By Mr. Li Fei, Economic and Commercial Counsellor of the Embassy of People’s Republic of  China in the Netherlands.

China and Europe started doing business with each other more than 2000 years ago. Silk made in China travelled over 6500 km through the vast land of Eurasia on camel back, to arrive at the hands of European admirers. Hence came the name of Silk Road. Four centuries ago, direct trade links between China and the Netherlands was established when the first Dutch ships arrived in China through the maritime Silk Road, and brought tea, porcelain and silk back to Europe. Silk Road has represented the spirit of cooperation, openness and mutual benefit.

After many centuries, trade and economic exchanges between China and the Netherlands has become ever more prosperous. In 2015, bilateral trade reached 68 billion US dollars, ranking top 3 among European countries. Every day, hundreds of thousands of containers arrive at the Rotterdam port or the Schipol airport with toys or smart phones, and leave for China with chemicals or machinery.

In 2015, Chinese companies invested 3.6 billion US dollars in the Netherlands in the form of non-financial direct investment. This figure accounts for half of China’s FDI in the EU in 2015. Presence of Chinese companies can now be found in a wide spectrum of sectors, from agriculture to logistics, from financial services to high-tech. Their investment has created decent jobs for local communities, offered quality products and services for Dutch consumers, and brought new vigor to the economy of the Netherlands.

Such achievements in bilateral exchanges do not come as a surprise. On one hand, the Netherlands is one the most open economies in the world. With its strong competitiveness in multiple industries and strategic position as the gateway to Europe, the Netherlands has always been among the most prominent traders and investors in the world.

On the other hand, China, after many decades of remarkable growth, has become the world’s second largest economy, the biggest trader and No. 3 investor. In 2015, China’s GDP growth contributed over 25% to the world’s economic growth. Its total trade accounted for over 13% of the global trade, and FDI inflow and outflow both exceeded 100 billion USD.

We are fully confident that China will continue to be a most important player in global trade and economy in the years to come. From the demand side, China has a huge market with unfathomable potential. As is widely known, China boasts the largest population in the world. Something not so widely known is that, China’s middle class has overtaken the US as the world’s largest and has been growing much faster, as revealed in a study by Credit Suisse. As the Chinese people gets richer, their immense consumption power is manifested in amazing numbers. For example, according to incomplete statistics, in 2015 Chinese tourists spent over 230 billion USD on traveling overseas, and at least half of the spending is on shopping.

From the supply side, China has what it needs to further boost competitiveness, and will do what it takes. China has a comprehensive industrial chain and a large pool of highly educated talents, which provide a wonderful platform for innovative companies to try out new ideas and scale up production capacity quickly. For instance, DJI, a technology company founded in 2006 and headquartered in Shenzhen, is now at the forefront of the civilian-drone industry. With advanced technology in flight control and cradle head, DJI’s products have dominated the global market with 70% market share. The Chinese government is also making every effort to create a better business climate through deepening reform. For example, the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was launched in 2013, followed by three more free trade zones in 2015. Bold measures of streamlining administration and liberalizing market are first tested in the free trade zones, and then rolled out all around the country.

We believe that the development of China will bring tremendous business opportunities for our partners all over the world, and thus bring better lives to their peoples. This is why China proposed the “Belt and Road” initiative – to carry on the spirit of cooperation, openness and mutual benefit. By connecting infrastructure and development strategies of countries along the “Belt and Road”, and by stepping up bilateral and regional cooperation, the time-honored Silk Road will upgrade into a highway for the exchanges of goods, services, technology, culture and friendship between East and West, and will be exuberant with new vitality.

The Netherlands is well-known as an open and pragmatic country, and always stands for free trade. China will maintain steady and healthy economic growth as it continues to deepen reform. As the two ends of “Belt and Road”, the Netherlands and China have huge cooperation potential. Now it is high time for us to work even closer together, to usher in a new golden age in the 21 century.

Embassy of the People’s Republic of China http://nl.china-embassy.org/eng/

Photography by Mr. Kang Yin, Second Secretary, Embassy of  the People’s Republic  China.

 

Peace Palace Library Report Lecture nr. 6 on ‘Peacebuilding in Progress’ by former Dutch diplomat Mr. Herman Schaper: ‘The Candidature of the Netherlands for Membership of the Security Council 2017-2018’. ‘On a Dutch bike in New York’ On Wednesday February 3, 2016, UPEACE Centre The Hague, in cooperation with the Peace Palace Library, organized a lecture on the Dutch candidature for membership of the United Nations Security Council. This Peace Palace Library report will give an overview of the lecture with the main focus on the keynote speaker: former Dutch diplomat Mr. Herman Schaper. ‘Today, it’s me talking’, announced Mr. Schaper at the start of his Lecture after being introduced to the audience by Library Director, Mr. Jeroen Vervliet. Mr. Schaper’s idea of the lecture was to discuss the Dutch campaign for membership of the UN Security Council based on his own experiences of the campaign in the past years. In addition, he also explained to his audience the work process that has been going on at the United Nations in New York to achieve this goal of the Dutch government. United Nations Security Council Elections 2016 Schaper first discussed the election procedure and gave us an explanation of the system. The 2016 UN Security Council election will be held in June 2016 during the 70^th session of the UN General Assembly, held at the UN Headquarters in New York. Elections are held for five non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council. These five seats rotate among five regional groups. Three of these groups are based on geographical location, two of them on the old East-West division. The Netherlands is currently competing with Sweden and Italy for two seats in the Western European and Others Group. Sweden presented its candidacy in 2004, the Netherlands in 2005, and some years later, Italy put forward its own candidacy. ‘If you look at the history of the candidacies of the countries,’ Schaper illustrated, ‘Italy has been a member of the Security Council 6 times, The Netherlands 5 times and Sweden 3 times.’ The Dutch Campaign: The Kingdom of the Netherlands The campaign for the candidature of the Netherlands will focus on 5 themes:

