Soldiers of Operation Whirl Stroke (OPWS) have apprehended five persons alleged to be amour bearers and suppliers of Benue State most wanted suspected criminal kingpin, Terwase Akawaza, popularly known as ‘Gana.’

The Force Commander of OPWS, Major General Adeyemi Yekini, paraded the suspects at the weekend alongside others arrested for various crimes in different states of Nasarawa, Taraba and Benue which made up the Operation’s areas of coverage.

Yekini told newsmen that of the five suspects, Dauda Atara and Andrew Imbwase nicknamed ‘Don Moji’ who are major armourers and supplier of weapons to Gana were nabbed in Abuja and Makurdi respectively while the remaining three were arrested during a raid operation at the kingpin (Gana)’s hometown of Gbise in Katsina-Ala local government area of Benue state.

“I can tell you with every sense of responsibility that this crop of criminals are perhaps, the most deadly set of criminals that we have ever arrested since the inception of Operation Whirl Stroke and our hope is that, the prosecuting authorities will do a good job so that these people can be removed from the society for a very long time. “Recalled that we had a press briefing during which I promised that we shall be focusing on how to break the weapons supply chain that has been fuelling criminalities in Benue, Nasarawa and Taraba states. “I am very happy to inform you that we have been able to record some successes. Our star suspect today is Don Moji. He is the number one weapon supplier to Gana; he is responsible for between 80 and 90 percent of weapons that Gana has been using to terrorise the people of Benue state,” the OPWS commander narrated.

Meanwhile, the duo of Don Moji and Atara in an interview with newsmen admitted the allegations against them in connection with supplying arms and weapons. Moji confessed that, “I was contracted to supply weapons and I contacted somebody in Shendam Local Government area of Plateau State. The last time, I supplied 2000 ammunitions to politicians in Gboko and I got my supply through one Dauda Atara who is my friend. I am the one who led army to his house in North Bank after l was arrested. Dauda, on his part, said, “What Don Moji said is true because I was the one that gave him all the guns and ammunitions. It was not even three AK47 that we gave out to politicians but four. I supplied weapons to Gana but at a time l stopped because he wanted me to join his gang but I refused. I have been supplying guns to Gana since 2014. “I also supplied 2000 ammunitions to Moji and I got them from one Bala Igige in North Bank area of Makurdi.” He said.

By He Zhuoyan (People’s Daily Online)

Promotion meeting of Overseas Economic Cooperation Zones (He Zhuoyan/ People’s Daily Online)

“China–Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) is one corridor with many doors,” said Fareena Mazhar, Executive Director of the General of Board of Investment of Pakistan at the promotion meeting of Overseas Economic Cooperation Zones held on Sept. 6 during the China-Arab States Expo.

As an important carrier of the Belt and Road international cooperation, overseas economic and trade cooperation zones play an increasingly important role in international economic and trade exchanges. The building of economic corridors is an exemplary model to follow when it comes to international economic cooperation, whether it takes place in Pakistan or Arab countries or even in the world.

“In 2018, China’s FDI ranked second in the world and the stocking investment ranked third in the world, “said Liu Minqiang, Vice Director of Department of Outward Investment and Economic Cooperation of Ministry of Commerce of China, affirming China’s important role in contributing to the global growth.

“We will take openness, inclusiveness and mutually benefiting as our guiding principles. We will allow the economic structure, natural endowment and cultural traditions of Belt and Road countries to connect with each other so that we could promote further connectivity while respecting the differences between different countries,” added Liu, addressing China’s willingness to cooperate with countries along the Belt and Road routes under the principle of mutual respects.

He also mentioned that it is pivotal to support market entities, build facilitation platform for cooperation and build demonstration industrial parks while following the philosophy of green development and sustainability.

As of the first half of 2019, Chinese enterprises have invested and constructed 113 cooperation zones in more than 40 countries, with a cumulative investment of 36.6 billion US dollars. More than 4,000 enterprises have entered the cooperation zones and have paid 3 billion US dollar taxes and dues to the host country, creating 265,000 jobs in the region.

