a higher level of effectiveness.

“I hereby solemnly pledge, by the help of Almighty Allah, to stand on the shoulders of our past leaders to position for greatness and align with the vision of our great Institute.

“I, therefore, appeal to you all to join me in this journey of discovery for our Institute and let us chart this new course together in our drive for excellence and perfection,” he said.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria