Global Diplomatic News: Week 35, 2019

Nigeria-Indonesia Trade Volume Increases By 10%

The Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria, Usra Hendra Harahap, says the trade volume of both countries saw a 10.7 percent increase last year (2018).

Ambassador Harahap, who spoke during the country 74th anniversary celebration reception in held Abuja, said:

“The total bilateral trade recorded in 2018 reached up to USD 2.9 billion compared to the previous year which only recorded $1.6 billion – which is 10.7 per cent increase.

Nigeria is not only a friend of Indonesia, but also an important partner on the fields of politics economy, cultural exchange, education, science and technology.”

According to him, the Indonesian government is targeting economic growth between 5.2 and 5.3 per cent.

Chinelo Anohu Appointed by AfDB As Head and Senior Director of Africa Investment Forum

Chinelo Anohuan international corporate lawyer,has been appointed by the African Development Bank Group (AfDB) as head and senior Director of Africa Investment Forum.

The appointment which took effect on the 1st of September was disclosed by the AfDB President Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina.

Dr. Akinwunmi Adesina stated:

“Anohu is joining us as the Head, and Senior Director of Africa Investment Forum. Her can-do-attitude, leadership, hands-on experience in working with global pension funds and institutional investors and extensive global networks among institutional investors will significantly position and help the African Investment Forum to drive its global agenda to attract more investment to Africa.”

Chinelo Anohu’s profile: Anohu is a member of the London Stock Exchange Africa Advisory Board. She has served as Director General of the National Pension Commission of Nigeria (PenCom) for five years.

Under her leadership as Director General ofPenCom, the number of pension contributors rose from 5 million to close to 8 million, while assets under management grew from $19.3 billion to a record $42 billion. She also introduced micro pension structures that created opportunities for informal sector workers to be included in the contributory pension scheme.

She also created the first ever World Pension Summit Africa, which was held in Africa three years in a row, and convened global financial experts across the pension industry.

Anuohu began her professional career as an Attorney with the global oil conglomerate, Chevron, Nigeria. She worked in legal and financial services firms in Nigeria and the United Kingdom before joining the Nigerian Bureau of Public Enterprises, the implementation agency for the reform and privatization of state-owned enterprises.

As a consultant assigned by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), she helped to restructure and privatize the Nigerian Telecommunications Limited, Nicon Hilton Hotel and AfriBank, among several others.

Anuohu holds a Bachelor of Law Degree (LLB) from the University of Nigeria, Nsukka and a Master’s degree in Computer and Communications Law from the London School of Economics in 2000. She has studied at the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University, USA and the Insead Business School, France.

NAF Airlifts Relief Materials To Mozambique, Zimbabwe Flood Victims

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) says it has completed the airlifting of relief materials to Mozambique and Zimbabwe to further assist victims of the massive flooding that affected some communities in the countries in April.

NAF’s Director of Public Relations and Information, Air Commodore Ibikunle Daramola, disclosed this in a statement.

He explained that the airlift missions were conducted for the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA).

According to Daramola, relief materials conveyed include drugs, medical supplies and treated mosquito nets donated by the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) to alleviate the sufferings of the flood victims.

According to the Statement:

“The airlift missions were executed by NAF C-130 Hercules aircraft, in furtherance of the NAF’s constitutional roles of projecting airpower beyond the shores of the country, as well as providing Military Aid to Civil Authority.

The C-130H airlifted 12,000 Kg (12 tonnes) of relief materials from Nnamdi Azikwe International Airport, Abuja to the Maputo International Airport, Maputo Mozambique on 26 August 2019, while 8,100 Kg (8 tonnes) of materials were delivered at the Robert Gabriel Mugabe International Airport Harare, Zimbabwe today, 31 August 2019.”

The NAF spokesman said the aircrew and NEMA officials handed over the items to officials from the Nigeria High Commission in the two countries for onward delivery to their host governments.

Prior to this, he noted that NAF conducted the first batch of the airlift missions for NEMA using an ATR-42 aircraft in three sorties to airlift a total of 15,000 Kg (15 tonnes) of relief materials to Mozambique, Zimbabwe, and Malawi in May.

Daramola added that in August 2017, the NAF airlifted 38,000 Kg of relief materials to Freetown, Sierra Leone, in the aftermath of the devastating mudslides and floods that ravaged the country.

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