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Photo credit: Roscongress Foundation | Danila Vorobyov

A Glimpse of Russian Policy of Writing Off African Debts

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – President Vladimir Putin hosted the first Russia-Africa summit on October 23-24 in the greatest display of Moscow's efforts to restore its geopolitical foothold on the continent after the historical collapse of the Soviet era.

Russia had played rather a crucial role in the continent during the Soviet era, supporting independence movements and training government leaders in former Soviet client states such as Angola, Ethiopia and a few others. Moscow's relations with Africa deteriorated after the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991, with China taking over as the continent's key foreign business partner.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 28 October 2019

ACP-EU-IOM Join to Combat Refugee Crisis Across Africa

By Jeffrey Moyo

CHIPINGE, Zimbabwe (IDN) – When he fled from his country’s 1994 genocide, now 63-year old Iradukunda Nyaruyonga, a Rwandese national had four teenage children whose education he thought had been prematurely ended by the civil war in the home country. Now, despite having grown up in a refugee camp, Nyaruyonga’s children are counted amongst great achievers domiciled in Zimbabwe.

: Jeffrey Moyo; THE WORLD; Africa; 27 October 2019

New Technique Converts Plastic Waste into High-Quality Plastic

By J W Jackie

RENO, Nevada, USA (IDN) – Every year, around eight million tons of plastic makes its way to our oceans, with the yearly input expected to double by the year 2025. The problem is most visible in developing nations (where garbage collection and recycling systems are inexistent or sub-par) but developed nations also often have low recycling rates, and the ‘throwaway culture’ is endangering the lives of countless marine species.

: Admin; SUSTAINABILITY; Responsible Consumption & Production; 27 October 2019

Photo: Sculpture depicting St. George slaying the dragon. The dragon is created from fragments of Soviet SS-20 and United States Pershing nuclear missiles. UN Photo/Milton Grant.

Growing Anxiety About the Crucial 2020 NPT Review Conference

By Santo D. Banerjee

NEW YORK (IDN) – The survivors of atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the Mayors of the two Japanese cities whose inhabitants have experienced first-hand the mind boggling cruelty of nuclear weapons, representatives of other civil society organizations as well as the United Nations are increasingly concerned about the fate of non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.

: Santo D. Banerjee; ARMAMENTS; Nuclear Weapons; 26 October 2019

Photo: Statements by Russian Putin and Egyptian President El-Sissi for media. Credit: Roscongress Foundation | Anatoliy Medved.

Putin and El-Sissy Greet the Outcome of Russia-Africa Summit

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – The first Russia-Africa Summit that brought together African leaders, corporate businesses, academics and other experts in the Black Sea city of Sochi on October 23-24 has agreed an action plan. At the initiative of African participants, a new dialogue mechanism – the Russia-Africa partnership forum – has been created.

Top-level meetings will take place within its framework once every three years, alternately in Russia and in an African state. And, the foreign ministers of Russia and three African countries – the current, future and previous chairpersons of the African Union – will meet for annual consultations.

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 25 October 2019

UN Chief Unveils Grand Design for the 75th Anniversary

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – In the midst of multiple crises compounded by paucity of funds threatening the very functioning of the United Nations, Secretary-General António Guterres has announced plans emphasizing the vital significance of the world body. Commemoration of the 75th anniversary of the United Nations in 2020, he said, will feature a large and inclusive global conversation on the role of global cooperation in building the future we want.

: J Nastranis; UN INSIDER; 24 October 2019

Photo: Discussion on the role of media in Russian–African relations. Credit: Roscongress Foundation | Evgeniy Reutov.

Russia and Africa Move Towards Filling the Information Gap

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW, (IDN) – Russian and African communication experts have moved closer to forging collaboration in bridging the information gap between the two regions as well as fight against “anti-Russian propaganda” by western and European media in Africa.

Some of the popular questions the panelists tried answering during the two-hour long deliberations as part of the Russia-Africa Forum within the framework of the Summit on October 23-24 included:

: Kester Kenn Klomegah; THE WORLD; Russia; 24 October 2019

Photo (left to right): Karmenu Vella, EU Commissioner for Maritime Affairs and Fisheries, Qu Dongyu, Director-General of FAO, and Patrick I. Gomes, Secretary General of ACP.

EU Boosts Sustainable Fisheries and Aquaculture in ACP States

OSLO (IDN | ACP) – The EU, the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) signed at the Our Ocean 2019 conference on October 23 a €40 million, five-year programme to boost the development of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific.

[Fisheries and aquaculture in EU development cooperation: https://ec.europa.eu/europeaid/fisheries-and-aquaculture-european-development-cooperation-state-play-2018_en]

: Admin; GLOBAL GOVERNANCE; ACP Group of States; 24 October 2019

Burundi Joins Other African States to Move Its Capital

By Lisa Vives, Global Information Network

NEW YORK (IDN) – Remember Bujumbura? Once upon a time it was the political capital of Burundi. But no more!

The Burundian government has just adopted a historic bill in which Gitega on the shores of Lake Tanganyika, becomes the political capital and Bujumbura the economic capital.

: Global Information Network; THE WORLD; Africa; 23 October 2019

Africa Is Back as a Priority for Russia

By Kester Kenn Klomegah

MOSCOW (IDN) – Russia is now the new foreign player in Africa. Russia's renewed interest in and ‘final great return’ to Africa is primarily due to the desire to restore its previous influence, to halt economic exploitation and western dominance, and to build allies as it experiences growing criticism by Western countries.

While Russians are aware of the competitive conditions on the African continent, Africans view Russia as another fairly large trading partner and probably a stabilizing and balancing factor in the face of other foreign players. Interestingly, Russia's return has sparked debates around the world. Russians are very sensitive toward the usage of the word "return" in business meetings, academic discussions and public speeches.