1. I) The Kingdom of the Netherlands. II) Partnership. III) Peace. IV) Justice. V) Development. Mr. Schaper explained to us that a main theme of the campaign is to show other countries that the Kingdom of the Netherlands consists in fact of four different countries, namely the Netherlands and 3 small island states in the Caribbean. Since 2010, the island states of Sint Maarten, Curacao and Aruba are constituent countries and only depend on the Netherlands for foreign policy and defence matters. They have a special status within the Kingdom, which in effect means that they are autonomous countries with their own governments.

According to Mr. Schaper, the Kingdom of the Netherlands means the Netherlands on the mainland of Europe and the Netherlands in the Caribbean. The Kingdom has intensive bilateral relations with other Caribbean states and as a member of the UN Security Council the Netherlands will give special attention to the problems and interests of small island states. Mr. Schaper emphasized that there are nearly 40 small island states in the world, all of them with a vote in the elections in June. Dutch Campaign: Peace, Justice and Development Mr. Schaper continued to discuss the peace, justice and development themes. The primary task of the Security Council is maintaining and restoring international peace and security. The Netherlands is providing troops to the UN and assists the UN in fulfilling its peacekeeping role in the world. As a potential member of the Security Council, the Netherlands will advocate for improved planning, training and preparing for peacekeeping actions. The Netherlands will put forward a more serious approach with regard to the use of military force by the UN. ‘At the same time, we will not only focus on military solutions. We are aware of non-military ways to help maintain international peace and security,’ Mr. Schaper said in his speech. He also spoke about the peaceful settlement of international disputes to maintain international peace and security, pointing out the fact that the Netherlands is host to the International Court of Justice (ICJ), the principal judicial organ of the UN. The focus of the Dutch campaign will also lie on these peaceful alternatives to military force, for example, by promoting mediation and arbitration. ‘We hope to strengthen relations between New York and The Hague’. The United Nations Security Council From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Schaper was the Permanent Representative (Permrep) of the Netherlands to the UN in New York. It was during this period that Mr. Schaper actively promoted the enlargement of the Security Council. The Netherlands is in favour of opening up the Security Council and wants to be a partner with other UN countries outside the Security Council. At the moment, one of the main criticisms of the Security Council relates to its position as a ‘closed body’ with many private meetings. Additionally, a debate is taking place in New York on the functioning of the Security Council. This debate focuses on the veto rights of the permanent members. Mr. Schaper explained the Netherlands is in favour of limiting the reach of the veto in special situations, for example in case of mass atrocities. It was suggested by France that in such cases the five permanent members will not use their veto. Unfortunately, limiting the veto rights will not be easy, because it requires the support of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Campaign Strategy The Netherlands started its bid for the candidature more than 10 years ago, in 2005 to be precise. To be elected a candidate needs at least 129 votes (two-thirds of the total membership of the UN, which is 193). The campaign of the Netherlands focused on promoting its candidacy trough bilateral and multilateral meetings with officials of individual countries. Often this takes the form of agreements of mutual support: ‘We support another country in their candidacy in a UN-election, and in return they support our candidacy for the Security Council,’ Mr. Schaper explained. ‘We also emphasize our substantial contribution to the UN over many decades in the maintenance of international peace and security, the promotion of human rights and international law, and the support of developing countries.’ Mr. Schaper also explained that it was important for the Netherlands to distinguish itself from the two other candidates of the same regional group, in particular Sweden. An example he gave was the fact that while he worked in New York, he preferred to travel around the city by bike, honouring a well-known Dutch tradition. He truly enjoyed this means of transport, but also considered it part of the national profile. Mr. Schaper even went to meetings and dinners by bike, which was sure to lead to comments from other participants and guests, which he could then use to explain Dutch society and to promote the candidacy for membership of the Security Council. All in all, the outcome of the elections remains unpredictable and a lot can happen until June 2016.   Sophie Brinkel, Fé de Jonge & Candice Alihusain, Peace Palace Library   Biography Herman Schaper Herman Schaper (1949) is currently a professor at the Campus The Hague of Leiden University, as well as a senator for the political party D66 in the Dutch Senate. From 2009 to 2013, Mr. Schaper worked as the Permanent Representative of the Netherlands to the UN in New York. From 2005 to 2009, he was the Dutch Permanent Representative of the Netherlands at NATO. After his return to The Hague in the summer of 2013, he was appointed Special Envoy for the Candidacy of the Netherlands for membership of the Security Council 2017-2018, a position he held until his retirement in 2014.

