Musings From Abroad

US Treasury Secretary, Yellen vows support for Morocco’s earthquake recovery

Published

1 year ago

October 10, 2023

Following its decision to host the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meeting, the United States Treasury Secretary, Janet Yellen on Tuesday said her government and the multilateral bodies would support Morocco’s earthquake rebuilding efforts.

The meeting will be held between October 9 and 15 in Marrakech, just 45 miles (72 km) from the site of the 6.8-magnitude earthquake on September 8 that killed about 3,000 people mostly in the hard-to-reach villages of the High Atlas mountains.

Yellen told reporters in Marrakech, “We stand ready to help in any way that is helpful as you go about the rebuilding process.”

She said that support for Morocco would be discussed during the IMF and World Bank meetings in Marrakech, but she did not specify what assistance would be provided.

“In the midst of all that Morocco has suffered, it really is a testament to the resilience of this community that you’re able to host a gathering as large as the international meetings of the IMF and World Bank taking place here this week,” Yellen said.

Yellen visited the Bin Youssef High School in Marrakech which welcomed students from the quake-damaged schools in the affected villages. The importance of education in Morocco, she said, was demonstrated by the “incredibly impressive” effort.

The suffering of Morocco would be on the minds of meeting attendees, “as we discuss the work of international institutions to stand ready to help Morocco and other countries that can be affected by such severe shocks,” added Yellen, who controls the predominate U.S. shareholding in both institutions.

In late September, the IMF approved a programme that was unrelated to the earthquake tragedy, a $1.3 billion loan to Morocco from its new Resilience and Sustainability Trust to assist it in coping with climate disasters and resilience. Additionally, Morocco has access to a $5 billion IMF flexible credit line.

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Musings From Abroad

Seeking to expand ties in Africa, Indonesia’s Prabowo attends D-8 economic meeting in Egypt

Published

17 hours ago

December 18, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

According to the government, Indonesian President, Prabowo Subianto, travelled to Egypt on Tuesday to attend meetings of the D-8 Organisation for Economic Cooperation, a group of eight significant Muslim developing nations.

To enhance collaboration between the nations spanning from Southeast Asia to Africa, the D-8 was formed in 1997 and consists of Bangladesh, Egypt, Indonesia, Iran, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, and Turkey. Beginning in January 2026, Indonesia will serve as the group’s chair.

Prabowo said that he would meet with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, the president of Egypt.

“Egypt is our close friend, our strategic partner and an important country in the Middle East,” he said before his departure, adding he would also meet the Egyptian business community.

He would go to Malaysia from Egypt and then return to Indonesia.

Since taking office in October, Prabowo has stated that his administration will uphold Indonesia’s long-standing non-alignment foreign policy.

Since winning the presidency earlier this year, he has been to more than 20 nations, including China, the US, Japan, and Russia.

Musings From Abroad

UN warns Sudan rebels may be getting weapons in Chad from UAE cargo planes

Published

5 days ago

December 14, 2024

Ifeoluwa Dada

Flight data and satellite photographs reveal that dozens of UAE cargo planes have landed at a small Chad airstrip since Sudan’s civil war began last year, which some U.N. experts and diplomats fear is being used to transport guns into the fight.

At least 86 UAE planes have landed at Amdjarass airfield in eastern Chad since the war started in April 2023.

According to flight data and business records examined by Reuters, three-quarters of them were operated by airlines accused by the U.N. of transporting Emirati weaponry to a Libyan warlord.

The UAE, a key Western partner in the Middle East, insists it sends Sudan aid through Chad, not armaments.

The UAE denied “credible” allegations that it was supplying Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group fighting the Sudanese army in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions, via the Chad airstrip in January.

Reuters uncovered footage from Amdjarass this year, revealing two pallets loaded with khaki containers, some labelled with the UAE flag, on the tarmac.

Reuters is obscuring the footage’s date and provenance for fear of reprisals.

Three weapons specialists, two of whom were U.N. inspectors, said the containers were unlikely to convey humanitarian material, generally bundled in cardboard boxes coated in plastic and stacked high on pallets due to its lightweight. The footage shows metal containers packed low on pallets.

One U.N. weapons inspector said the contents were “highly probably ammunition or weapons, based on the design and colour of boxes,” but requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the information.

He stated that right-hand pallet cases are long and slender, suggesting weaponry.

Reuters could not independently verify the containers’ contents. The filming date is being withheld to protect the source.

The UAE government told Reuters it has deployed 159 relief planes with more than 10,000 tonnes of food and medical assistance to feed its Amdjarass field hospital.

“We firmly reject the baseless and unfounded claims regarding the provision of arms and military equipment to any warring party since the beginning of the conflict,” the statement said.

To counter Islamist militants, the oil-rich Gulf kingdom has interfered in crises from Yemen to Libya since the Arab Spring protests of 2011. The UAE views Muslim Brotherhood and other groups as threats to internal stability.

In Sudan’s army, Islamists affiliated with deposed President Omar al-Bashir have long held power.

Senior RSF official Brigadier General Omar Hamdan rejected foreign help. He told Nairobi media on Nov. 18 that Sudanese firms made its guns and ammunition. The RSF declined to comment on this topic.