The African Union Commission (AUC), in collaboration with the Government of the Republic of Kenya, organised the 14th Meeting of the African Task Force on Food and Nutrition Development (ATFFND) and the Regional Economic Communities’ (RECs) Consultation in Mombasa, Kenya from 2 to 5 April 2024 under the theme, “Collaborating for Effective Implementation of the African Union Nutrition Policies and Strategies.” The RECs Consultations will take place on Wednesday, 2nd April 2024, while the 14th African Task Force on Food and Nutrition Development (ATFFND) Meeting will take place from 3 – 5 April.

During the meeting, ATFFND will review the implementation of the Africa Regional Nutrition Strategy (2016-2025). The meeting will also provide a unique opportunity to explore, discuss, and formulate collaborative measures to integrate education and nutrition strategies and ultimately foster sustainable development in Africa. The meeting agenda aims to encapsulate the interlinked challenges of food security, nutrition, and educational development, aligning with the task force’s overarching mission to guide the continent toward comprehensive and sustainable progress.

Specifically, the taskforce meeting will consider, discuss, and validate the Africa Advocacy and Communication Strategy for Nutrition, AU Strategic Framework for the Prevention and Management of Anaemia in Africa, the plan for the new Africa Regional Nutrition strategy (2026 – 2035), and the Status report on the Multisectoral Policy Framework and Financing Target for Nutrition.

The convening will also be an opportunity to review the implementation of key initiatives and provide technical guidance on the African Union Nutrition Champion Work plan (2024-2026), African Leaders for Nutrition Initiative, Continental Nutrition Accountability Scorecard, Cost of Hunger in Africa Study, Cost of Food and Nutrition in Africa Studies, Comprehensive African Agricultural Development Programme, the Post Malabo Agenda amongst others.

At the end of the meeting, members of the ATFFND will adopt the following:

Report of the 14th African Task Force for Food and Nutrition Development.
Recommendations for the 5th Specialized Technical Committee for Health, Population and Drug Control (STC-HPDC-5).

The Regional Economic Communities (RECs) Consultative meeting on adolescent nutrition will discuss the challenges of anaemia in women, children, and adolescents in Africa, as well as adolescent nutrition, health, and well-being by engaging with the representatives of RECs on the key ongoing initiatives at the AUC including:

She’ll Grow Into It (SGII), an adolescent nutrition advocacy campaign
Draft Concept note for development of Continental Adolescent Nutrition Strategy
Strategic Framework of Prevention and Management of Anaemia.

The RECs Consultative meeting will create awareness of the unmet nutritional needs of adolescents and build consensus on the need for a Continental Adolescent Nutrition Strategy and the negative effects of anaemia on children, adolescents, and women, discuss with RECs the best methods to support adolescent nutrition and anaemia interventions at country level and build momentum and a roadmap to engage governments, policymakers and donors on prioritization of investment in adolescent nutrition and anaemia prevention.

Representatives from African Union Member States, the African Union Commission Departments, the African Union Development Agency, Regional Economic Communities, the African Development Bank, United Nations Agencies, Intergovernmental Organizations, civil society organisations, and members of academia will participate in the two meetings.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).

Gaziantep, known as the capital of the carpet sector in Türkiye, is gearing up to host the Gaziantep Carpet Fair for the first time this year, organized by the Tüyap Exhibitions Group (www.Tuyap.com). The event, in collaboration with the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce, will take place at the Gaziantep Middle East Fair Center (OFM) from May 28 to 31, 2024. It is supported by the Gaziantep Governorship, the Gaziantep Metropolitan Municipality, the Southeastern Anatolia Carpet Exporters Association (GAHİB), and the Gaziantep Chamber of Carpenters and Weavers.

The fair aims to attract numerous visitors from North Africa and Europe – primarily from the Middle East region. It will showcase all the sector’s production items, including handmade carpets and prayer rugs

The fair is designed to significantly contribute to the commercial objectives of the carpet sector. It will feature a wide range of products including machine-made carpets, rugs, mats, prayer rugs, textile floor coverings (wall-to-wall), fibres, yarns, textiles, as well as textile machinery and accessories.

It is anticipated that numerous international visitors from the United Arab Emirates, Germany, Iraq, Egypt, Libya, UK, Bulgaria, France, Australia, the Netherlands, Switzerland, Italy, Spain, South Korea, Russia, Malaysia, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, and Kenya will attend the fair.

