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State Minister Mesganu Confers with Acting WFP Country Representative

Ambassador Mesganu Arga, State Minister for Political and Economic Diplomacy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, hosted Chris Nikoi, Acting Country Representative for the World Food Program (WFP) in Ethiopia, at his office today.

Ambassador Mesganu commended WFP’s humanitarian assistance to people affected by both man-made and natural disasters in Ethiopia over the years, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

While highlighting the federal government’s efforts to assist millions of Ethiopians suffering from various calamities, the state minister urged humanitarian partners, such as the WFP, to expedite relief assistance to IDPs and refugees.

In light of the gravity of the situation, he further called on the WFP to fully resume its much-needed humanitarian assistance.

In addition, the ambassador noted the federal government’s readiness to work closely with all humanitarian actors to ensure non-discrimination, accountability, transparency, and proper execution in the provision of humanitarian aid.

Chris Nikoi, on his part, said WFP is expanding its humanitarian work in different parts of the country in order to reach out to the affected communities.

It was agreed that the two sides would further step up their cooperation in order to address the humanitarian needs of the most vulnerable people in Ethiopia

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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Ethio-Pakistan Diplomatic Relations Transformed to New Chapter, Says Ambassador Jemal

The relations of Ethiopia and Pakistan have transformed into new a chapter in all spheres, Ethiopian Ambassador to Pakistan Jemal Beker said.

Ethiopian Embassy in Islamabad, Pakistan marked its first anniversary in various programs.

Approached by ENA, Ambassador Jemal noted that the diplomatic relations and cooperation between the two countries has been strengthening on bilateral, regional and multilateral levels.

Stating the cooperation frameworks between the two countries to reach new heights are under implementation, he said that Pakistan stood firm with Ethiopia during the time of the unwarranted external pressures imposed on Ethiopia.

The cooperation of the two countries has been growing in economic diplomacy especially in trade and investment, tourism and other sectors, the ambassador pointed out.

The commencement of Ethiopian Airlines Flight to Karachi, Pakistan, creates an opportunity to strengthen people-to-people relations as the two countries’ relation is transforming to new chapters in all spheres, Jemal affirmed.

Recall that in March, 2023, a business delegation consisting of more than 80 Pakistani investors visited Ethiopia to assess various investment opportunities.

The diplomatic relations between Ethiopia and Pakistan dates back seven decades.

Source: Ethiopian News Agency

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Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre Visits National Army Command Center in Adan-Yabal to Thank Troops

Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre visited the National Army’s command center in the Adan-Yabal district of Hirshabelle State on Wednesday to thank the troops for their service, success, and sacrifice in the war against terrorists. During his visit, the Prime Minister expressed his appreciation and support for the brave men and women who are fighting to protect their country from terrorism. He praised their efforts and acknowledged the sacrifices they have made in the line of duty. The visit demonstrates the government’s commitment to supporting the National Army and its efforts to combat terrorism. The Prime Minister’s presence at the command center serves as a reminder of the importance of the work being done by the troops and the vital role they play in ensuring the safety and security of Somalia.

Source: Somali National News Agency

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Water Highway Linking Oued Sebou to Rabat Dam Goes Online

