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In this week's roundup of emerging actors news, Moroccan prime minister meets Communist Party delegation, China to embark on multi-billion dollar investment in Ethiopia, South Africa boosts coal supplies to China and India, and Korea has important lessons to teach Africa.

CHINA in AFRICA
Chinese firm warned against use of powerful explosives
Gasabo district has issued a stern warning to the Chinese firm dealing in stone mining activities in Jabana, over their continued use of strong explosives to blast stones, a process that has led to further destruction of area residents’ properties. Read more

China and Uganda have carried out fruitful cooperation within the framework of the China-Africa Cooperation Forum
Bukenya thanked China for its assistance to his country and said Uganda expects China to encourage more of its businesses, especially small and medium-sized ones, to invest in Uganda to boost the African country's employment and development. Bukenya also reiterated his country's insistence on the One-China policy. Read more

Moroccan prime minister meets Communist Party of China delegation
Morocco and China have witnessed frequent exchanges after Morocco achieved independence and the two countries understand and support each other in the international arena, Fassi said during Thursday's meeting with a delegation of the Communist Party of China. Read more

Huawei now ordered to fix fibre-optic errors
The Uganda government wants Chinese information technology giant Huawei Technologies to undertake a forensic audit of its own works in laying the country’s main fibre-optic cable backbone under the National Backbone Initiative project’s first phase, and fix the glaring mistakes at the company’s cost. Read more

China to embark on multi-billion dollar investment in Ethiopia
China Africa Development Fund (CADFund), which officially opened its Addis Ababa Representative Office a week a go, is considering investing in three projects in Ethiopia. The three new projects under appraisal include: Investing in a Chinese industrial zone, establishing a huge food processing company, and expanding LIFAN Motors Company. Read more

Chinese firms boost African investment
Africa, which boasts a large volume of natural resources and powerful consumption market, is turning into an increasingly important destination for Chinese investment. Read more

Chinese ambassador assures stronger ties with Cameroon
The Chinese ambassador to Cameroon, H.E. Xue Jinwei, paid a maiden visit to the health facility. The visit was as a result of fruitful cooperation that exists between Cameroon and China. H.E. Xue Jinwei, met the different departments notably the maternity ward, reanimation ward, Chinese pharmacy, x-ray among others and also the personnel. Traditional dance groups from the country could be seen in some corners in the hospital premises to welcome the august guest. Read more

Vice Foreign Minister Wang Guangya Meets with Senegalese Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Niang
Wang said since the resumption of diplomatic ties between the two countries, bilateral relations have maintained a sound momentum of development with frequent friendly exchanges at all levels, effective pragmatic cooperation in various areas and close communication and consultations in international affairs. China attaches importance to ties with Senegal and is ready to further enhance communication and cooperation with Senegal to push forward the friendly cooperative relations between the two countries. Read more

NAFDAC take fake drugs war to China
A combined team of the Senate Committee on Health and the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control has concluded a 5-day working visit to China as part of Nigeria's leading role in ensuring quality drugs for consumers. Read more

Tanzania benefits a lot from Chinese infrastructure aid
Tanzania has benefited a lot from the Chinese assistance on infrastructure in Africa. I think the first project of the infrastructure for probably the whole of Africa, is TAZARA, the Tanzania-Zambia Railway," Tanzanian Minister of Finance and Economic Affairs Mustapha Mkulo told Xinhua on Friday. Read more

Tanzania now battles China's monopoly on rare earth metals
China has over 95 percent market share in the global production of rare earth metals, but many alternatives are now being examined, such as the Wigu Hill deposit in Tanzania owned by Montero Mining. Read more

INDIA in AFRICA

Tharoor’s ouster a blow to India’s Africa surge
“We do not wish to go and demand certain rights or projects or impose our ideas in Africa. But we do want to contribute to the achievement of Africa’s development objectives as they have been set by our African partners,” Tharoor said. This approach has found enthusiastic response in Africa. Read more

South Africa boosts coal supplies to China and India
South Africa’s Richards Bay Coal Terminal, Europe’s biggest source of coal burned for electricity, is boosting supplies to India and China as rebounding Asian economies build new power plants. Read more

India eyeing Africa, Latin America for exports
Stressing the need to diversify country's international business, Union Minister of State for Commerce and Industries Jyotiraditya Scindia said India was eyeing Africa and Latin America for exports potential. Read more

Other Emerging News

Brazil, India and South Africa agreed that more diplomacy was required in the international standoff with Iran over its controversial nuclear program
The accord, struck in a brief meeting ahead of a BRIC summit in Brasilia, hewed to Brazil's line defending Iran from building efforts in the UN Security Council to slap the Islamic republic with more sanctions. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and South African President Jacob Zuma "recognized the right of Iran to develop nuclear programs for peaceful purposes in keeping with its international obligations," they said in a joint statement. Read more

