The Foreign Policy Association's own Robert Nolan has been reporting on the African Union Summit in Accra. His recent FPA piece on early steps to establish a United States of Africa can also be found at allAfrica.
The Foreign Policy Association's own Robert Nolan has been reporting on the African Union Summit in Accra. His recent FPA piece on early steps to establish a United States of Africa can also be found at allAfrica.
Kyrgyzstan's legislature and utility customers are rushing right into a dilemma that marks the plight of many transition states, and indeed, many developing states across the world. The issue at large concerns the development of energy capacity in Kyrgyzstan, for both domestic use and for export. The new energy developments show some of the pain […]
The 9th Cuba-Mexico Inter-Parliamentary Conference concluded recently in Havana, providing an opportunity to strengthen bilateral relations. According to press reports, the meetings were attended by senators and deputies from all parties represented in the Mexican Congress and a deputy delegation from the Cuban Peoples’ Power National Assembly. Delegates hoped to review positions prior to international […]
The African Union's (AU) predecessor, the Organization of African Unity (OAU), established a process called the African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM) as part of the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD). The AU has moved forward with APRM, which, whatever its shortcomings, holds great promise to help African nations spur one another toward good governance, best practices, and accountability. So far […]
In South Africa's tiny neighbor, Swaziland, recent reports indicate that more people live in informal settlements than in formal neighborhoods, which has spurred the country to push to improve living conditions in urban areas. Officials have decided to upgrade the informal settlements (often called townships) rather than build new housing.
Just like agricultural crops, seminars seem to be popping up everywhere this summer. One of the latest was is Hujand, Tajikistan: on regional cooperation. Feghana.ru interviewed a Russian academic at the conference, and the interview gives a different perspective to Central Asia's politics. For one thing, Professor Plastun talked about terrorism measures in Central Asia, […]
Happy Nadaam, Mongolia! July 5 is the day that Mongolia overthrew its feudal leaders in 1921. And before that, it was a midsummer celebration of the “Three Manly Sports“: (archery, horseback riding, and wrestling). Dateline, Ulaan Bataar: For the first time in six years, China's Foreign Minister visited Mongolia from June 30 through July 2, to […]
China's increasing presence in Africa has become clear in the past couple of years. (For my own writing on this — with links — see here, here, here, here and here.) The Asian continent's other giant, India has been watching, and has designs on increasing its presence in Africa. China's role at best represents a dual-edged sword, and in the […]
The crisis in Zimbabwe, and especially the economic catastrophe, has proven to have a levelling effect in the country. This is, of course, a levelling in which a draining pool has lowered all inner tubes, and not one in which a rising tide has lifted all boats, and so it is probably of slim solace […]
The state of Canada is announcing a new USD 30 million grant to help develop and sustain the struggling Afghanistan justice system. This is part of the USD 1.2 billion that Canada has pledged in support of Afghanistan between now and 2011. The Canadian aid has been announced in conjunction with an Afghanistan rule-of-law seminar in Rome. […]
On July 3, the World Bank announced that it would support the development of new telecommunications infrastructure in Afghanistan up to 76.5 million dollars. Previous infrastructure has been bombed, torn up, and salvaged for its wire and other components around the country. The Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) is a part of the World Bank […]
Dateline, London: The Kazakhstan Growth Forum was held in London June 27 through 29; according to the lineup, over 600 primarily economic entities attended. These included: the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; British-Kazakhstan Association leadership; and various oil companies and banks. One bank attending is Raffeissen bank, which is one of the Austrian banks […]
Robert Mugabe has stepped in to try to staunch the bleeding in the Zim economy. But like just about everything he does when it comes to his country, his methods are dubious. This time around he is taking a strong stand in intervening in the economy, which includes increased nationalization of industries and the expansion […]
Opposition parties are making hay out of recent crime statistics indicating that some forms of crime are on the rise: “We are alarmed at the increase in murder (2,4 percent), the 118 percent increase in bank robberies, 52,5 percent increase in robberies at business premises, the 21,9 percent increase in cash-in-transit heists, and the sharp […]
Golden opportunities to make nice with Turkmenistan: New diplomacy: Mr. Berdymukhammedov has decided upon a new spelling (post in Russian) for his name, with one M–Berdymukhamedov, hereinafter. This decision was made to further communication between Kazakhstan and Russia, as the double M appears to be less pronounceable in Kazakh and Russian. Such accommodation is a strong signal that Turkmenistan's […]