  Ecological Globalistan – Political Terroristan / From Paris (COP 21), of Nearly Everything.   By Professor Anis H. Bajrektarevic. Speaking in Paris on December 7, 2015 – only a morning after the landslide victory of the far right French political party, the UN Secretary General again reminded the world leaders that: “More than 1 billion people worldwide live without electricity. Nearly 3 billion people depend on smoky, dangerous traditional fuels for cooking and heating. Access to modern, reliable, affordable clean energy is equally important for ending extreme poverty and reducing inequality…The clock is ticking toward climate catastrophe.” Politely ignoring the domestic French politics, as much as the climate change hard-evidence, all international nihilists, professional optimists and other status quo conservators would call it ‘environmental alarmism’…or political alarmism – the same… What is really the state of our planet? *          *          *          * Back in 1990s, there was a legendary debate between two eminent scientists; Carl Sagan, astrophysicist and Ernst Mayr, evolutionary biologist. The issue was the question of all questions – is there any intelligent life out there? Sagan – closer to mathematics, and the counting of starts and worlds attached to it – argued that out of all the innumerable planets like ours, life must flourish at many of them. Quite a few of them, he claimed, must have developed advanced forms of living beings. Mayr – on the other hand – argued the opposite. His pessimism was coming from his profession, not from his character that was as vivid and optimistic as Sagan’s: What is a biology for natural sciences, that is a history for human sciences – spacetime-lined story of the past with a predicament, or sometimes an inevitable consequences, for our future. As prof. Naom Chomski beautifully reminds us of this great episode, Ernst Mayr took our mother planet as an example to illustrate his claim. The so-called biological success of species could be measure by their number, configuration and durability. By all three parameters, prof. Mayr stressed, the most adaptive systems are those conducting fast (non-cognitive) mutations caused/triggered by any environmental stress (e.g. varieties of bacteria, creatures stuck in a fixed ecological niches, like beetles or some sea biotas), and surviving even larger crisis including the cataclysmic events. But, as we go up the scale of what we assume as intelligence, the systems become less adaptive and scarcer by number, configuration and durability. Arriving to the top (as we classified a tip of the intelligence pyramid), from low mammals to higher primates, apes and Homo sapiens, the species tend to image a rarifying picture – by all three biological success parameters. By Mayr’s account, the average lifespan of upper-intelligence echelons is only around 100,000 years. Out of billions of spices that have inhabited (and quite some still inhabiting) our planet, we – along with other higher primates – are late arrival and temporal ‘accidents’. He attributes this to our intelligence, labeling it as a ‘lethal mutation’ – not a blessing but a curse. Mayr’s finding is intriguing: The higher the intelligence, the more likely to end up in self-destruction, past the transitioning on a curve of initial development. Indeed, our environmental, financial and politico-economic policies and practices is creating the global stress for us and all other species. Deep and structural, this must be a crisis of our cognitivity. Do we want to prove Mayr right with our global Jihad against cognitive mind?   Cognitive deficit crisis From Copenhagen, Durban, Rio+20 to the Paris COP 21, our conclusion remains the same: We need principles and accorded actions, as this is the only way to tackle the grave problems of this planet. We are lacking the elementary consensus in/on the Bretton Woods institutions, on the Tobin tax initiative, in the WTO Doha Development round, on nuclear non-proliferation (and NPT), on migrations, on the Middle East and ‘regime change mantra’, in the IPCC, on the post-Kyoto negotiations, and finally on the alarming state of environment. Ergo, on a global scale we fundamentally disagree on the realities of this planet and the ways we can address them.[1] I am neither moralizing, idealizing nor agonizing. The world based on agreed principles and commonly willing actions is not a better place. It is the only way for the human race to survive. Clearly, our crisis is real, but neither sudden nor recent. Simply, our much-celebrated globali-sation deprived from environmental concerns can only cage us into the ecological globalistan.