Korea has important lessons to teach Africa
Africa is making efforts to become a major economic bloc and is seeking to develop local industries with foreign investment. Richard Scobey, the World Bank regional director for Africa, says that although China has made huge investments in Africa, the region still needs funds from Korea for sustainable growth. Africa is a large continent that offers vast opportunities for Korea, he said in an interview. Read more

Congo trade agreement creates opportunities for South Africa
A MEMORANDUM of understanding on economic co-operation with the Republic of Congo is set to deepen technical, trade and industrial co-operation with South Africa.
Zuma said he was convinced that by fostering closer trade and investment ties, South Africa would be able to mobilise to a maximum level its collective resources and promote substantive “intra-Africa trade”. Read more

Turkey seeks to regain foothold in Africa
Turkish President Abdullah Gul's official visits to Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of Congo last month underscored increased efforts by the Islamist-rooted government for closer contacts with the continent, where many share the country's predominantly Muslim faith. Read more

"Africa Is Good Investment Destination"
African Union Commission Chairman Jean Ping set a note of selling Africa as an investment destination in the first high level talks between the African Union and the United States State department whose delegation is led by Deputy Secretary of State
Read more

Nigeria and South Africa to enhance trade relations
The South African embassy has promised to improve on the challenges faced by Nigerian business personnel in getting visas to that country, in order to enhance the trade relations with Nigeria. Read more

Rawlings and Konadu sense smear Campaign
The attention of former President Rawlings and his wife, Nana Konadu Agyeman Rawlings has been drawn to publications in newspapers, on the worldwide web and other wide-circulating news mediums alleging that the Mills Administration has paid an amount of $5 million to them. Read more

Brain drain and low investment hamper African science
Africa's contribution to the global body of scientific research is very small and does little to benefit its own populations, according to a report from Thomson Reuters (TRI.N) released on Monday. Read more

EVENTS

India - Africa Partnership: What the future holds?
In recent years India has engaged African countries with a renewed vigour at both bilateral and multilateral levels. With the establishment of India-Africa Forum in 2008, India’s engagement with Africa has become more structured. India and African countries have enjoyed a close and cooperative partnership that encompasses political, security, economic, cultural and other areas of mutual interest. This conference is aimed at identifying the challenges and future drivers of India’s partnership with Africa. Read more

East Africa opens its doors to investors
As prospective investors troop to Dar es Salaam for the Investment Climate Facility for Africa Summit in May, Kampala will be laying on the carpet over $850 million worth of investments. The summit will precede the annual Africa World Economic Forum scheduled for Dar es Salaam from May 5 to May 7.
The Investment Climate Facility for Africa is a unique public-private partnership between government and business that aims to help Africa create a more attractive business environment and realise its potential as a global player and trading partner. The summit will focus on business registration and licensing, the cost of each procedure needed to register a business as a percentage of per capita income in Sub-Saharan African countries, customs and taxation. Read more

Most successful COMESA Investment Forum closes on positive note for Africa’s accelerated development
Closing the 3rd COMESA Investment Forum – Connecting Africa to the World – at Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Chairman of COMESA Council of Minister, Professor Welshman Ncube said the 19-Member regional body was now open for substantial investment and accelerated trade. The best performing countries, ranked by the World Bank’s latest “Doing Business” report include COMESA Members namely Mauritius, Rwanda and Egypt, and non-member Botswana. Read more

OPINION

How BRIC has changed the pecking order
Together these countries account for 40 per cent of the world’s population, 26 per cent of the world’s geographical area and 22 per cent of the world’s GDP. In the past two years, they contributed to 50 per cent of the world’s economic growth despite the recessionary conditions elsewhere. Two of them — Russia and Brazil — were among the world’s largest petroleum producers. And the other two — China and India — were the world’s biggest energy guzzlers. Read more

Resources and African Renaissance
Led by increasing investment in natural resources and optimistic predictions for overall economic growth, it appears that 2010 will be the year of Africa's ascendance in international affairs.
As Africa's share of global foreign direct investment continues to grow, domestic and regional politics will become increasingly sensitive to investment decisions by foreign firms. The recent dispute between Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana over ownership rights to a new offshore oil discovery in the Gulf of Guinea highlights the growing propensity of private companies to affect African geopolitics. Read more

Can the West learn from China in Africa?
Deborah Brautigam, Associate Professor in American University’s International Development Program, is author of the book The Dragon’s Gift: The Real Story of China in Africa (see our review here),">http://aidwatchers.com/2010/02/china-in-africa-myths-and-realities/">here), and a new blog which digs into current China in Africa issues reported in the press. She recently spoke at NYU and answered a few of our questions. Read more

BROUGHT TO YOU BY PAMBAZUKA NEWS

* Compiled by Anna Lena Wachter, intern based with the Emerging Powers in Africa programme.