The Water Highway, an ambitious project linking the Oued Sebou River to the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah dam near Rabat went online on Monday afternoon. The project involved the construction of a 66-kilometer structure designed to transport 400 million cubic meters of water annually from Oued Sebou to the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah dam near Rabat. With a total budget of MAD 6 billion ($590 million), the project was funded by the government and regional authorities, and aims to provide potable water to Casablanca and its surrounding regions. The project was executed in collaboration with four local companies and the use of advanced steel pipelines. The project is one of many Morocco has undertaken in recent years to fend off the threat of water scarcity, with dams and desalination plants becoming a priority within state projects. Earlier this year, the Moroccan government launched construction work for 20 dams with a total storage capacity of over 5 billion cubic meters. The government further disclosed plans to inaugurate 1000 small-sized dams by 2030. Through a 2020-2050 plan, the country is equally allocating MAD 383 billion ($37.6 billion) over a period of 30 years to boost the national water grids for domestic uses and for agriculture. The plan also covers measures to protect the water supply from the climate threat. Increasing the number of dams is one focus of Morocco’s strategy to maintain water security. The country is also investing intensively in desalination projects, with three stations currently under construction. The stations would have a total production capacity of over 200,000 cubic meters a day. In addition to investing in infrastructure, the country is equally looking to promote the adoption of an irrigation grid to optimize the use of water in agriculture, as the sector is currently responsible for 88% of national water consumption. It is important to emphasize that the issue of water scarcity and the management of water resources have been at the heart of the High Guidelines of His Majesty The King in recent years. Indeed, HM the King drew attention to the problem of lack of drinking water and irrigation water in rural and mountainous areas on October 2, 2017 during the Council of Ministers. On this occasion, he gave His High guidelines to the Head of Government to chair a commission that will study this subject with a view to finding adequate solutions in the months that follow. Since then, HM The KING has chaired a meeting on June 5, 2018, devoted to the issue of water and delivered a speech, on October 14, 2022, before both chambers of parliament, largely devoted also to the issue of water. HM The KING chaired on May 9, 2023, a working session devoted to the follow-up of the national program for drinking water supply and irrigation 2020-2027 where it was highlighted the acceleration of the interconnection project of the hydraulic basins of Sebou, Bouregreg and Oum Er-Rbia, with the ongoing realization of the urgent tranche of this interconnection over 67 km. HM the King’s interest in the issue of water scarcity shows that the well-being of citizens has always been at the heart of the sovereign’s concerns, whose forward-looking vision has given rise to both major structuring projects and local projects with the cardinal objective of rationalizing and preserving water resources. The water highway project, in its first phase linking Sebou to the Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah Dam, confirms confidence in the national company and in the Moroccan skills that led this complex project from start to finish as soon as possible. This project will secure the supply of drinking water for citizens and industry along the entire Kenitra-Casablanca axis. This is a strategic response to a structural drought that is impacting the Kingdom. It thus removes the prospect of a disruption of water supplies. Without the implementation of this project, the water supply of the Casablanca-Kenitra strategic axis could have suffered serious disruptions, impacting 9 million citizens. By its size and complexity, the project represents a management model that will undoubtedly consecrate the dynamism and maturity of the Moroccan company by opening up new international perspectives.

Source: Ghana News Agency

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Imo PDP governorship candidate plans to curb insecurity if elected

Sen. Samuel Anyanwu, candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the Nov. 11 Governorship Election in Imo says he will create employment to curb insecurity if elected.

“Curbing insecurity in Imo is not by bombing or killing those involved in criminal acts, but by ensuring that unemployed youths in the state have things to do.

“If the people are gainfully employed, they will not have the time to engage in unlawful acts,” Anyanwu told newsmen in Abuja on Wednesday.

He said that if elected, he would grant full financial autonomy to the 27 local government councils in the state.

He added, however, that he would conduct proper monitoring of the councils’ allocations to ensure that the funds were used judiciously.

He decried the failure to conduct local government elections in more than three years in Imo and blamed the development for the rising unemployment.

Anyanwu argued that if the 27 local government councils in Imo had elected chairmen, deputy chairmen and councillors, unemployment would be reduced.

He said he would also be retraining teachers in the state and issue them licences to motivate them, if elected.

He explained that after the retraining, licences issued to errant teachers would be withdrawn.

Anyanwu also expressed dissatisfaction with the state of the health sector in Imo and said he would declare a state of emergency in the sector if elected.

He noted that Imo lacked enough medical doctors and assured that he would employ many doctors to boost healthcare delivery if he assumed office as governor.

The PDP candidate decried the indebtedness of Imo, which he put at N207 billion and said he would seek debt relief if elected.

