Amb Arikana Chihombori-Quao Refutes African Union Allegations

Former Ambassador from the African Union to the US, Arikana Chihombori-Quao with Lawrence Freeman. December 5, 2019

December 8, 2019

You can read in the press release below the rebuttal by Ambassador Arikana Chihombori-Quao to the allegations against her by the African Union.

“In summary, I took a virtually unknown Mission that had been relegated to a Protocol Office and turned it into a vibrant well-respected Mission, not only in Washington DC but around the world. I accomplished all this with limited staff…and very limited resources. I worked tirelessly, an average of sixteen-eighteen-hour days, seven days a week during my tenure. I attended as many meetings and events as I could promoting Africa and the African Union not only in the United States of America but also in other parts of the Americas. I realized that this is what it took to bring awareness to the people of an entity that was otherwise unknown.”

Read: Press Release and Rebuttal by HE Ambassador Chihombori Quao

 

Africa Enters New Era of Trade and Development with AfCFTA

July 9, 2019

(Courtesy Africa Feeds)
12th Extra-Ordinary African Union Summit in Niamey, Niger, July 7, 2019. (Courtesy Africa Feeds)

China Global Television Network, or CGTN  published my article on the African Union’s creation of the Africa Continental Freed Trade Area-AfCFTA

Read below.

Six decades after African nations began liberating their people from the yoke of European colonialists, the African Union has launched the “operational phase” of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), taking a giant step toward uniting the 54 African nations and fostering economic progress.

The landmark move was made at the 12th Extraordinary African Union Summit in Niamey, the capital of Niger, on July 7. Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union Commission, referred to it as a “historic moment.”

Many prominent African leaders view this new free trade agreement as a “game changer” with the potential to catapult the continent into a foremost position in global trade and development, especially with Africa’s population projected to double in the next 30 years to 2.4 billion.

 Continue ReadingAfrica Enters New Era of Trade and Development-with-AfCFTA

For more on the AfCFTA watch this video interview with Amb. Chihombori-Quao: 

AU Amb Chihombori-Quao: “The African Sleeping Giant is Rising”-The Significance of the Africa Continental Free Trade Area

African Union Commission chief praises AU-China partnership

Moussa Faki Mahamat

Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairperson of the African Union (AU) Commission, has extolled the partnership between the 55-member pan-African bloc and China in different arenas.

The AU Commission chief made the remarks at the opening of the 32nd AU summit on Sunday in Ethiopia’s capital Addis Ababa, with the attendance of African leaders, foreign diplomats, and other prominent personalities.

Speaking of the AU-China partnership, Mahamat said that the two sides have been enjoying unprecedentedly dynamic partnership in various areas.

The successful Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC) summit in Beijing in September 2018 demonstrated “the unprecedented dynamism” of the partnership between the two sides, he said.

In September 2018, AU officially launched the AU representational office in Beijing, he recalled, indicating that it would further strengthen the partnership.

“The remarkable success of FOCAC held in Beijing in September 2018 illustrates the unprecedented dynamism of our partnership,” Mahamat said.

“The opening of an AU office in Beijing will obviously strengthen this multifarious and fruitful partnership, including the strategic dialogue between the AU Commission and the People’s Republic of China,” he added.

Chinese support for AU peace and security totals $180 million

AU Chairman, and African Leaders Congratulate China’s “Dark Side” of the Moon Landing

China is Making History with Moon Landing

January 8, 2019

Senegalese President Macky Sall congratulated China for the success of its Chang’e-4 mission to deploy a lunar rover on the far side of the Moon, when he met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Jan. 6. Senegal, which is currently co-chair of the Forum of China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC). This was the last stop in Wang’s four-nation tour of Africa that began in Ethiopia.

According to Xinhua, Sall said that “this major technological breakthrough has shown that China is taking the lead in the field of technological innovation…. China’s African friends are proud of its achievement.” He added that they hope to strengthen their cooperation with China in scientific and technological innovation.

African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat had said much the same thing, when he met with Wang on Jan. 4 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, where the AU has its headquarters. Expressing his congratulations on the successful landing of the Chang’e-4 lunar probe, Faki told Wang, “for humans, the Moon is out of reach, but with its super-scientific capabilities, China has successfully achieved this landing event, making history.” He, too, said that Africa, as a friend of China, is happy about its success, and hopes that African countries will strengthen cooperation with China in science and technological innovation.

Xinhua reported that Wang, in responding to Sall, said that China’s achievements are also achievements of developing countries, “stressing that developing countries have the right and ability to achieve rapid development in the field of scientific and technological innovation.”

Between those two stops, Wang visited The Gambia and Burkina Faso, two countries which had only established relations with China in 2016 and 2018. Cooperation through the Belt and Road Initiative was on the agenda in each stop, as was China’s commitment to helping bring peace to Africa, which is fighting off terrorism. Wang told AU Commission Chair Faki, and Burkina Faso’s President Roch Marc Christian Kaboré and Foreign Minister Alpha Barry, in particular, that China will “soon” provide its $45 million commitment for the anti-terror force of the Group of 5 Sahel countries (Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Mauritania, and Niger), plus additional support for equipment as well as equipment for the fight against terrorism. One Burkina Faso newspaper called Wang’s pledge “a breath of fresh air,” because while the G5 Sahel counter-force is backed by the United Nations Security Council, international funding has been way below commitments.

