In the context of President Bukele’s state visit, Salvadoran Foreign Minister Alexandra Hill and her Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoglu, presided over the official opening ceremony of the Salvadoran embassy in Ankara.
Minister Hill thanked her counterpart for the support given by the government and people of Turkey in initiatives in the health sector, such as the restoration of the Benjamin Bloom National Children’s Hospital and the strengthening of the capacities of its doctors in specialties such as pediatrics. El Salvador and Turkey have a long-standing relationship.
The President of the Republic of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The Foreign Affairs Minister of El Salvador, Alexandra Hill, the Turkish counterpart, Mevlüt Çavuşoglu and H.E. Agustin Vazquez Gomez, first Ambassador of El Salvador to Turkey and other diplomats from both countries members of the delegation.
Ambassador Agustín Vásquez Gómez, acting as host of the event, was the first ambassador of the Republic of El Salvador in Turkey. Foreign Minister Çavuşoğlu announced that, in the coming months, his government will open the embassy in San Salvador. “This emotion is shared among the foreign ministries. Dear Minister Alexandra Hill, thank you for inviting me to inaugurate the embassy, it has been a pleasure and an honor”, highlighted the Turkish diplomat.
The President of the Republic of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, was received with honors on January 20, 2022 by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, upon his arrival at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, as part of a State visit to the Republic of Turkey.
The Salvadoran president traveled to the presidential complex in the Turkish capital, after placing a wreath at the Mausoleum of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Turkey. Both presidents toured the ceremonial square of the Presidential Palace reviewing the honor guard. Subsequently, they greeted the official delegations from both countries, led by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Alexandra Hill and Mevlut Cavusoglu.
The President of the Republic of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
During the meeting, both leaders discussed strategic investments and support in technology and education. They also witnessed the signing of cooperation agreements in matters of protocol, diplomatic academies, economic affairs, law of the sea and the defense industry.
El Salvador is committed to cooperation to expand its network of ports, renewable energy projects, as well as sending a Salvadoran satellite into space with Turkish technology.
Thursday, 20 January 2022, Erfurt, Free State of Thuringia, Germany: Croatian top envoy, Dr. Gordan Bakota, Ambassador of the Republic of Croatia, paid an inaugural visit to the Thuringian State Chancellery.
The meeting served as a formal setting to becoming acquainted to Premier Bodo Ramelow, moreover questions of cooperation concerning the deepening of relations with Thuringia were discussed, in particular in the framework of the thirtieth anniversary of establishment of diplomatic ties between Germany and Croatia.
During his stay in Erfurt, Dr. Bakota likewise held a meeting with the city’s mayor Andreas Bausewein, and wrote in the city’s guestbook for dignitaries. Further Ambassador Bakota encountered the Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s Team Leader Mark Bremer to explore possibilities to intensifying economic ties. Gordan Bakota serves as head of mission in Germany since 7 January 2020.
Previously he held the helm at the Embassy of Croatia in Austria, and has likewise been head of mission in Turkey (covering Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan) as well as in Serbia. In addition to his native Croatian, he speaks English and German.
Bello e ben fatto: it is in this unique marriage between the quest for beauty and masterful craftsmanship that all Bvlgari creations come to life, bringing Italian creativity and know-how to the world for over 135 years.
Serpenti Forever has established itself as the ultimate icon of glamour and timeless style, encapsulating the perfect encounter between unique design and exceptional artistry. A symbol of perpetual renewal, fearless seduction and modern metamorphosis, the Bvlgari snake is a true trendsetter that has undergone infinite changes, perfectly represented by the unceasing style evolution of the emblematicsnakehead stud closure of Bvlgari’s Leather Goods and Accessories collections.
From its distinctive jewellery-inspired hexagonal scales coated with show-stopping polychrome enamels in endless combinations, textures and nuances, and topped by mesmerizing gemstone eyes, the iconic head has now morphed into a sharper, ultra-modern rendition. Inspired by the Serpenti jewels of the 1960s, this rapturous rebirth of the snake-head reimagines a Bvlgari heritage design to define the captivating Serpenti of today. Exuding Bvlgari’s jewellery DNA from every detail, the notorious head is created with the lost wax casting technique.
Here a cast is made using wax, which is subsequently melted away leaving spaces for the molten precious metal to fill them. The vivid gems set instead of the eyes or to design precious details, are instead a nod the Roman Jeweller’s penchant for coloured stones.
