UAE welcomes DOP between DR Congo, Congo River Alliance
He reaffirmed the UAE's support for all regional and international efforts aimed at resolving conflicts through peaceful means and strengthening the foundations of security and stability across the African continent and globally.
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Senegal becomes 56th nation to join Artemis Accords
Senegal is the 56th country to sign the Artemis Accords, which establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations participating in NASAs Artemis programme. Senegal has joined the Artemis Accords, becoming the 56th nation to endorse the global framework for peaceful and transparent space exploration. The signing took place during a ceremony hosted by NASA at its headquarters in Washington. Maram Kairé, Director General of the Senegalese Agency for Space Studies (ASES), signed the accords on behalf of Senegal, with participation from Jonathan Pratt, senior bureau official for African Affairs at the US Department of State, and Abdoul Wahab Haidara, Senegals ambassador to the United States. The event follows a recent Washington meeting between Senegalese President Bassirou Diomaye Faye and former US President Donald Trump, as part of broader discussions on US-Africa engagement. Acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy said: 'Following a meeting between Senegal President Faye and President Trump, today, NASA built upon the strong relations between our two nations as the Senegalese Agency for Space Studies signed the Artemis Accords. With Senegal as the 56th signatory, I am proud to further President Trumps strong legacy of global cooperation in space.' 'Senegals adherence to the Artemis Accords reflects our commitment to a multilateral, responsible, and transparent approach to space,' added Kairé. 'This signature marks a meaningful step in our space diplomacy and in our ambition to contribute to the peaceful exploration of outer space.' Senegal's astronomers have previously collaborated with NASA on scientific missions, including a 2021 campaign to observe asteroid Orus from the ground. During the event, astronomers used telescopes to measure the asteroids dimensions as it passed in front of a star. This data will support NASAs Lucy mission, which will fly by Orus in 2028 as part of its exploration of Jupiters Trojan asteroids. The Artemis Accords, established in 2020 by the United States and seven founding partners, set forth guiding principles for civil space exploration. These include commitments to peaceful use, transparency, international cooperation, scientific data sharing, non-interference and the preservation of space heritage. The accords also encourage development of best practices for sustainable space activity. With growing global interest in lunar and deep space missions, NASA anticipates that more countries will join the Artemis Accords, reinforcing the shared goal of a secure, cooperative and beneficial space environment for all humanity.
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3 days ago
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Africa food systems not on track, time for decisive action
As the world assembles for the UN Food Systems Summit in Addis Ababa this week, we confront a simple but profound invitation not merely to reflect on four years of progress since 2021, but to fundamentally rethink how we finance, produce, and govern agri-food systems. This is because, from the intensive discussions on nutrition in Paris during the Nutrition for Growth Summit in March to the recent International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) in Seville, and now, the sobering data of the 2025 State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, the message is unmistakable: we must change and the time for change is now. The SOFI 2025 report offers both warning and nuance. While hunger receded in Southern Asia and Latin America, food insecurity worsened in both rural and urban Africa between 2022 and 2024. The global gender gap in food insecurity narrowed from 2021 to 2023 only to widen again in 2024, leaving women disproportionately exposed to malnutrition. Conflict, climate volatility, and post-Covid inflation have combined to erode hard-won gains, casting a long shadow over our pursuit of SDG 2 – ending hunger. These mixed signals demand clarity: Africa is not on track, and without decisive action, vulnerability will deepen across the continent. In light of these challenges, we must continue making the case for agri-food systems. What does this actually mean? To me, it means calling for courage from donors, multilateral lenders, and investors to rethink risk, unlock catalytic capital, and shift away from short-term projects towards long-term, systemic financing. It means embracing unconventional tools like concessional finance, blended models, pay-for-results frameworks, and payments for ecosystem service (PES), among other novel ideas. It also means financing food systems through cross-sector channels, including health, climate, and social protection because food systems are not a silo, but the very infrastructure of resilience. Most crucially, it means putting farmers and food producers, especially young people, at the centre of the conversation. I am convinced that agri-food systems must become an active driver of our food security and nutrition