Gaziantep will showcase its potential to the world

İlhan Ersözlü, General Manager of Tüyap Fairs Productions Inc., noted that Gaziantep is a global leader in the production and export of machine-made carpets, stating, “Such potential needs to be better recognized worldwide and in our own country. We believe that our Gaziantep Carpet Fair, which the Tüyap Exhibitions Group is organizing for the first time, will create a significant impact this year. So far, the sales of the fair have reached halfway. Participants will include 40 different companies from 10 countries and nearly 200 companies in total, showcasing thousands of square meters of carpets. The fair will occupy two halls over an area of 30,000 square meters, featuring all the sector’s production items, including handmade carpets, woven floor coverings, and prayer rugs.”

Tuncay Yıldırım, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Gaziantep Chamber of Commerce, highlighted that the carpet sector is a cornerstone of Gaziantep’s economy. He expressed both excitement and optimism for the upcoming Gaziantep Carpet Fair, set to commence on May 28. Yıldırım mentioned, “Gaziantep, with its powerful production infrastructure and market share, is well positioned to set trends in world carpet fashion and is preparing to welcome the global carpet industry from May 28 to 31. The prospect of sector representatives from around the world gathering in our city for the Gaziantep Carpet Fair is thrilling. I am confident that this fair will significantly benefit our local companies in the sector by strengthening existing business relationships and fostering new ones. Moreover, the fair should have a positive impact on the recovery and restoration of trade and production in our region, which suffered substantial damage from the earthquakes on February 6. We look forward to welcoming all sector representatives to Gaziantep on May 28.”

3 billion dollars in carpet exports

The global trade volume of the carpet sector has reached 17.2 billion dollars. Türkiye exports approximately 3 billion dollars’ worth of carpets to 117 countries, ranking second globally in all types of carpets and first in machine-made carpet production. Among the top ten export destinations are the USA (accounting for 45 percent), Iraq, England, Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Russia, and Kazakhstan.

The Gaziantep Carpet Fair can be visited from 10:00 to 18:00 on May 28-30, 2024, and from 10:00 to 17:00 on May 31, 2024.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of TÜYAP.

For more information: 
Gökçe Ece Oksay 
UNITE Edelman 
(533) 611 54 82  
gokce.ece@unite.com.tr

About Tüyap:
Founded by Bülent Ünal in 1979, Tüyap holds the distinction of being Türkiye’s first exhibition company. It has been a leader in the development of the exhibition industry in the country. Over the past 45 years, Tüyap has organized numerous exhibitions both in Türkiye and internationally. Throughout these events, it has served over 350,000 companies from various countries and welcomed more than 70 million visitors.

With five owned and operated exhibition centres in Türkiye and international offices in six countries, Tüyap regularly organizes specialized fairs. The company maintains long-term collaborations with more than 100 professional organizations, supported by a team of professionals. Notably, Tüyap organized the first Turkish export product fairs in China, Russia, and Africa and continues to organize Turkish national participation in an average of 10 international fairs per year. As the only private sector exhibition organization in Türkiye that owns its exhibition centres, Tüyap continues to innovate by organizing hybrid fairs, leveraging its digital capabilities.

A Parliament Committee has advised the Uganda Electricity Company Transmission Company Limited (UETCL) to transition staff from completed to new projects rather than recruit new staff, in a bid to save time and money on recruitment and training.

The entity has also been advised to prioritise building and strengthening its internal human resource capacity by hiring competent personnel to enhance the department’s effectiveness.

The recommendations are contained in a report by the Committee on Environment and Natural Resources which investigated alleged gross mismanagement at UETCL.

In a petition to Parliament, aggrieved former employees of the company called for halting of staff layoffs until a management review is sanctioned by Parliament, and also called for halting of procurement of KPMG to recruit company positions.

The Committee observed that completion or near completion of projects from which the petitioners’ remuneration was drawn, created a financial gap.

“This lack of funds for the continued payment of contractual remuneration for the staff resulted into the non-renewal of the petitioners’ contracts,” said Hon. Fredrick Angura (NRM, Tororo South County), who presented the report on behalf of the Committee.

He added that the use of an external consultant, KPMG, to carry out external recruitments was costly and presented no value for money when the company had a human resources department for the purpose.

“The Committee further recommends that UETCL expedites the review of the Human Resource Manual to guide future recruitments and promotions,” reads the report in part.