Serpenti, Bvlgari
The new head is not the only design drawing from Bvlgari’s fabulous archive. One of the Maison’s most distinctive jewellery motifs – the iconic thick chain – has become a main theme running through all its Leather Goods and Accessories collections in always innovative and unexpected ways. Employed more for their aesthetic – than merely functional – value, chains are crafted with the same techniques adopted for Bvlgari High Jewellery creations, literally being set into the exquisite skins to create ultra-precious patterns or styled with unique colour treatments, like the degrade effect or the multiple gold combinations. As for true jewellery pieces, the spellbinding chain shoulder straps are hand-assembled link by link, sometimes recreating the decreasing shape typical of some of Bvlgari’s most legendary sautoirs and colliers.
At Bvlgari, precious skins and exquisite materials get the same inventive and avant-garde treatment as the prized gemstones. The type and processing of the different leathers is conceived to offer an unrepeatable tactile pleasure, the same experienced with Bvlgari’s high jewelry creations: wearing and touching them ignite the desire to sport them every day.
One of the secretes handed down by generations of artisans concerns the unique finishes of Bvlgari’s Crocodile skin achieved through particular techniques inspired by the jewellery world, such as the pearled effect which serves an almost iridescent effect. A true concentrate of ultimate preciousness, the irresistible Karung undergoes instead a special treatment that makes the skin unbelievably supple and flexible, for an incredibly soft result comparable only to the consistency of a fabric, while Calf Leather claims the same attention as the most cherished materials, with special treatments exalting its ultra-soft nature. As one of the most difficult materials to treat, Galuchat Skin represents a peak of excellence in Bvlgari’s manufacturing savoir-faire, evoking with its tiny precious grains the unique sparkle of a diamond pavé. Finally, the ultra-tempting Python skin is processed by skilled artisans that exalt its natural shine. Using the precious skin as a white canvas on which to create a one-of-a-kind design, Bvlgari craftsmen hand-paint this exquisite material scale by scale, highlighting its natural livery with endless colour combinations.
Experimenting with striking nuances inspired by the unique gemstone juxtapositions that made Bvlgari’s style legendary, the Jeweller of Leather Goods infuses each creation with its unmistakable touch of colour – from polychrome skins to vibrant appliques, through exquisite gem details.
Firmly holding onto its Roman roots, each Bvlgari bag and Leather Good is crafted in the Florence Atelier. Here, Bvlgari’s traditional artisanal techniques are constantly being reinvented, extending to new methods of construction with a craftsmanship always a step ahead of the times. Bvlgari’s impeccable attention to detail, combination of unexpected materials and experimentation of state-of-the-art treatments, represent the ability of Made in Italy to constantly renew itself projecting into the present its unmatched heritage and tradition.
HE. Mrs. Salima Abdelhak, Ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria to The Netherlands and the Permanent Representative of Algeria to the Organization for the Prohibition of the Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in The Hague. She has presented on January 26, 2022 her letters of credence to His Majesty the King Willem Alexander and her letters of Cabinet to the OPCW Director General, Mr Fernando Arias. She is also the Governor of Algeria to the Common Funds of Commodities (CFC).
Ambassador Salima Abdelhak is a career diplomat. She served as Ambassador to the Republic of Azerbaijan, 2019-2022 .
Before that, she assumed senior positions in the MFA (2009-2019) as Director for Economic Relations and International Cooperation (2018-2019), Director for Multilateral Trade Organizations (2015-2018) and Deputy Director for Cooperation with the multilateral trade organizations and institutions (2010-2014), and Senior Counselor to Minister of Foreign Affairs (2014-2015).
Trade, sustainable development, cooperation and energy are all areas Ambassador Salima Abdelhak dealt with. Involved in many multilateral negotiation processes, she was designated as a negotiator within the national team for the establishment of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), a member of the national committee for the negotiation of Algeria accession to WTO, a member of OPEC drafting committee of OPEC and non OPEC cooperation Charter and a negotiator of the GECF Head of States Declarations.
Her Excellency Ms Salima Abdelhak, Ambassador of Algeria.
At the domestic level, Ambassador Abdelhak, coordinated the Algeria Voluntary Review (VNR) on the implementation of SDG’s as the chair of the national committee for the preparation of Algeria VNR and carried out the review of the Strategic Framework of cooperation between Algeria and The United Nations System as chairperson of the committee.
Ambassador Salima Abdelhak served overseas at the permanent mission of Algeria to the United Nations in New York (2005-2009) dealing with humanitarian and Women empowerment issues. Ambassador’s tenure in New York enabled her to acquire a multilateralism profile which promotes cooperation, consultation and inclusiveness and seeks for common interests.
Ambassador Abdelhak holds a Bachelor of Arts in Translation and Interpretation from University of Algiers, a degree in Italian language and culture from the University of Perugia in Italy, and a Master of Arts in Economics from University of Algiers. She also graduated from the Diplomatic Institute in Algiers, Merton College in Oxford (UK), CASIN in Geneva and ENA in Strasbourg.