He also assured women of getting 35 per cent of appointments that he would make, while promising to build satellite Government Houses in the three senatorial districts of the state to accommodate him on his visits and facilitate easy access for people to see him.

Anyanwu was two-term local government chairman, two-term member of the Imo State House of Assembly and the immediate past PDP National Secretary.

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

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Town Planners blame distortion of Abuja Master Plan on GIS

The Nigerian Institute of Town Planners (NITP) on Wednesday, attributed part of the distortion of the Abuja Master Plan to abuse of Geographic Information System (GIS).

The National President of the Institute, Mr Nathaniel Atebije, stated this in Abuja, during the 2023 Town Planners Day, organised by the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) chapter.

Atebije said that the FCT was the first to deploy GIS for urban planning and city management in Nigeria, adding, however, that it was abused to cause several distortions to the masterplan.

GIS is computer system that analyses and displays geographically referenced information and uses data attached to a unique location.

The president said that the deceit of foreign experts to the country’s policy makers about GIS as supreme in the business of town planning must be arrested.

“Especially those who come in the name of deploying GIS to generate funds for states and end up usurping the functions of physical planning.

“Over time, this mis-information was spread around the country and many states have fallen victims,” he said.

He described GIS as a “tool that planners use for their services” and not an end itself, adding that it was a misnomer for a tool to be more important than its user.

He noted that in some cases, planning projects were given to foreign consultants by policy makers, and they end up producing fanciful and mind-blowing plans.

Such plans, according to him, do not meaningfully relate with the environment and the capacity of the government to deliver.

“I, hereby, call the attention of policy makers to the fact that we have come of age professionally; only a few issues may require consultation with foreign experts.

“These may only relate to the technology of plan production rather than conception.

“We, therefore, call on governments at all levels to engage indigenous consultants to provide services in various aspects of planning and implementation logistics,” he said.

According to him, policies, programmes, and plans are reduced to ordinary story books when they are not implemented, while implementation becomes an uphill task when they are not strategic.

“This has been the bane of planning and implementation in Nigeria.

“In some cases, plans seem to have utopian ideals, hence they do not respond to the immediate circumstances of their target beneficiaries.

“At other times, our strategies do not consider our strength of technology, nor funding possibilities, political will, manpower requirements and other critical factors.”

He also pointed out that the time for planning for the people was long gone, adding the current trend, “is to plan with the people, thereby encouraging inclusiveness.”

Earlier, the Chairperson of the FCT chapter, Ms Lami Ayuba, said that the theme, “Strategies for Implementation of Physical Development Plans in the FCT”, was to create sustainable, well-planned, and resilient urban spaces.

Ayuba said that the FCT serves as a focal point for urban development in Nigeria, adding that effective implementation of physical development plans was pivotal.

This, according to her, will ensure that the communities that were built were not only functional but also aesthetically, pleasing, and conducive to the well-being of citizens.

“Our discussions throughout this event will delve into the strategies, challenges, and innovations that can help us bridge the gap between planning and execution,

“This will help in transforming our plans into tangible developments that benefit the people we serve,” she said.

The Chairman of the event, Mr Shehu Hadi, Executive Secretary, Federal Capital Development Authority, said that the FCT Administration has been working tremendously in collaborative planning.

Ahmad, who was represented by Mr Yahaya Abubakar, Director, FCT Urban and Regional Planning Department said that the FCTA was achieving this by engaging relevant stakeholders.

“The stallholders are engaged from the early stages of planning to ensure that diverse perspectives were considered and accommodated.

“The Administration has been pursuing these and other collaborative strategies, to make stakeholders synergize and work collectively towards achieving quality and realistic physical development plans.” he said. (NAN)

Source: News Agency of Nigeria

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Decision Intelligence Leader Quantexa Awarded Google Cloud’s Industry Solution Technology Partner of the Year for Line of Business Processes

LONDON and NEW YORK, Aug. 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Today, Quantexa, a global leader in Decision Intelligence (DI) solutions for the public and private sectors, announced that it has won the 2023 Google Cloud’s Industry Solution Technology Partner of the Year award for Line of Business Processes. The award comes after its Decision Intelligence Platform and solutions were made available on Google Cloud Marketplace in April 2023.