Climate Change – a brutal terror against nature We place ourselves in a centre of materialistic world – this, of what we perceive as a universe of dead (and linear) matter. Therefore, what we euphemistically call (anthropogenic) Climate Change is actually a brutal war against (living) nature. It is a covert armed conflict, since we are predominantly using the so-called monetizing-potent ‘technologies’, instead of firearms in our hands. (For this purpose hereby, the army units are replaced by the demolition-man of other name; ‘transnational corporations’.) This armed insurgency is waged against most of what is beautiful and unique on Earth – on the planet that gave us time and space enough to survive as species and to evolve as cognitive life. Thus, the known sustainability matrix of 3 maximums (of good, of species, and of time) becomes the minimum species, minimum time with a maximum harm. Intentionally or not, it is a synchronized attack: We are steadily and passionately polluting our public sphere with the diverting banalities manufactured by the so-call social networks, reality shows, ‘celebrities’ and the like – trivializing the contents of our lives. At the same time, we are massively contaminating our biosphere (waters, lands, air and near outer space) with non-degradable and/or toxic, solid or aerosol, particles radiation and noise – irreversibly harming our habitat. We pollute the time as well, turning it into cross-generation warfare’s battlefield: Our dangerous patterns might seal off the fate for untold number of generations and sorts of species to come. No wonder, our corrosive assertiveness has (time-space) parallels: acidifying of oceans and brutalization of our human interactions, as well as over-noising both of them, are just two sides of a same coin. What is the social sphere for society that is the biosphere for the very life on earth: the (space/time – content/form) frame we all live in. Seems we pay our space (linear possessions) by our time (future). Therefore, our crisis cannot be environmental, as it was never a financial or security (war on terror) – our crisis must be a moral one. This is a cognitive deficit crisis, which we eagerly tend to spend in a limbo of denial!   Πάντα ρει (panta rhei) Nature does not change. Change (as a cosmic constant) is a nature itself. Still, even Heraclitus understood, this force is never eruptive or destructive (explosive, combusting and polarising), but eternally gradual and constructive (holistic, inclusive and implosive). We are drifting, dissolving and retreating on all levels and within each and every organic (marine and continental biota) or inorganic (soil, glaciers, water, polar caps, etc.) system. For the grave, burning (hydrocarbon) planetary problems, our human race needs an urgent and lasting consensus which presupposes bravery, virtue, vision and creativity. All this will not result from fear of coercion (social haircut, austerity, financial straitjacket), from a further militarization of our societies caused by the accelerated confrontations called ‘war on terror’, but from the universally shared willingness to accord our common planetary cause. Cognitive mind can do it all. Let’s start our global war on terror – but this time – on the terror of a global environmental holocaust caused by our cognitive deficit crisis. Photography by Ms. Anna Lehner. —————————— Vienna, 08 DEC 2015 anis@corpsdiplomatique.cd Anis H. Bajrektarevic,  is chairperson and professor in international law and global political studies, Vienna, Austria. He authored three books: FB – Geopolitics of Technology (published by the New York’s Addleton Academic Publishers); Geopolitics – Europe 100 years later (DB, Europe), and the just released Geopolitics – Energy – Technology by the German publisher LAP. No Asian century is his forthcoming book, scheduled for mid next year.   References: Ki-moon, B. (2015), Remarks to the opening of the High-Level session of the COP21, December 7, 2015, UNIS (Office of the Spokesperson of the UN SG) Chomsky, N. (2010), Human Intelligence and the Environment, University of North Caroline, Chapel Hill (Paper) Sagan, C. (1980), Cosmos Random House, NY /Carl Sagan Productions Inc. (page: 109) Dresner, S. (2002), The Principle of Sustainability, EarthScan London Smith, L.C. (2010), The World in 2050 – Four Forces Shaping Civilization’s Northern Future, Dutton (by Penguin group) [1] Additionally, we fundamentally disagree on a role to be played by technology, even on a very definition of what should be considered as technology. Technology is not a state-of-art of science; technology is a state of mind! It is not a linear progression in mastering the natural science disciplines, but a cognitive, emphatic cluster–mastering of the critical insight.    

By Jhr. mr. Alexander W. Beelaerts van Blokland, Justice (Judge) in the (Dutch) Court of Appeal and Honorary Special Adviser International Affairs, appointed in 2004 by the Mayor and Aldermen of the City of The Hague. The Netherlands’ three main cities are Amsterdam, Rotterdam and The Hague. All over the world and in every language Amsterdam and Rotterdam have the same name: Amsterdam and Rotterdam. And The Hague ? In every language it has a different name like The Hague in English and La Haye in French. But even in The Netherlands itself it has two names: ’s-Gravenhage and Den Haag. That is very confusing and very bad for the branding of the city. Just imagine someone abroad asks someone who just returned from The Netherlands: ‘Did you visit the beautiful old city of ’s-Gravenhage ?’ and the answer is: ‘No, I am very sorry, but I did visit another beautiful old city: Den Haag !’ The City of The Hague has chosen for ‘Den Haag’; the old name of ’s-Gravenhage will disappear little by little. And for the international name Den Haag has chosen for ‘The Hague’, being the translation in the language that is spoken by most internationally orientated people in the world: English. Recently The Hague has presented a new word mark with ‘Den Haag’ as well as ‘The Hague’ in two colors: black (or dark-blue ?) in the beginning, green at the end and both in the middle. You will see it at the moment at banners all over the city. The Hague’s typographic logo makes the name of the city immediately recognisable. All businesses, institutes and organisations working to market The Hague may make use of the word mark and others who support the city can also use this word mark, free of royalties. The designers ensured that the typographic logo is easy to use and can be applied to various means of communications and different target groups. The logo represents the connection of the diversity in The Hague: an international city of style, but with a no nonsense mentality. Different worlds tied together by the city. The word mark will be included in the online Brand Book The Hague, developed as part of The Hague City Branding 2020 project. This branding book contains articles, photos, films, facts and figures showing what makes The Hague unique and what it stands for.   a.beelaerts@planet.nl  

On the picture H. E. Maria Teresa Infante, Ambassador of Chile.