She is fluent in Arabic, French, English and Italian.
20-21 January 2022, Erfurt, Free State of Thuringia: In afternoon of Thursday, Premier Bodo Ramelow received the Ambassador of the Italian Republic, Armando Varricchio, for his inaugural visit to the Thuringian State Chancellery. Varricchio has been ambassador of his country in Berlin since June 2021.
The talks served to become acquainted to one another, exchange views on current political issues as well as future economic cooperation.
During the second day of the trip, Ambassador Varricchio travelled to Weimar and visited the Goethe National Museum as well as the Bauhaus Museum.
The German literary icon Johann Wolfgang von Goethe jaunted through Italy between 1786 and 1788; Italy provided a lot of inspiration to his own œuvre. Armando Varricchio (b. on 13 June 1961 in Venice) is a career diplomat since 1986, who changed capitals from Washington D.C. to Berlin earlier this year. He had served as Ambassador to the United States (with concurrencies to The Bahamas and Jamaica) since 2016, and has moreover experience as head of mission to Serbia (2009-2012). Furthermore he has held the office of Secretary-General of the Foreign Ministry known as Farnesina, in-between the aforementioned ambassadorships.
Statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Nur-Sultan 21 January 2022
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan believes that the resolution on the situation in Kazakhstan adopted by the European Parliament on 20 January 2022 is not only biased but also based on prejudiced opinions and assumptions.
The apparent lack of a credible analysis of the tragic January events in Kazakhstan is disconcerting.We find it unacceptable that a document of this nature has been adopted before the publication of the findings of the official investigation initiated by the leadership of theRepublic of Kazakhstan. We reconfirm that the results of this investigation will be openly shared with the international community.
We have taken due note of the fact that while drafting the said resolution, neither members of the European Parliament nor any of the Parliament’s political groups had requested any clarification or statement from Kazakh officials.
The Human Rights Ombudsperson of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Kazakh civil society institutions, which are engaged in a direct dialogue with government agencies, also informed us that the authors of the resolution did not contact them. The earlier conclusion of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan that there were serious discrepancies and inaccuracies in the publications of certain foreign media outlets, describing legitimate actions of law enforcement agencies against terrorist, extremist, and criminal groups, has also been ignored.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
As a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council and other reputable international organizations, and a party to multilateral humanitarian agreements, Kazakhstan is unequivocally committed to the rule of law and fulfilling its obligations in protecting the rights and freedoms of its citizens. It is also making a significant input to the process of upholding global and regional security, including by fighting international terrorism.
The Republic of Kazakhstan will continue to seek a constructive engagement with all the institutions of the European Union, based on the principles of mutual understanding and mutual respect. The hasty adoption of the above mentioned resolution of the European Parliament undermines and damages the process of adopting and implementing the political reforms of the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan aimed at consolidating democratic institutions and development of civil society.
Judicial and law enforcement authorities in Italy, Greece and Albania have taken a coordinated action against a network of people smugglers, which transferred at least 1 100 migrants irregularly to the European Union.
During an action day with the support of Eurojust, Europol and Frontex, 29 suspects were arrested in the three countries involved. They allegedly made illegal gains of at least several hundreds of millions of euros. The action is the concrete result of a joint investigation team (JIT) which was set up in January 2021 with the support and funding of Eurojust.
The suspects are of Albanian, Turkish, Syrian, Iranian, Iraqi and Pakistani origin. Eight of them were arrested during a smuggling operation that was ongoing, with the migrants involved brought to safety. The suspects belong to a wider network of approximately 80 persons who were involved in at least 30 bigger irregular transfers of migrants from Turkey via Albania and Greece to the Salento coast of Italy. From Italy, the migrants were later transferred to other EU countries. The transfers to Italy took place by vessel and or by vehicle over land via the so-called Eastern Mediterranean route.
Of the arrested persons, four are allegedly the main perpetrators, leading separate cells or groups of the network. One of them was mainly responsible for the return of the smugglers to Turkey, where they could prepare for new transfers. The gains of the irregular migration transfers are preliminarily estimated to be at least several hundreds of millions of euros, with the smugglers using the ‘Hawala’ financing system to hide the proceeds.
In preparation for the action day, the authorities carried out long-term surveillance of the suspects, using telephone and online interceptions of evidence and video recordings. This enabled them to document the routes used by the network and identify the perpetrators. Today’s operation is one of the first operational implementations of Eurojust’s commitment to fight migrant smuggling, as specified during the Annual Meeting on Migrant Smuggling, organised by the Agency in November 2021.
Eurojust not only supported the joint investigation team but also set up a coordination centre during the action day and provided cross-border judicial support via the Agency’s Italian and Greek National Desks, as well as the Liaison Prosecutor for Albania at the Agency.