The success of China’s economic cooperation with foreign countries was reaffirmed by Sun Yaoguo, the General Engineer of China Road and Bridge Corporation.

“Our works have been recognized by the foreign governments,” said Sun, “President Xi Jinping proposed that we need to promote the development of economic corridors and build economic and industrial parks. So, over the past years, the industrial parks have grown from zero to a big scale and have received tangible results. “

“We have also facilitated industrialization process of the Belt and Road countries, it is an important carrier for the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. The going out of Chinese companies are accelerating. One consensus is that overseas economic cooperation is an important platform for Chinese companies going abroad,” added Sun.

Sun’s words are echoed by Fareena Mazhar. During the meeting, she said that in the shape of CEPC, both governments have made joint efforts to focus on expanding economic dimensions of the relationships and bring it into industrial parks with excellent cooperation that two countries enjoy at economic and political levels.

“It is high time to go a step forward and do concrete and focused efforts on populating industrial zones either to invest in and build infrastructure or relocation of Chinese labor-intensive industry,” said Fareena, “The government of Pakistan is committed to providing business-friendly incentive packages aimed at up-scaling investment relations with China to grow the industries and employment.”

She also highlighted the advantage of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, in terms of searching for future cooperation between Ningxia and Pakistan. “There are also plenty of sectors with absolute advantages in Ningxia that match those in Pakistan,” said Fareena, “I hope more and more enterprises from Ningxia can get better understanding of Pakistan in market and enter into cooperation.”

Several representatives from Chinese enterprises demonstrated investment advantages in countries along the Belt and Road routes, inlcuding demonstrations on Pakistan Rashakai Special Economic Zone, China-UAE Industrial Capacity Cooperation Demonstration Zone and China-Egypt Mankai Textile Industrial Park, seeking opportunities for potential economic cooperation.

Liu Feng, Huan Xiang, Yu Limin, People’s Daily

The fourth China-Arab States Expo was held in Yinchuan, capital city of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Sept. 5.

Cao Jianming, vice chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China, attended the opening ceremony, read a congratulatory letter from Chinese President Xi Jinping and delivered a keynote speech.

Aiming to enhance friendship, deepen cooperation and pursue common development, the expo attracted over 12,600 participants from 2,900 regional organizations, commerce chambers, associations and enterprises in 89 countries, outnumbering those of the three previous sessions of the event.

Guests from both home and abroad gathered at the Ningxia International Hall at the foot of Helan Mountain and by the Yellow River, to renew friendship and seek business opportunities.

Under the theme of “New opportunity, new future”, the event features trade fairs, forums and exhibitions on trade and investment, Internet plus, cross-border e-commerce, infrastructure, agriculture, etc., to promote mutually beneficial cooperation between China and Arab states.

“I particularly investigated a livestock farm in Ningxia during my visit to China this time, as agriculture is an important industry in Mauritania and I hope to learn from China’s experiences,” said Boydiel Houmeid, Vice-President of the National Assembly of the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.

He told People’s Daily that the China-Arab States Expo provides an important platform for each party to strengthen mutual understanding and deepen cooperation, saying he hopes to gain practical results from the event.

The Republic of Niger takes great delight in participating in the expo, said Iro Sani, First Vice-President of the National Assembly of the country.

The China-Arab States Expo demonstrates the close relationship between China and the Arab countries as well as the fruitful results they have achieved, and such relationship not only exists at the governmental level, but also among the peoples of developing countries and China, he noted.

New opportunities lead to bright future. The four-day event, further carrying out the spirits of the Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation, will host a series of activities including an opening ceremony, China-Arab States Business Summit, China-Arab States Technology Transfer & Innovation Cooperation Conference, Online Silk Road Conference and Serial Activities of Theme Province (Jiangsu).

These activities will establish a high-level platform for international politicians, business leaders and scholars to communicate, discuss cooperation opportunities, and work together for common development.

