Musings From Abroad

Iranian President, Raisi rounds off African tour, signs MoUs in Zimbabwe, Kenya

Published

1 year ago

July 14, 2023

Iranian President, Ebrahim Raisi has concluded his African tour in which he struck diplomatic deals in Zimbabwe, Kenya, and Uganda.

Raisi signed 12 memoranda of understanding with Zimbabwe on Thursday. It includes plans to create a tractor manufacturing plant in Zimbabwe with a Iranian company and a local partner. The two countries also signed cooperation agreements for energy, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, and telecommunications, as well as research, science, and technology projects.

Zimbabwe President, Emerson Mnangagwa told journalists after the signing ceremony that the Iranian government’s investment was “welcomed in several sectors of our economy”.

During his stop in Uganda, Raisi condemned Western attitudes toward homosexuality and threats against African countries that have enacted legislation against the LGBTQ community. Uganda’s new law makes “aggravated homosexuality” a capital offence and imposes penalties for consensual same-sex relations of up to life in prison.

“The West today is trying to promote the idea of homosexuality, and by promoting homosexuality, they are trying to end the generation of human beings,” Raisi announced.

In neighbouring Kenya, Iran signed five MoUs after bilateral talks between President William Ruto and his Iranian counterpart at State House, Nairobi. The five MoUs will see both countries cooperate in matters of Information, communication, and technology; fisheries; animal health and livestock production, and promotion of investments.

Kenya’s President Ruto said he had a commitment from President Raisi to facilitate the export of more tea, meat, and agricultural products to Iran.

“It is encouraging to note that trade volumes between our countries have been on a steady upward trajectory. Kenya exported tea worth Ksh4 billion ($28.33 million) to Tehran in the first quarter of the year, which is an eight-fold increase from sales for the same period last year. Kenya attaches great significance to the Iranian market since it is one of the most valued export destinations for our tea,” said President Ruto.

According to Iran’s foreign ministry, commerce with African nations would reach more than $2 billion this year. However, the ministry did not provide a comparative figure for 2022.

Related Topics:Featured Iran Kenya Uganda Zimbabwe

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Musings From Abroad

UN Security Council deliberates stance on Sudan war

Published

2 days ago

November 13, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

The UN Security Council is discussing a British-drafted resolution calling on Sudan’s warring parties to stop hostilities and permit safe, quick, and unimpeded assistance supplies across borders and front lines.

The world’s largest relocation crisis began in April 2023 when the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces engaged in a power battle ahead of a planned transfer to civilian administration.

Waves of ethnically motivated violence have resulted, with the RSF mostly to blame. The RSF has blamed the action on rogue actors and denies causing harm to civilians in Sudan. Two RSF generals were named last week by a Security Council committee in the first U.N. sanctions levied during the ongoing conflict.

“Nineteen months into the war, both sides are committing egregious human rights violations, including the widespread rape of women and girls,” Britain’s U.N. ambassador, Barbara Woodward, told reporters at the start of this month as Britain assumed the Security Council’s presidency for November.

“More than half the Sudanese population are experiencing severe food insecurity,” she said. “Despite this, the SAF and the RSF remain focussed on fighting each other and not the famine and suffering facing their country.”

According to diplomats, Britain wants to vote on the draft resolution as soon as possible. A resolution must receive nine votes or more to pass and not be vetoed by the United States, France, Britain, Russia, or China.

Nearly 25 million people, or half of Sudan’s population, require aid, according to the U.N., since 11 million people have abandoned their homes and famine has spread to displacement camps. Of those, around 3 million have departed for other nations.

In its draft language, Britain “demands that the warring parties immediately cease hostilities” and “demands that the Rapid Support Forces immediately halt its offensives” throughout Sudan.

It also “calls on the parties to the conflict to allow and facilitate the full, safe, rapid, and unhindered crossline and cross-border humanitarian access into and throughout Sudan.”

Additionally, the draft urges that assistance deliveries continue to be made through the Adre border crossing with Chad “and stresses the need to sustain humanitarian access through all border crossings, while humanitarian needs persist, and without impediments.”

Sudanese authorities have permitted the U.N. and relief organisations to enter Darfur through the Adre border crossing for three months, ending in mid-November.

Musings From Abroad

South Africa worry Trump’s victory might affect climate fight

Published

5 days ago

November 10, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

South Africa’s environment minister has expressed concern about the potential effects of Donald Trump’s victory on climate change negotiations.

The demise of Germany’s coalition government this week and Trump’s election coincide with COP29 negotiations to address global warming, which experts credit for this year’s devastating hurricanes, floods, and heatwaves.

“We are concerned about America because we don’t know what they’re going to do … how (it) is going to approach COP,” South African Environment Minister Dion George told Reuters.

“Mr. Trump said that he would withdraw from the Paris Agreement, but we don’t know what will happen,” George added in a telephone interview on Friday.

International partners are concerned that the prospect of an administration led by Trump, who has called climate change a hoax, will de-motivate poor and middle-income countries who want rich nations to shoulder more of its financial burden.

South Africa, which is one of the world’s top 15 greenhouse gas emitters and accounts for 30% of the continent’s emissions, has accepted $11.6 billion from rich nations, mainly in loans, for a switch from coal to renewable energy.

This is seen as a potential model for other ‘Global South’ countries who say financing pledges of $100 billion, which took years to come through, are insufficient.

“It’s certainly not enough. We need another target,” George said. “But then the question is: as the voter base is shifting in developed economies, are they actually going to pay it?”

The South African minister said he had been reassured by German officials that Europe’s stance at the COP29 climate talks will not be hurt by Berlin’s political crisis.

George said that Jennifer Morgan, Germany’s state secretary for international climate action, had contacted him to say it will be up to the European Union to maintain leadership.

“Their position is not changed and that is how they will approach COP,” George said, adding: “They’re on Team Europe. The European Union and German have clearly set out their objectives.”