Hon. Jane Pacuto (NRM, Pakwach district) challenged the Committee’s position on the use of a human resource consultant to recruit staff for the company.

“We should not always look at costs. You would rather hire a consultant to procure personnel with the right qualities to take up the job. With a consultant, we are sure of independence and transparency in recruitment,” Pacuto said.

Sheema County South MP, Prof. Elijah Mushemeza tasked government to consider the recruitment and layoff concerns raised by the petitioners, to plan accordingly for the rationalisation process.

“People with qualification and skills should be given the opportunity to get employment in the system even after their contracts on a project expire. These are good practices we should take into the rationalisation process in the near future,” Mushemeza added.

Hon. Muwada Nkunyingi (NUP, Kyadondo County East) tasked government to take the services of the Industrial Court to all parts of the country in a bid for employers or employees to get adequate redress on labour petitions.

He noted that the court has only two judges out of the five expected to oversee it, and is stationed in Kampala yet it ought to serve the whole country.

“Most of the labour officers do not exist in some regions and for the regions where there are labour officers, their operational procedure and transaction is not regulated. Someone can lodge a complaint and it takes five to ten years without receiving attention,” Nkunyingi noted.

The Attorney General, Kiryowa Kiwanuka, said the court is fully constituted with required judicial officers and that labour officers are stationed across the country including a Commissioner for Labour, and District Labour Officer.

“You have mentioned that some areas do not have labour officers so I am going to take it up with Ministry of Gender and make sure that is done. There are other remedies available because we have a Chief Magistrate at every district and Grade One Magistrate at every constituency,” said Kiryowa Kiwanuka.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Parliament of the Republic of Uganda.

The Hon. Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, Hon. Ruth Nankabirwa Sentamu, this morning flagged off a delegation of officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, led by Permanent Secretary, Bagiire Vincent Waiswa on a 4-day field visit to the Albertine Graben region hosted by the Petroleum Association of Uganda (PAU) and comprising members of the MoFA Senior management, as well as Heads of Mission and technical officials from Uganda Embassies in Dar-Es-Salaam, Paris, Beijing and Abu Dhabi.

In a pre-briefing session held in the Ministry’s Wapakhabulo Auditorium, head of delegation Mr. Bagiire thanked the PAU for hosting the MoFA during the field visit and informed the Hon. Minister that MoFA has set four priority areas of focus for sourcing of investors under Economic and Commercial Diplomacy which include Agro-processing, Tourism, Mineral Development and Science and technology transfer. He shared that the MoFA had been working in close partnership with the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development in building the technical capacity of Uganda’s Foreign Service by equipping the Ambassadors and officers with first-hand knowledge about Uganda’s petroleum industry and related mineral development programmes. He stressed the importance, in the face of an onslaught of misinformation and disinformation about Uganda’s mineral sector, for Uganda’s representatives abroad to be able to make quick and effective responses in setting the record straight.

Hon. Nankabirwa appreciated the MoFA for the initiative of making on-spot visits in the various priority areas. She encouraged the delegation to focus on familiarizing themselves with the international issues that surround the petroleum industry, particularly the economic and social issues in the project affected areas, environmental issues as well as study the procedures, standards and legal provisions. She encouraged them to interface with Project Affected Persons and engage them in conversations to learn their experiences. “Hearing from people on the ground will boost your confidence that Uganda has ticked off all the boxes in the quest for clean energy,” she advised the team to pay attention to the operational areas including the East African Oil Pipeline route which encompasses the main camps, pipe yards, livelihood restoration activities and replacement housing. Hon. Sentamu reminded the official of the urgent need to combat the environmental issues caused by careless use of fossil fuels and rampant deforestation which can be curbed through responsible oil and gas exploration. During the visit, the delegation will visit the UPIK, the Centre of Excellence for Oil and Gas Training and the Kingfisher Development project in Kikuube district to view the drilling activities.

The delegation will also visit the Waste Management Facility in Luwero Industries as well as inspect feeder pipeline activities and the Kabalega Industrial Park. Also on the programme, the team will visit the Tilenga Project Industrial area and experience activity at the MSL Agriculture Produce Collection point. “By the end of the field visit, we expect to have a highly empowered critical mass of Foreign Service personnel whose understanding of the Petroleum economy will be apparent, as they go out to seek for investment partners and collaboration opportunities in their areas of accreditation,” said PS Bagiire.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The Republic of Uganda – Ministry of Foreign Affairs.