Quantexa is recognized for the strength of its line of business solutions. Their Line of Business Processes removes traditional manual data capture by connecting internal and external data and creating an accurate single view of customers. Quantexa’s advanced Line of Businesses processes capabilities were awarded in acknowledgement of the technologies ability to monitor KYC profiles and automate the detection and prioritization of real risk and opportunities.

Key capabilities included in Quantexa’s AI-enabled KYC solution are onboarding, remediation, enhanced due diligence (EDD), and perpetual KYC (pKYC). By deploying the solution, Google Cloud customers can focus their risk management efforts and facilitate trust with customers, leading to increased revenue generation. Plus, by gaining a true understanding of those they are doing business with joint customers will see benefits across the banking value chain, including improved financial crime, AML, and fraud detection.

Making the Quantexa Decision Intelligence Platform available via Google Cloud has given organizations in banking, insurance, telecommunications, and government agencies the ability to connect their data across siloed systems, making it simple for global enterprise customers to trust their data and augment and automate decision-making to protect, optimize, and grow their business.

Dan Higgins, Chief Product Officer at Quantexa: “Together with Google Cloud, we’ve been able to bring cutting-edge compliance and risk technology solutions to the Cloud and give our joint customers flexible deployment options. This partnership is enabling IT and infrastructure teams to be more agile and support line-of-business leaders working in an ever-evolving risk landscape. The recognition by Google Cloud further highlights our achievements in enabling organizations to leverage Decision Intelligence to master customer and risk management.”

“Google Cloud’s partner awards recognize the significant impact and customer success that our partners have driven over the past year,” said Kevin Ichhpurani, Corporate Vice President, Global Ecosystem and Channels at Google Cloud. “We’re delighted to recognize Quantexa as a 2023 Google Cloud Partner Award winner and look forward to a continued strong partnership in support of our mutual customers.”

To learn more about how your organization can benefit from Quantexa’s KYC solution and other Decision Intelligence Platform capabilities, please visit: www.quantexa.com

Notes To Editors:

The award win comes ahead of Quantexa’s Global Insurance Roadshow with Accenture, Google Cloud and Quantexa in APAC, EMEA & North America. The events will educate insurers on how to leverage AI to create hyper-personalized customer experiences and will be hosted in the following cities and dates:

About Quantexa
Quantexa is a global data and analytics software company pioneering Decision Intelligence that empowers organisations to make trusted operational decisions by making data meaningful. Using the latest advancements in big data and AI, Quantexa’s Decision Intelligence platform uncovers hidden risk and new opportunities by providing a contextual, connected view of internal and external data in a single place. It solves major challenges across data management, KYC, customer intelligence, financial crime, risk, fraud, and security, throughout the customer lifecycle.

The Quantexa Decision Intelligence Platform enhances operational performance with over 90% more accuracy and 60 times faster analytical model resolution than traditional approaches. Founded in 2016, Quantexa now has more than 650 employees and thousands of users working with billions of transactions and data points across the world. The company has offices in London, New York, Boston, Toronto, Malaga, Brussels, Amsterdam, Dublin, Luxemburg, Singapore, Melbourne, Sydney, and Dubai. For more information, please visit www.quantexa.com or follow us on LinkedIn.

Media Enquiries 

C: Stephanie Crisp, Associate Director and Media Strategist, Fight or Flight
E: quantexa@fightorflight.com

C: Adam Jaffe, SVP of Corporate Marketing
T: +1 609 502 6889
E: adamjaffe@quantexa.com

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The Commonwealth of Dominica Enhances Security and Management of the Citizenship by Investment Programme

Roseau, Aug. 29, 2023 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The Commonwealth of Dominica has taken significant steps to bolster the security and management protocols for its Citizenship by Investment Programme, aimed at fortifying the integrity and longevity of the programme.