sufficiency transformation, not a passive recipient of aid. If centred in policy and resourced effectively, it will catalyse economic growth, unlock livelihood improvements, and simultaneously deliver on climate and nutrition goals. It is where climate action meets healthy diets, where dignified employment meets rural renewal, and where innovation meets inclusion for women and youth. In Africa, this synergy is not a distant aspiration, it is an imperative for survival and prosperity. At AGRA, with our two decades experience co-designing African solutions to sustainably raise farmers' productivity and connecting them to a growing marketplace, we continuously embrace what has worked while evolving new ideas. Our work with researchers, donors, African governments, the private sector and civil society has seen small and medium enterprises thrive, digital and nature-based solutions scaled, and tangible results realised through increased smallholder productivity, reduction in post-harvest, and emergence of new market opportunities. For example, AGRA has facilitated 42 policy reforms across 11 focus countries thereby reducing approval times from between eight to 10 years to between three to five years. In Tanzania, 2017 fertiliser regulations centralised oversight, increasing trade by 47 percent and reducing prices by between 10 percent and 40 per cent. AGRA supported 10 National Agricultural Investment Plans (NAIPs) and 10 flagship programmes, mobilising $1.4 billion, including $400 million from governments. In Kenya, the 2019 Seed Act expanded certified seed access for 2.5 million farmers. These policy reforms unlocked $1.5 billion in public budgets. Ethiopia's extension system trained 70,000 agents, serving 15 million farmers, while Nigeria's revived state councils secured $5 million in investments. But too often, these successes cannot be scaled, sustained or replicated across countries not for lack of innovation, but financing. Regrettably, as we seek to accelerate progress, finance is unwinding in the opposite direction. Official development assistance from G7 donors has fallen by nearly 28 percent since 2021, while debt burdens in low- and middle-income countries have surged, constraining fiscal space for essential investments. Globally, it will take $1.2 trillion to $1.4 trillion a year to transform global agri-food systems, just one percent of global GDP. This is a fraction of the $12 trillion we're already losing annually to the hidden costs of poor health, environmental degradation, and inequality. The case for action is clear: responsible investment could unlock $4.5 trillion in new business opportunities each year. These estimates, captured in the Global Donor Platform for Rural Development's 2025 White Paper on Financing Agri-food Systems, a process to which AGRA is proud to have contributed, reminds us that the issue isn't a shortage of capital, but whether we choose to deploy it where it matters most. Ultimately, if stakeholders are serious about transforming Africa's agri-food systems, they must also get serious about financing her people and harness their creativity. The question before us in Addis Ababa is clear: will we seize this moment to mobilise the capital, creativity, and courage required to build the food systems that Africa and the world urgently needs?Alice Ruhweza is President of AGRA, an African-led organisation focused on putting farmers at the centre of our continent's growing economy. © Copyright 2022 Nation Media Group. All Rights Reserved. Provided by SyndiGate Media Inc. (
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Liberia salutes African Development Bank President Adesina in landmark Government session
I want you to know that your legacy in Liberia is strong and enduring, President Boakai tells Adesina 'With your vast natural resources, Liberia has no business being poor.' — Adesina Liberian President Joseph Nyuma Boakai convened the full spectrum of his government leadership to hear from African Development Bank President Dr. Akinwumi Adesina ( whom he lauded for a transformative decade at the helm of Africa's premier development finance institution. The expanded cabinet meeting, held Tuesday 22 July at the Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Ministerial Complex in Monrovia, brought together all three branches of the Liberian government: executive ministers, legislative leaders, the Chief Justice, and heads of state-owned enterprises. The event served as both a celebration of partnership and a platform for Adesina to share leadership insights as he nears the end of his term in August 2025. 'You have shown the world that bold ideas, when combined with clear vision and determination, can produce extraordinary results,' President Boakai declared. 