 By Ellen Brager. In January 1616, two Dutch sailors, Le Maire and Schouten, were the first ever to round the southernmost tip of Chile, a milestone in the history of navigation. In honor of their hometown, Hoorn, they gave it the name of Cape Horn. Their epic voyage not only opened a new route for trade between Europe and the Americas and enabled the many geographic discoveries of the 17th century, but it also created a permanent bond between Chile and The Netherlands. It was not a surprise, then, that the commemoration of the 400th anniversary of the event, organized by the Maritime Museum in Rotterdam included collaboration with the Chilean Embassy and the Chilean Navy. Despite the harsh winter weather, the event sold out early and extra chairs had to be added to accommodate the tremendous interest in this alluring lecture. After a few opening words by Frits Loomeijer, the Director of the museum, the guests were greeted by the Deputy Mayor of Hoorn, Mr. Ben Tap. He expressed how proud he was that two citizens of his town had made the name Hoorn world famous and informed the listeners about the Stichting Nederlandse Kaap Hoorn Vaarders, an association established in the town of Hoorn with the purpose of keeping the memory of the grand sailors, and especially those around Cape Horn, alive. Before giving the microphone to her Excellency Ambassador María Teresa Infante, he handed a beautiful book with maps made in the last 400 years of the area around Cape Horn to Mr. Loomeijer as a gift to the museum. For a photo album on the exhibition opening, please click here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/121611753@N07/albums/72157665191712726 

Ambassador Infante praised the bravery and courage of the Dutch sailors and underscored the importance of the event for trade and navigation back then, now and in the future. She then introduced the Defense and Navy Attaché of Chile, Captain Ronald Baasch. At one period during his career, he was stationed in Puerto Williams, the nearest port to Cape Horn and the southernmost city of the world. Therefore he knows the area very well. He himself has rounded Cape Horn more than two dozen times, bringing replenishments to the people who lived there and going out on rescue missions. He described Puerto Williams as a sleepy town with no traffic lights and only one stop sign, a stop sign he once failed to obey, which made him the first and only person in town to get a traffic ticket for this particular infraction. He went on to explain that Directemar, an acronym that refers to a specific branch of the Navy, has three main responsibilities: assuring the safety of navigators, protecting life at sea, and preserving a healthy marine environment. A member of this branch is the Sea Mayor of Cape Horn, who is stationed there for an entire year with his family, not an office for the faint at heart! Since the waters around Cape Horn are particularly hazardous, owing to strong winds, large waves, strong currents and icebergs, Captain Baasch had many interesting search and rescue stories to tell. One was about a sports sailor whose boat capsized during the Vendée Globe yacht race and initially went missing, and one was about a family with three small children whose boat suffered a broken mast in rough seas and high winds. The weather was so bad that a large tanker had to provide shelter from the wind for the smaller rescue boats to get close to the yacht. In both cases everybody was brought to shore safe and sound, but many in history have not been that lucky, making the area notorious as a sailors’ graveyard. The need for ships to round Cape Horn was greatly reduced by the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Now it is mostly recreational sailors who continue to sail this route, sometimes as part of circumnavigating the globe. Several prominent ocean yacht races, notably the Vendée Globe, the Barcelona World Race, the Jules Verne Trophy and the Volvo Ocean Race sail around the world via the Horn. Speed records for round-the-world sailing are recognized for following this route within very specific parameters and requirements. One of those round-the-world sailors is Stefan Coppers, a Dutch crew member of Team Brunel during the Volvo Ocean Race of 2014-2015 and present at the event. Dressed in his sailor’s overalls, he delighted the audience with anecdotes, pictures and video clips of the nine months he sailed around the world as an onboard reporter. With a lot of humor he recalled how he knew next to nothing about sailing when he started this adventure. He made all the beginners’ mistakes in the book and was sure not to be selected to be part of the final crew. To his surprise, he was offered the job, and even more to his surprise, he accepted! He told gruesome stories about horrible weather, lack of comfort, seasickness and being cold and wet 24 hours a day, but also about the great bond that grew between the eight sailors on board and himself, and about team spirit and endurance.   The evening ended in style with drinks, including very nice Chilean white and red wines, offered by the Embassy of Chile. A special exhibit about the Heroes of Cape Horn can be visited until the 25th of September. Maps, pictures, stories and artifacts about the brave sailors to the Tierra Incógnita will appeal to visitors young and old. And for those who want to dig in even deeper there is the book Cape Horn and Other Stories from the End of the World, written by Francisco Coloane, a Chilean novelist, and Never Give Up, the Epic Journey of Bouwe Bekking, seven-time participant of the Volvo Ocean Race. More information about the exhibit can be found on the museum’s website at www.maritiemmuseum.nl/en. Embassy of Chile in The Hague: http://www.chileabroad.gov.cl/paises-bajos/   Photography by the Embassy of Chile in The Hague and Maritime Museum in Rotterdam    