Dr. Roosevelt Skerrit, the Prime Minister of Dominica, has been collaborating closely with various stakeholders, including international consultants, to conduct a comprehensive audit of the investment migration programme. Building on an initial audit undertaken last year by a UK consulting firm, the government has been actively implementing new and improved processes through the Citizenship by Investment Unit.

During his recent Budget Speech, the Prime Minister unveiled plans to enlist a globally vetted management consulting firm to oversee the overall operations and management of the Citizenship by Investment Programme. While Dominica already boasts a proactive due diligence process, the government is committed to its further reinforcement, vowing “to leave no stone unturned to strengthen it.”

“We take this matter very seriously and will increase our efforts in showcasing our robust due diligence and risk mitigation efforts on all fronts.” the Prime Minister affirmed.

Over the past 18 months, the Government of Dominica has undertaken several measures to elevate the security of its investment migration programme.

A United States-based firm has already conducted anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing training for all Citizenship by Investment Unit staff as the Unit undergoes restructuring. The CBIU was restructured under the supervision of an expert compliance officer to ensure that all procedures were updated, quality control measures strictly followed, and all IT systems upgraded.

The government made a bold move at the start of the year, giving notice of its intent to revoke the citizenship of those who made false declarations or misrepresentations in their applications, particularly relating to previous visa rejections from countries with which Dominica has visa-free treaties.

Dominica has also introduced biometric travel documents and updated its naturalisation certificate, enhancing its security features.

Citizens of the Kurdistan region in Iraq, Russia and Belarus do not qualify for citizenship in Dominica as international security authorities have flagged the regions as high risk. Moreover, the government introduced legislation providing an enhanced due diligence fee for applicants from specific countries. This enhanced due diligence fee offers the government additional resources to thoroughly scrutinise applicants from these countries.

The country also issued regulations to restrict citizens from changing their names.

Dominica has distinguished itself as the first Caribbean country to implement mandatory interviews as part of the citizenship by investment application process – a requirement agreed upon with the United States at a roundtable earlier this year.

“We also devised a new rigorous risk assessment and hired firms from the United States and the United Kingdom to begin interviews with all CBI applicants,” Prime Minister Skerrit said in the Parliament.

In addition to international firms in the US and UK conducting due diligence checks, Dominica’s Financial Intelligence Unit will also assist with the due diligence process. This includes reporting rejected applicants to the JRCC monthly and permitting the JRCC to share that information with the other CBI jurisdictions in the OECS.

Dominica is leading discussions in the region to collaborate on safeguarding the citizenship by investment industry; and has taken measures to emphasise its dedication to cooperating with global stakeholders and enhance the due diligence process to reduce threats from illicit actors.

In addition to these recent changes, new risk mitigation actions include:

  • Thorough assessment and reduction of the number of agents and promoters of the country’s Citizenship by Investment Programme, who will be strictly monitored, along with developers, to ensure compliance with current regulations governing the advertisement of Dominica’s Citizenship by Investment Programme.
  • Strict enforcement of regulated citizenship fees to prevent any undercutting.
  • Strengthening of policies and legislation to maintain competitiveness and alignment with international best practices.

Dominica’s rigorous due diligence and vetting processes make it extremely difficult for any illicit individual to qualify for citizenship. Background checks occur on the ground where the applicant lives and works, via online databases and now in person.

The Prime Minister has reiterated that Dominica will maintain robust due diligence processes to ensure the country meets international standards and alleviates any security concerns.

“We have fresh impetus to go back and relook where we can do even better in giving our international counterparts confidence in our security measures – which are already some of the most robust in the world compared to other jurisdictions,” he said.

Secretary of Dominica Citizenship by Investment Programme
Commonwealth of Dominica
001 (767) 266 3919
info@cbiu.gov.dm

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