Traditionally China’s foreign minister makes the first overseas trip of each year to Africa.

{China Daily} Reflects on Chang’e-4 Mission

In an article headlined “Exploring Outer Space for Benefit of Mankind,” the semi-official {China Daily} takes stock of the significance of the ongoing Chang’e-4 mission.

“The successful landing of China’s Chang’e 4 probe on the far side of the Moon on Jan. 3 marks a significant step forward in the exploration of outer space and paves the way for future space missions…. Both the country and its people have a good reason to take pride in this pioneering achievement, which contributes to the efforts to learn our homes planet’s satellite, the Solar System and the universe beyond…. Following the Chang’e 4 mission, China is expected to quicken its steps in exploring outer space.

“In recent years, each significant achievement made by China’s space industry has drawn global attention. Although its space industry is comparatively young, China’s commitment to the exploration of outer space has always been crystal clear and consistent. It is committed to the principle of using outer space for peaceful purposes, and opposes the militarization of or an arms race in outer space. Its door is open to international cooperation in space exploration….

China’s commitment to international cooperation demonstrates its unwavering belief that outer space is a common home for all humanity and that its space
dream is part of the dream of all humankind.”

China, Africa, and exploring the Universe for Mankind

Displaying China’s commitment and friendship to Africa, the first foreign trip of the new year by China’s Foreign Minister began in Ethiopia, and included a meeting African Union Chairman,  Moussa Faki Mahamat. Landing on the dark side of the Moon for the first time history with China’s new rover is a step forward for Mankind.  

Wang Yi Opens New Year with Visit to Africa

Jan. 4, 2019

As has become the tradition of Chinese Foreign Ministers, Wang Yi’s first foreign trip of 2019 is to Africa. It began yesterday with meetings with Ethiopia’s highest officials, followed by his meeting today with the head of the African Union, headquartered in Ethiopia. Wang will then travel to Burkina Faso, Gambia, and Senegal. China reported that Wang hopes through this trip to strengthen coordination with Africa for the implementation of the decisions taken in last September’s historic summit in Beijing of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC).

Wang met with both Ethiopia’s Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and Foreign Minister Workneh Gebeyehu. The statement posted by the Prime Minister after his meeting with Wang praised China’s “immense contribution to Ethiopia,” reported that Abiy had “highlighted” that for Ethiopia, “the new frontier of a  strengthened relationship [with China] needs to capitalize on introducing new forms of technology,” and to continue the support in infrastructure development.

Neighboring Kenya’s {Daily Nation} covered Wang’s meetings in Ethiopia with a blast at the “China debt trap” lies. Citing statistics from the “conservative” American Enterprise Institute), the paper emphasized that from 2005 to 2018, China’s total on investment and construction in Sub-Saharan Africa was $298 billion. Making China “the single largest bilateral financier of infrastructure in Africa, exceeding the combined total of the African Development Bank, the European Union, International Finance Corporation, the World Bank and the Group of Eight countries.”

Wang had “initially sidestepped concerns, often made by Western nations, about whether the debt payments were sustainable,” the {Daily Nation} reported, but he then he answered: “Generally, debt in Africa has been a protracted issue left from history. It didn’t come up today, still less is it caused by  China,” Wang said. He added that China is well-aware that some African nations have encountered financing difficulties, and “we’re always ready to extend a good hand when African countries need it.”

According to Anadolu Agency, Wang discussed plans to start a dialogue on security with Africa, when he met with African Union Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat today, arguing that “peace in the African continent is very important for stability in the whole world.” Faki, for his part, praised China’s help in capacity building in Africa, being the biggest partner of Africa in building roads, ports and energy facilities.

Chang’e-4: “Exploring the Unknown Is Human Nature”

There is extensive coverage in the Chinese media, both TV and print, of the astonishing Chang’e-4 achievement, and the ongoing activities of the lander, the rover, and the relay satellite. Comments by a number of China’s top scientists involved in the project are also reported: “Exploring the unknown is human nature. The Moon is a mysterious world to us. We have a responsibility to explore and to understand it. Exploration of the Moon will also deepen our understanding of Earth and ourselves,” said Wu Weiren, chief of China’s lunar program. On CGTN’s “China 24” program this morning Wu said that although China started late in its lunar program, unlike the U.S. program it is not a race, but scientific, and started from a higher ground. He said China’s lunar program welcomes contributions, even in subsystems and system integration.

“It is a perfect display of human intelligence,” said Jia Yang, deputy chief designer of the Chang’e-4 probe, from the China Academy of Space Technology CAST). “Solving those problems might help lay the foundation for future space exploration. High-precision landing is a necessity for further exploring the Moon and asteroids. We hope to be able to reach the whole Moon and even the whole solar system,” said Sun Zezhou, chief designer of Change-4 probe, from CAST.

“Exploring the far side of the Moon is one contribution China is making to the world. Although we still don’t know what we might find, this exploration might influence several generations,” said Shen Zhenrong, a designer of the lunar rover.