By Sunday Oyinloye, West African Editor.   Hauwa Abbas wears different caps at different times. She is the founder and President of Silver Lining for the Needy Initiative (SLNI) a Non-Governmental Organization, established in 2009. A Rotarian and honoured to be Chartered President- Rotary Club of Abuja Federal 2015-2016, district 9125. Through SLNI, her team and herself have designed and delivered programs which have demonstrated unprecedented success in community mobilization, service delivery and awareness raising in the in the areas of reproductive, maternal, new-born, child and adolescent health . Hauwa is fond of a quote by Sarah Caldwell, “learn everything you can, anytime you can, from anyone you can”. In an interview with our West Africa Editor, Sunday Oyinloye, the young lady who has touched thousands of vulnerable lives speaks on the challenges facing women and the girl-child in Nigeria among other issues. Some have argued that many NGOs in Nigeria were set up just to attract foreign grants, how would you react to this? It must be noted that the failure of the states to provide specific services and opportunity for citizens and the constant need to bridge the noticeable gaps have led to the proliferation of NGOs in Nigeria. However, the governance structure of NGOs reveal their true motives especially when vested interests override true development principles in designing and costing programmes. Most foreign grantors have not always taken their time to do due diligence that enables them to see through the charade and they end up with bitter experiences. SLNI was uniquely set up with the core drive for humanitarian services. Most of our initial funding was mobilised mainly from personal, close relatives and individuals who wanted to give back but did not have the time or understanding on how to go about it. As such, it becomes obvious that SLNI was in the sector to deliver lasting value to lives especially women and children who needed just a little push to get the necessary quality of life that they long for. SLNI’s governance structure and relentless undertakings to affect women and children is a testament to our uniqueness. The point i am making is that you can actually know the real NGOs from those just set up to attract foreign grants through their performance. Also, I believe and encourage collaboration with partners both domestic and international. We have used various media outlets to address health challenges; this has contributed to increased health awareness in the lives of women and children in Nigeria. Our work has been featured in numerous Nigerian media outlets on health issues such as AIT Special Report, Leadership Newspaper, This Day Newspaper, NTA news 24, The Punch Newspaper, Daily trust, Kiss FM and Rhythm Radio Nigeria. We are proud to have sat on the various National committees to advocate for policy change, namely the First Nigerian National Vaccine Summit (2012) amongst others. We were recently featured in Aljazeera’s report on reproductive health in Nigeria focusing on women in communities in Northern Nigeria. What specific things has your NGO done to help children and mothers in the Northern part of your country? In all modesty, we have done a lot. On the issues of Maternal Health/ development, we have undertaken several initiatives over the last six (6) years which include but are not limited to educating women in rural communities about their health like prevention, protection and treatment of pneumonia, use of long lasting treated nets for protection against malaria, proper hand washing techniques, preparation of home-made ORS solution for diarrhoea treatment, importance of prenatal, antenatal and postnatal care. We have conducted healthcare services such as family planning, cervical cancer screening, voluntary counselling and testing services. Our NGO is conducting workshops for women diagnosed with HIV, providing Mama Delivery kits for rural women to ensure clean and safe delivery as well as providing folic acid for pregnant women. We provide vaccine related support. The NGO has conducted eye check-ups and distributed glasses to elderly widows and widowers in rural areas. Other things we do are trainings and workshops for women and coaching sessions for women and youth. Not only that, we provide subsidies for school tuition and boarding fees as well as annual Summer School activities for the kids at the orphanages homes. You are from the Northern part of Nigeria which is currently facing insurgency. Many of the suicide bombers are alleged to be young girls, what are you doing to enlighten young girls in that part of Nigeria. We have been promoting education and we shall continue to do that in the years ahead. Primary education is a fundamental human right for every young child .That ensures growth to contribute towards the development and prosperity of our country. It is no longer news that education provides the gateway for fulfilment of economic, political and cultural functions. That is why we are supporting the education of a good number of girls. The more education we give them the more they will be less prone to radicalisation. Young girls must start to understand their vital role in the task of eliminating poverty. They have to understand that they are the mothers of tomorrow. Educated women can understand the needs of the family. I remember a sad case a few months ago in a state in Northern Nigeria concerning the misuse of Chlorhexidine 7.1% solution for umbilical cord care but was used as eye drops for babies. In this particular state, only 15% are literate. The rate of formal education is extremely low, so the question for us is how we can safeguard the lives of children from birth in Nigeria? Protection, guidance and support for every child should start from birth and continue until they reach adulthood. This is what we try to do at all time. What solutions would you proffer to check the low rate of girl-child education in Nigeria especially the Northern part? Dissuading and advocating against early marriages for the girl child in Nigeria. Marriage at a very young age leads women to conceive repeatedly, this affects different aspects of the young women’s health. Another solution is enforcement of the mandatory 9-year basic education for the girl child by coercing parents to comply.One good strategy that could also be used is to provide incentives for the girl-child to remain in school through conditional social welfare programmes like school feeding, performance based scholarships and so on. What unique thing is your NGO planning for the vulnerable in the society in 2016? We have plans to play a unique role in giving internally displaced persons especially women and girls an opportunity to move on with their lives through empowerment programmes that will show them how to pick up from where they are and achieve their full potential. The 2013 Nigerian Demographic & Health Survey reports that although almost all babies are breastfed in Nigeria (98%), only a minority (33%) of mothers achieve the WHO-recommended initiation within one hour of birth and fewer still (17%) continue to breastfeed exclusively for six months. The Nigerian breastfeeding initiative, a consortium of partners both domestic and international which includes SLNI has joined forces to build a public-private partnership with a very specific goal: to achieve an increase in rates for timely and exclusive breastfeeding in Nigeria. In 2016, SLNI intends to scale up breastfeeding awareness by educating families through our community outreach programs and Town hall meetings. The initiative by partners will reduce the estimated annual 800,000 child deaths in Nigeria by 100,000. It is important to note that non-breastfed babies are 15 times more likely to die from pneumonia and 11 times more likely to die from diarrhoea. SLNI has developed various programs over the years that are targeted towards vulnerable women and children in rural communities. We shall continue to mobilise funds, materials and supplies to meet their challenges.