'Through your leadership, the African Development Bank has invested in real solutions that touch lives every day.' Underscoring the gravity of the occasion, the Liberian president added: "The fact that all three branches of our government are represented speaks volumes about the value we place on your visit and the respect we have for your leadership and contributions.' In his rousing keynote address titled "Liberia: Arise, and Shine!", Dr. Adesina reflected on the Bank's enduring partnership with Liberia, which has resulted in $1.02 billion in investments across 72 projects since 1967. Key achievements include nearly 2,500 km of electricity transmission lines connecting Liberia with Côte d'Ivoire, Sierra Leone, and Guinea; the Liberia Energy Efficiency and Access Project, which delivered nearly 40,000 new grid connections; and 177 km of new roads including the transformational Fish Town-Harper and Karloken to Fish Town corridors. A central highlight of the event was the launch of the Liberia Youth Entrepreneurship Investment Bank (YEIB), a flagship $17 million initiative under the African Development Bank's Youth in Africa strategy. Liberia becomes the first African country to establish the dedicated youth-focused financial institution, aimed at equipping young Liberians aged 18-35 with the tools and capital to drive national development through entrepreneurship. President Boakai described the Bank's portfolio as 'more than numbers on paper.' 'They are roads that connect our communities, energy that lights homes and businesses, and agriculture projects that strengthen food security and create income for our farmers,' he said. Drawing from his experience as Nigeria's former Minister of Agriculture, and his decade-long leadership of the Bank, Adesina offered the Liberian cabinet a 7-point framework for transformational governance: setting clear and ambitious goals, ensuring measurable results, promoting teamwork and accountability and reforming institutions, especially the civil service and judiciary. 'Don't just blow the whistle, use your yellow card or red card. There is no need for rules in a soccer game if the referee never uses the yellow card or the red card,' Adesina said. 'You cannot spend time baby-sitting poor performers. The public is eager for results and time is not on your side. So, be firm. Reward performers. Dispense with non-performers.' He recommended the adoption of a 'One Government approach', as well as the establishment of a presidential awards program to 'recognize and incentivize inter-agency collaboration'; drawing from similar models at the African Development Bank. The Bank Group President urged the country to unlock greater value from its abundant resources. "With your vast natural resources, Liberia has no business being poor,' he stated. 'The export of raw materials is the door to poverty. The export of value-added products is the highway to wealth.' During a Q&A session, Adesina emphasized the importance of technical and vocational training, citing that 60 percent of Liberia's population is under the age of 35. He was responding to Education Minister Jarso Maley Jallah who inquired about strengthening entrepreneurship through the education system. Responding to a question from the Minister of Information, Cultural Affairs and Tourism, Jerolinmek Piah on achieving fiscal targets, Adesina urged the government to plug revenue leakages, noting that Africa loses $88 billion annually to illicit financial flows. "Make your country investable: invest in transparency, rule of law, create the right environment, provide incentives," he added. Sannah Ziama, a local investor, praised Adesina's visionary leadership and called for sustained investments in solar power to unlock Liberia's industrial potential. As a low-income country and transition State, Liberia continues to benefit from the African Development Fund, the Bank's concessional lending arm, as well as the Transition Support Facility, and the Nigeria Trust Fund. Liberia is also part of the inaugural group of countries that have developed energy compacts under the Mission 300 program, a joint initiative of the African Development Bank and the World Bank to deliver electricity to 300 million Africans by 2030. In recognition of his exceptional contributions, President Boakai presented Adesina with a Presidential Pin of Honour. Adesina had previously received Liberia's highest national honour – the Order of the Star of Africa, Grade of Grand Band – in 2018. 'Dr. Adesina, as you prepare to move on from this chapter, I want you to know that your legacy in Liberia is strong and enduring, President Boakai said. 'The programs you have championed will continue to make an impact for years to come. Thank you for your faith in Liberia's potential, and thank you for investing in our people, especially our youth.' Adesina was accompanied by the Bank's Director General for West Africa, Lamin Barrow; Bank Executive Director for Liberia, Sierra Leone, The Gambia, Ghana and Sudan, Rufus Darkortey; and Acting Country Manager, Foday Yusuf Bob. Liberia's historical connection with the African Development Bank dates back to the institution's founding, when Liberian official Romeo Alexander Horton served as the pioneer Chairman of the Committee of Nine that established the Bank in 1964. Read Dr. Adesina's address here ( Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Development Bank Group (AfDB). Media Contacts: Natalie Nkembuh and Tolu Ogunlesi Communication and External Relations media@ About the African Development Bank Group: The African Development Bank Group is Africa's premier development finance institution. It comprises three distinct entities: the African Development Bank (AfDB), the African Development Fund (ADF) and the Nigeria Trust Fund (NTF). On the ground in 41 African countries with an external office in Japan, the Bank contributes to the economic development and the social progress of its 54 regional member states. For more information:
