Sustainable Industrialialisation

‘Debt Trap Diplomacy’ Blamed For Zambian Debt Crisis

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — China, the builder of roads, energy, railways and telecom across Africa, came under fire from U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen during her recent three-country African friendship tour when she singled out the Asian giant for Africa’s looming debt crisis.

Driving past Lusaka, the capital city, with its renovated international airport and newly built firms bearing Chinese signage, Yellen urged Zambian leaders to address Zambia’s heavy debt burden with China immediately.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 30 January 2023

Spectacular Boom in Crypto Market in Africa

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) — Why is cryptocurrency booming in Africa but sinking in rich western countries, including the U.S.?

For starters, cryptocurrencies have gained acceptance among a large proportion of the low-income population that was, previously financially marginalized. Most banks in Africa were not accessible to this segment. Even when they were, low-income account holders were discouraged by the high transaction fees.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 24 January 2023

Photo: The African Union (AU) Extraordinary Summit on Industrialization and Economic Diversification and AU Extraordinary Session on the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) took place in Niamey. Source: UNIDO

Africa: Industrialization Trapped in Limbo Despite All Efforts

By Jeffrey Moyo

HARARE, Zimbabwe (IDN) — Jobless and weighed down by idleness, 53-year-old Jasper Mhandu, in the Zimbabwean capital, now has to spend time sited at a street corner chatting with gangs of drug-taking jobless youths in Highfield, a poor income suburb here.

Mhandu used to work for a clothing factory that shut its operations in 2007 when Zimbabwe’s comatose economy forced many firms to close down.

: Jeffrey Moyo; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Industrialisation; 11 December 2022

AfDB and OECD Join Hands for Low-Carbon Transition in Africa

By Jaya Ramachandran

PARIS (IDN) — The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the OECD Development Centre are joining hands efforts to implement the Equitable Framework and Finance for Extractive-based Countries in Transition (EFFECT), which was launched on November 15 at COP27 in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Sustainable Industrialisation; 25 November 2022

Building Tech “Trust and Safety” for a Digital Public Sphere

Viewpoint by Lisa Schirch

Toda Peace Institute issued this article, and it is being republished with their permission.

Notre Dame, Indiana, USA (IDN) — The first annual “Trust and Safety” conferences took place this week in Palo Alto, California. Tech platform staff from Zoom, Meta, TikTok, and DoorDash met together with researchers studying how to reduce the harmful content on social media platforms.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 21 October 2022

Image credit: UNESCAP Digital Future Report 2022.Image credit: UNESCAP Digital Future Report 2022.Image credit: UNESCAP Digital Future Report 2022.

New Report Identifies Five Key 'Digital Divides'

Viewpoint by Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana

Armida Salsiah Alisjahbana is an Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

BANGKOK (IDN) — Asia and the Pacific is the most digitally divided region of the world, and South-East Asia is the most divided subregion. The Covid-19 pandemic detonated a “digital big bang” that spurred people, governments and businesses to become “digital by default;” a sea change that generated vast digital dividends.

: Opinion Editor; OPINION; 30 August 2022

Image: A collage of Tim Peake, an astronaut of the International Space Station by the British/European Space Agency (timpeake.com), with a special apple tree grown from seeds taken into space. The tree was planted on the Vienna International Centre (VIC) grounds on 26 September 2021 to inspire future generations of space scientists.

Bringing the Benefits and Peace of Space to Humanity

A new UNOOSA head is to be appointed soon

By Aurora Weiss

VIENNA (IDN) — Legend has it that a young Isaac Newton was sitting beneath an apple tree contemplating the mysterious universe. Suddenly —"boink!''—an apple unexpectedly hit him on the head. He experienced his "aha moment!". In a flash of light, he understood that the same force that brought the apple crashing toward the ground also keeps the moon falling toward the Earth and the Earth falling toward the sun: gravity. We are talking about real space Affairs in practice, which debuted in his book Mathematical Principles of Natural Philosophy (1869).

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 16 August 2022

New UN Report Calls on African Countries to Rethink Export Diversification

By Jaya Ramachandran with UNCTAD Report

GENEVA (IDN) — African countries must diversify their exports to survive economic shocks from global crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine, says the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

In its Economic Development in Africa Report 2022, published on July 14, UNCTAD says African countries can diversify their economies through boosting exports of high-value services, expanding private businesses’ access to financial services, tapping into new financial technologies and implementing effective policies.

: Jaya Ramachandran; SUSTAINABILITY; Decent Work & Economic Growth; 16 July 2022

Image: Indian woman sifts grain. / Photo: World Bank (Ray Witlin)

'Asian Century' Won’t Come Until Global Governance Becomes More Inclusiv

Viewpoint by Dawei Wang, Economist, UNCTAD

This article was first issued by China Daily and republished by UNCTAD.

GENEVA (IDN) — Claims that the “Asian century” has arrived or is set to begin frequently appear in the media and public fora.

For example, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi stated during the 2018 Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank conference: “Now the continent finds itself at the centre of global economic activity…It has become the main growth engine of the world. In fact, we are now living through what many have termed the Asian century.”

: UN Bureau; UN INSIDER; 14 July 2022

Photo: Beautiful morning view of Padma Bridge under construction, in a November Morning. CC BY-SA 4.0

Bangladesh’s New Mega-Infrastructure to Impact Ruling Party’s Popularity

By Bahauddin Foizee

DHAKA (IDN) — A historic infrastructure milestone for Bangladesh and now the longest bridge of the country, the newly-built Padma Multipurpose Bridge would now help grow Bangladesh’s GDP by 1.3% annually.

The US$ 3.86 billion worth mega-infrastructure was inaugurated on June 25 and is forecast to increase jobs, service sector activity and tourism in the country’s southwestern districts, connectivity to which was poor even a day before the opening of this bridge.