By Samantha Brletich. Russia signed an inter-governmental agreement in early late January 2016 that would resettle Mongolia’s debt to Russia which totaled $172 million, 97 per cent of Mongolia’s total debt. The debt forgiveness signals Moscow is moving closer to Ulan Bataar as it slowly losses grip on other Former Soviet Union Republics economically. Mongolia also presents an increased market opportunity for Russia and its petrol products. The use of financial instruments and debts to bring countries closer to Russia and to gain political concessions are a mainstay in Russia’s diplomatic toolkit. The crashing oil market impacted Russia’s economy by shrinking Russia’s GDP and the regional economy causing many former Soviet Republics to rethink their economic policies and alliances. Countries heavily interconnected with Russia, politically and economically, suffered because of the crash of the commodities market and Western sanctions on Russia. Remittances dropped among four Central Asia states affecting their GDP. The slowed Russian economy has forced Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan—two of Russia’s closest allies out of the Former Soviet Union—to seek economic opportunities elsewhere. Kazakhstan’s currency, the tenge, plunged 100 per cent in the last five months and the current exchange rate 352.08 tenge to one US dollar on 18 February. According to reporting on 23 February 2016 from Reuters, Kazakhstan’s economy will grow only 0.5 per cent, as opposed to the originally forecasted 2.1 per cent. Kazakhstan will also cut its oil output to 74 million tonnes. Kazakhstan’s is looking to Middle Eastern investors such as the United Arab Emirates. Kazakhstan’s diversifying economic partners is also reflected in Kazakhstan’s desire to be a bridge between Europe and Eurasia and to expand its bilateral economic partnerships. The squeeze prompted discussion of raising rent rates for Russia who leases four of Kazakhstan’s military and space sites including the Sary Shagan and Emba missile testing sites. Russia, for all four sites, pays $24 million which is not enough according to Kazakhstan MPs. Russia is currently leasing Baikonur Cosmodrome from Kazakhstan for $115 million a year until 2050. Kyrgyzstan also cancelled plans for a hydroelectric power plant (HPP) as the two companies, Inter RAO and RusHydro, responsible for the project were unable to finance the completion of the Kambar-Ata-1 HPP. President Vladimir Putin signed the agreement to construct the HPP in 2012 and costs projected at $3 billion. RusHydro was to build four smaller hydropower plants (HPP) costing $727 million. Citing information from EurasiaNet, Kyrgyz authorities are trying to find a way to avoid paying Russia a $40 million debt for a HPP in the Upper Naryn region. Results for Kyrgyzstan in the Eurasian Economic Union (EEU) are mixed. Kyrgyzstan joined the EEU because of a large population of migrant workers in Russia, to strengthen bilateral ties, and access to traditional and regional markets. Kyrgyzstan’s inclusion in the EEU generated more migrant workers, about 544,000 Kyrgyz work in Russia today, according to Minister of Economy, Kylychbek Dzhakypov. For the migrant workers, remittances dropped 28.3 per cent by the end of 2015; Tajikistan’s and Uzbekistan’s remittances dropped by half. Internally, the resettlement of the debt favors Mongolia’s government. Mongolia’s Prime Minister survived a no confidence vote in January 2016 facilitated by Mongolia’s poor economic performance. Mongolia’s economy grew only 2.3 per cent in 2015, the slowest in seven years and since the 2009 global economic downturn. A drop in commodity prices, dwindling foreign investment, and a slowdown in Chinese trade contribute. One indicator of increased foreign direct investment is the end of negotiations over the Gatsuurt gold mine deposit permitting mining operations and the end of the dispute over Tavan Tolgoi. “Clearly, the post-Soviet Russia avoids any strategic global competition with the US…Is it possible to (re-)gain a universal respect without any ideological appeal?” – Famously asked prof. Anis Bajrektarevic. Well, here might come an answer: Revived Oil-gas Russian diplomacy. Debt forgiveness may be way to lure Mongolia to import more energy from Russia. Mongolia in 2014, imported 91 per cent of its petroleum products from Russia including: gasoline, jet fuel, and diesel. As of 2013, Mongolia imported $1.03 billion worth of refined petroleum products accounting for 67% of imports from Russia. In 2011, Mongolia imported 90 per cent of its petrol products from Russia. Trade volume between Russia and Mongolia decreased by 2.8% (May 2015). Mongolia’s energy dependence makes it vulnerable to supply shocks and Russian politics as Russia terminated gas supply (Ukraine) during strained relations and spikes in anti-Russia sentiment. During April 2011, Russia cut its diesel supply to Mongolia because of shortages in its domestic supply which drove up costs of mining operations and logistics. Energy dependence affects mining operations and infrastructure which Mongolia lacks. Improved infrastructure in the country would mainly be used to export mining goods. Concerns of sovereignty and control also drive Mongolia’s “Third Neighbor Policy.” Many fear that Chinese and Russian construction projects would make movement of Mongolia’s mining tonnage more dependent on the two countries. Another argument is that “such [railway] links would make Mongolia a natural resource backyard for China and even facilitate a Chinese demographic influx” into Mongolia. Mongolia, to avoid energy dependence, needs to expand the “third neighbor policy” to avoid over-dependence. Mongolia’s should use its status as a democracy for increased cooperation and funding from the European Union and other Asian nations such as Japan and South Korea. Mongolia’s other “third neighbors” are all democracies. Mongolia also needs to diversify its economy from only exporting mineral resources. Russia will most likely take advantages of opportunities to advance the Mongolia-Russia bilateral relationship and to enhance Russia’s position in the region.   About the author: Samantha Brletich specializes in Central Asia Affairs with a focus on regional security, terrorism, economics, and culture. She possesses a Masters Degree in Peace Operations Policy from George Mason University in the United States. She can be reached at sbrletich@gmail.com