Europol provided additional analytical support to the operation and deployed mobile offices, with Frontex assisting with surveillance via an Italian Guardia di Finanza helicopter deployed to control the EU’s external borders.
The operation was carried out under the direction of the District Anti-Mafia Directorate of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Lecce in Italy, the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Appeal of Athens, the Special Investigative Judge for Mutual Legal Assistance in criminal matters at the Court of First Instance of Athens and the Special Anti-Corruption and Organized Crime Prosecutor’s Office of Tirana (SPAK).
Support on the ground was given by the Organized Crime Investigation Group (GICO) of Lecce and the Central Organised Crime Investigation Service (SCICO) of the Guardia di Finanza, the Attica Police – Immigration Division – of Athens and the Albanian State Police.
Tueday, 18 January 2022, Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany: Minister of Economic Affairs, Labour and Tourism of Baden-Württemberg, Dr. Nicole Hoffmeister-Kraut received for a bilateral meeting, the novel Dutch Ambassador in Germany, Ronald van Roeden.
During their encounter the two dignitaries discussed the current economic situation between The Netherlands and Baden-Württemberg, and hence the possibilities of furthering cooperations, especially in the fields of new mobility, life sciences, artificial intelligence as well as digitization.
The Netherlands is an important trading partner for Baden-Württemberg. In 2020 goods in the value of 13.4 billion Euros were exported to The Netherlands. In the export statistics of Baden-Württemberg, The Netherlands occupies fifth place. Regarding imports, in 2020 The Netherlands were in fourth place, with imports valued at 12.7 billion Euros.
Historically Württemberg is the homeland to the erudite Queen Sophie of the Netherlands, first wife of Dutch monarch Willem III and daughter of King Wilhelm I of Württemberg.
Ronald van Roeden was born 1957 in Hilversum, The Netherlands, is Royal Dutch Ambassador in the Federal Republic of Germany since Wednesday, 1 September 2021 upon his presentation of letters of credence before Federal President Dr. Steinmeier. He entered the diplomatic career in 1985, and has served in Iraq, Paris (OECD mission), Norway (with co-accreditation to Iceland), and before the European Union (Deputy Permanent Representative). Van Roeden speaks Dutch, German, French as well as English.
Lithuania makes first voluntary contribution to the TFV, in support of the assistance programme in Georgia
The Trust Fund for Victims (TFV) at the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that the Government of Lithuania made its first ever voluntary contribution of €20,000 to the TFV in 2021. This contribution is earmarked to the TFV’s assistance programme in Georgia which will be launched early this year. Lithuania’s support to the TFV’s work and assistance mandate is a true testament to the country’s commitment to making reparative justice a reality for victim-survivors of crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC.
Speaking on Lithuania’s support to the work of the TFV, H.E. Mr. Vidmantas Purlys, Ambassador of Lithuania to the Netherlands, said «Lithuania fully understands that the Trust Fund for Victims is essential for the work of the International Criminal Court. Its activities make reparative justice a meaningful reality. That is exactly what we expect with a voluntary contribution to support the very start of the TFV programme in Georgia. Victims in Georgia continue to endure injuries from the conflict of 2008, they are still in need for psychological rehabilitation and counselling services, medical treatment and material support.»
TFV Executive Director Pieter de Baan welcomed the donation and thanked the Government of Lithuania saying “The TFV expresses its sincere gratitude to Lithuania for its first voluntary contribution and for this act of recognition to the TFV’s assistance mandate. This contribution will help the TFV strengthen its efforts to support victims, particularly in Georgia where they continue to suffer as a result of conflict. With a range of assistance activities including material support and livelihood initiatives, psychological rehabilitation and counselling services, as well as a component of medical treatment and referral, the TFV aims to help survivors move forward, rebuild their lives and regain their dignity. The TFV looks forward to continuous engagement and partnership with Lithuania in the future.”
Voluntary contributions enable the Trust Fund for Victims to provide reparative value to victims of crimes under the jurisdiction of the ICC through reparations awards and assistance activities.
To date, the TFV is implementing four reparations ordered by the ICC the Lubanga, Katanga,Al Mahdi and Ntaganda cases. The convicted persons in these cases were all found to be indigent and the TFV has responded to the ICC’s requests to consider complementing the payment of the reparations awards. The TFV has also engaged in the fifth reparations proceeding in Ongwen since the beginning of 2021.
Under its assistance mandate, the TFV provides medical treatment, psychological rehabilitation, education, income-generating activities, and livelihood support. The TFV is continuing with its programmes in Central African Republic, Côte d’Ivoire, Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Uganda. The TFV is launching new assistance programmes in Georgia, Kenya and Mali in early 2022.
