The Corporate Council on Africa (CCA), an organization that has spearheaded much of the business and investment engagement with Africa by American firms for two decades has ended talks with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
“There was little appetite among members for a merger” said President and CEO Stephen Hayes in a telephone interview. And he said “a persistent whisper campaign that CCA was to be taken over” by the larger Chamber was negatively affecting the Council’s work.
Paul Hinks, CEO of Symbion Power who chairs the CCA board, informed the Chamber’s Executive Vice President Myron Brilliant that “CCA would not be merging,” Hayes said in an email Read More
The way we classify economies today is becoming less relevant
While the distinction between the E7 and G7 remains important, so are the divergences which are opening up within them. For example, Italy’s economy is the same size as it was in 2000 in real terms, whilst Canada’s has expanded by over 30%. China’s economy has tripled in size whilst Mexico’s has “only” grown by a third. But emerging markets still face challenges if they want to escape the middle income trap and catch up with advanced markets.
A new view of the global economy
What will the global economic landscape look like in a decade’s time? Put simply, we need Read More
The co-chairs of a multilateral group charged with hammering out a new, universal emissions-cutting deal released on Monday a 20-page “non-paper” containing proposed content for a draft “climate package” to be agreed at the Twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC COP21) scheduled to be held in Paris, France in early December.
The much-anticipated non-paper outlines both a draft agreement and an accompanying draft decision for a post-2020 climate regime, according to a mandate provided by UNFCCC parties at the conclusion of a negotiating session held in early September, wherein the co-chairs were instructed to slim down and present “manageable options” for Read More
Despite emerging consensus over a small package of measures for the WTO’s Nairobi ministerial conference this December, the organisation’s head has told trade ministers that its members disagree over how to handle unresolved negotiations on other issues in the long-running Doha Round of talks.
Roberto Azevêdo, the WTO Director-General, told ministers from the G-20 group of major economies in Istanbul this Tuesday that “there are divergent views on what happens after Nairobi.”
While some countries consider that the Doha Round will simply continue unless there is consensus to end it, others say that, if the deal cannot be concluded by December, the talks “will be over for Read More
1. On October 6th, 2015, the Ministers in charge of health affairs in China and African countries, met in Cape Town, South Africa, on the occasion of the 2nd Ministerial Forum of China-Africa Health Development. Representatives from the African Union, World Health Organization (WHO), UNAIDS, UNICEF, UNFPA, World Bank, Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria, were in attendance at the Forum.
2. Recalling the first Ministerial Forum of China-Africa Health Development, which took place in Beijing on August 17th, 2013, and the adoption of Beijing Declaration.
3.Reaffirming the decision of the 1st Ministerial Forum to formally include the Health Development Forum as a sub-forum of the Forum on China-Africa Read More
Ministers from 12 Pacific Rim countries concluded a sweeping trade pact this past Monday, following several days of frenzied negotiations in the US city of Atlanta to bring the agreement across the finish line. With the talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) now completed, participating countries are now gearing up to face their next big challenge: building public support and ratifying the pact’s terms in their domestic legislatures.
The Atlanta ministerial meeting, originally set for 30 September through 1 October following several days of chief negotiators’ discussions, was extended repeatedly as officials worked to reach the long-awaited deal, with the talks finally closing in the early morning hours on 5 Read More
Excellencies,
Mahatma Gandhi had once said, “One must care about the world one will not see”. Indeed, humanity has progressed when it has collectively risen to its obligation to the world and responsibility to the future.
Seventy years after the end of a tragic war and birth of a new hope for our age, we are meeting to chart a course for our humanity and our planet. I consider this a very important summit and thank UN Secretary General for organizing it.
Just as our vision behind the Agenda 2030 is lofty, our goals are comprehensive. It gives priority to the problems that have endured through the past decades. And, it reflects Read More
Here aid was the traditional source of finance, the continent is now seeing a dramatic fivefold increase in FDI, with Nairobi topping the list as the most attractive destination.
ICAEW (the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales) launched their Economic Insight: Africa Q3 2015 report in Nairobi last night. The report, commissioned by ICAEW and produced by the Centre for Economics and Business Research Ltd (Cebr), provides a snapshot of the region’s economic performance focusing specifically on Kenya, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Ghana, Ivory Coast, South Africa and Angola.
According to the report, and drawing on estimates by the World Bank, the total level of external financial inflows into Africa Read More
Arusha — East African Community Headquarters, Arusha, 1 October, 2015: The Federal Republic of Germany and the East African Community (EAC) have successfully concluded bilateral negotiations on development cooperation at the EAC Headquarters in Arusha,Tanzania.
The Federal Republic of Germany committed a total of 37 million euros in grants to the EAC for 2016-2018, highlighting the strong commitment to support the integration process in East Africa.
- 10 million euros in financial assistance will be invested in the establishment of a regional network of reference laboratories for communicable diseases. With this project, the German Government responds to a request for support from the EAC for the prevention and control of epidemic outbreaks Read More
On September 26, 2015, Foreign Minister Wang Yi attended in New York of the US the high-level meeting on Afghanistan’s reconstruction and regional cooperation, and said that China fulfills the commitment of supporting Afghanistan’s peaceful reconstruction through practical actions.
Wang Yi said that China has provided assistance in the major projects concerning people’s livelihood in various fields such as medical treatment, water conservancy, culture and education, and trained over 1,000 professionals of various fields for Afghanistan. China has actively implemented the consensus reached by the leaders of two countries, worked with Afghanistan in advancing new aid programs for Afghanistan, and sent out experts to assist Afghanistan in formulating national infrastructure Read More