HM Willem-Alexander King of the Netherlands delivers speech at side event UN General Assembly. (Copyright: Ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken).   The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands and UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education jointly launched the project “Strengthening Small Island Developing States’ capacity in the water sector to cope with the effects of climate change”. The project enables water professionals from SIDS countries to enrol in a Masters Programme or Short Course at UNESCO-IHE. The first group of five MSc students started in October and short course participants arrived in January for five weeks, with more planning to start in the upcoming months. The first experiences Crystal Conway is from Guyana and arrived in Delft recently on a SIDS scholarship. “Guyana actually means land of many waters”. “The majority of the population lives on what we call the low coastal plain, a mere two metres below sea level. Coming from Guyana to study my masters in Hydroinformatics is very valuable.” One of the UNESCO representatives in Guyana had sent an informative email to several civil engineers asking them to share this message with their young colleagues. “I received the information by 1 September, I applied shortly after, on 23 September I heard that I had been accepted and three weeks later I arrived in The Netherlands. I am interested in geographic information systems and I had always wondered how I could put civil engineering and GIS together. For a water professional from a developing country like me, in search of a world-class education, studying at an institute like this is almost impossible, due to lack of funding. Fortunately UNESCO-IHE and the Dutch Government created that possibility for many of us and I would like to encourage more people to look into these opportunities”. ‘’In my job I spend a lot of time in the field, talking to the people on the ground who deal with water related issues. For example, when it is low tide, salt water tends to intrude upstream going far into the rivers. Farmers have no choice but to use that water to irrigate their land, so they are in effect salting their land in the long term. This is one of many problems that needs to be looked at, but nobody has had the opportunity yet,” said Crystal Conway. Rising sea level Amit Singh from Fiji: “I heard about UNESCO-IHE from one of my colleagues, who noticed a post on Facebook. That is also how I found out about the SIDS programme. I did more research about the scholarship and then applied for the programme in Water Resources Management.” “Due to climate change and the subsequent rising sea level, it is of great importance to manage what we have. I would like to encourage fellow Pacific Islanders to apply for the SIDS Fellowships,” said Amit Singh. Speech by Dutch King At the UN event on implementing the Samoa Pathway in September 2015,   His Majesty King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands stressed that nearly 700 million people live in low-lying coastal areas less than 10 metres above sea level and mentioned the challenges faced by the Small Island Developing States. “Our Kingdom is actively reaching out to countries that face challenges similar to ours. We’re sharing our experience in water management with countries all around the world. And we’re making top Dutch water and delta expertise available to foreign governments urgently seeking to prevent water-related disasters. A Dutch team has visited the island states of Vanuatu and Kiribati this summer to advise their governments on water issues. We’re also offering scholarships and courses for SIDS at the UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education in the Netherlands.” He closed the speech by saying that together, we can restore ocean health and work towards the sustainable development of our nations and people.

Minister of Mauritius signs Memorandum of Understanding On 20 January 2016, UNESCO-IHE welcomed Jayeshwur Raj Dayal, the Minister of Environment, Sustainable Development, Disaster and Beach Management of Mauritius to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the Institute for the development of an early warning system for storm surge. He took the opportunity to meet his fellow countryman, Niraj Tacouri who was at the Institute following a five week course on Port Planning and Infrastructure Design, funded by a SIDS fellowship. Fellowships UNESCO-IHE will provide at least 20 key water professionals with MSc level education on relevant topics for the SIDS, in two batches – the first one started in 2015, the second starts in October 2016. The 18 month MSc programmes includes 6 months’ field based research, to be conducted on specific problems in the home country of the participant. The deadline for SIDS Fellowships for the 2016-2018 MSc Specializations is 01 July 2016 – 23.59 (CET). Furthermore, UNESCO-IHE will provide at least 50 water professionals and decision makers with specific expertise on relevant topics, by enabling them to enrol in UNESCO-IHE Short Courses. The deadline for SIDS fellowships are listed on the Short Course webpage. Information: UNESCO -IHE Institute forWater Education https://www.unesco-ihe.org/