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Musings From Abroad

British PM, Sunak meets Rwanda’s Kagame to ‘correct’ controversial migrant deal 

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British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak is sticking to his words to keep pressing for a migrant deal with Rwanda despite recent major legal setbacks for the arrangement. He met Rwandan President, Paul Kagame on Friday for a discussion on the subject.

Sunak is currently finalising his response to a block on the policy in the Supreme Court in London. His government has maintained that it is working on a new treaty with Rwanda, as well as a new domestic legislation, following a verdict that declared the policy unlawful last month.

When reporters questioned Sunak about his conversation with Kagame during the COP28 climate conference in Dubai, he replied that while he was “confident” in his government’s proposals, the two leaders wanted to ensure that the plan’s details were correct.

“We’re finalising the arrangements we have with them. It was good to check in with him on that and reiterate… our commitment to making the partnership work,” Sunak said at a press conference.

“Paul and I have forged a very strong relationship over this issue. He’s keen to work very constructively with us.”

Last year, Britain announced its plan to send asylum seekers to Rwanda at 169,000 pounds ($215,035) per person. The cost of deporting each person to Rwanda would include an average payment to Rwanda of 105,000 pounds for holding each asylum seeker, 22,000 pounds for travel and accompanying, and 18,000 pounds for processing and legal charges.

Concerns over illegal migrants from Africa and the Middle East have been on the front burner in Europe in recent years. As of June 2023, a record 45,000 people had crossed the English Channel in small boats. Like Britain, Italy is also facing growing pressure from migrants crossing the Mediterranean, with a surge in arrivals this year compared to 2022. Almost 150,000 people have landed in Italy so far in 2023, against around 10,200 in the same period last year.

Musings From Abroad

Ivory Coast’s Ouattara becomes IMF executive board member

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Wautabouna Ouattara of Ivory Coast has been appointed as the third director for Sub-Saharan Africa on the executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which strengthens the region’s influence in policy-making by serving as the lender of last resort.

There are now 25 members of the executive board, which is in charge of the fund’s daily operations, thanks to the new role.

“The addition of a third African chair to our Board reflects the continent’s tremendous progress in developing its human and economic potential,” IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said in a statement on Friday.

After an election, an additional regional representative was formally appointed to the board, according to the IMF. It is its first expansion since 1992 when the Soviet bloc broke up and two postings were established for the former Soviet Union nations.

Despite having 18% of the world’s population, Africa’s 54 nations—the largest bloc in terms of number among the IMF’s 191 members—only have 6.5% of voting rights. About half of that comes from Sub-Saharan Africa’s vote portion.

A year ago, in Marrakech, Morocco, the new position for the area on the board was unveiled. However, detractors claim that, while the region struggles with debt, it does not adequately meet its requirements.

As nations like Zambia and Ghana restructured their loans and others, like Kenya, looked to the Fund for greater liquidity support because of rising debt interest obligations, the IMF has been playing an increasingly important role in the management of economies in Sub-Saharan Africa in recent years.

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Musings From Abroad

Brazil’s Embraer to invest in Morocco’s aerospace sector

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Morocco’s industry ministry has announced that Brazilian aircraft manufacturer, Embraer, has reached an initial agreement to invest in the country’s defence and civilian aerospace sectors, including the establishment of a maintenance and repair facility.

According to a Moroccan industry insider who asked to remain anonymous, Embraer’s prospects of obtaining a piece of a recent plane acquisition tender issued by Moroccan airline RAM are expected to increase with the new maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) facility.

At the opening of the Marrakech Air Show, where the Embraer transaction was finalised, RAM CEO Abdelhamid Addou stated that the company intends to quadruple its fleet to 200 within the next 14 years to solidify its position as a carrier connecting Africa to Europe and the Americas.

Safran, a manufacturer of aircraft engines, and the Moroccan government inked an agreement Monday to construct an MRO plant valued at 130 million euros ($141.14 million).

To emulate its success in auto production, Morocco’s government has recently promoted aerospace suppliers to invest in the nation by establishing hubs to streamline supply chains and exchange knowledge.

With $2.2 billion in exports last year, the nation’s 147 aerospace industrial units produce everything from cables to sophisticated engine parts, supplying international giants like Boeing and Airbus.

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