“Ningxia will make good use of the important platform of the China-Arab States Expo to promote high-quality development of the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), take opportunities and release potential, and further open air, land and internet passages to Arab states,” said Shi Taifeng, secretary of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC).

Shi noted that the region will further improve the capacity cooperation and technology exchange mechanisms between China and Arab countries, and expand their cooperation in trade, technology, energy, agriculture and tourism.

The ancient Silk Road is a witness to the long history of the friendship between China and Arab states, as well as the collision and fusion of the two civilizations. So far, China has signed cooperative documents under the BRI framework with 18 Arab countries, and both sides have achieved fruitful results in infrastructure, energy, trade parks, high tech and finance cooperation.

It’s been almost ten years since the first China-Arab States Expo. The fourth session of the event today demonstrates a larger pattern and wider platform that are joined by more parties at a deeper level.

Located at the hinterland of the Northwest China, Ningxia is looking forward to opening more. Amid the unremitting efforts of the region to pursue development, a model of all-round, multi-level, and wide-ranging opening-up is gradually taking shape.

By He Zhuoyan (People’s Daily Online)

The Third China-Arab States Business Summit, held in Ningxia (Photo provided by China-Arab States Expo)

“We are willing to promote external trade and two-way investments with Arab states in order to pursue win-win cooperation so that businesses can conduct exchange and dialogues,” said Chen Jian’an, Vice Chairman of the China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT), during his opening speech at the Third China-Arab States Business Summit which was held in China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Sept. 5. 

Sponsored by CCPIT and the People’s Government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region under the framework of the China-Arab States Expo, the summit was a platform for business-oriented cooperation and exchange.

Liu Kewei, vice chairman of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, affirmed the idea to create a fair environment for China-Arab cooperation. “We wish to create a business environment that is market-based, law-based and internationalized. We wish to increase trade and investment facilitation to boost the quality development of China-Arab business cooperation,” Liu said during his speech.

Themed on “Promote Economic and Trade Exchanges, Propel Practical Cooperation,” the Third China-Arab States Business Summit invited 500 representatives from government departments, large chambers of commerce, business associations and enterprises from China and Arab states, as well as other countries along the Belt and Road.

Speaking of the Belt and Road Initiative, Mahmoud Hassan Elamin, head of the Representative Office of the Arab League in Beijing, gave high praise to China’s BRI, noting “The BRI is the most important initiative proposed in the past decade. It is all-embracing, covering both innovation and development. There is no doubt that this initiative will promote an enormous change in cooperation,” said Mahmoud Hassan Elamin.

Khaled Mohamad Hanafy, Secretary-General of the General Union of the Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries also mentioned how the BRI had promoted cooperation that will bring mutual benefit to both sides. He said that China and Arab countries are complementary to each other, and both sides need to set eyes on the bigger picture and try to identify more opportunities under the framework of the Belt and Road.

Khaled Mohamad Hanafy, Secretary-General of General Union of Chambers of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture for Arab Countries (Photo provided by China-Arab States Expo)

The summit also witnessed several report releases and project signings. This included the release of the Development Process of China-Arab States Economic and Trade Relations Annual Report 2018, a research report on the Third-Party Market Cooperation Opportunities between China and Arab States, the signing of a Memorandum of Cooperation on China-Arab Commercial Law and several economic and trade cooperation projects as well as the launch of China-Arab Commercial Law Service Platform.

Achievement release and project signing (Photo provided by China-Arab States Expo)

“This is a huge opportunity,” said Wen Gang, Vice President of China Communications Construction Co., Ltd.

“We will continue to strengthen and increase policy-strategy alignment and invest more resources into the economic and social development of Arab States and give full play to our industrial advantages in urban development, infrastructure construction and manufacturing in Arab states,” added Wen.

Several promotional meetings for countries and enterprises along the Belt and Road were also held after the summit as an important part of the Third China-Arab States Business Summit.

(People’s Daily Online)

“The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) is for the good of humankind,” said Mahmoud H. Elamin, head of the Mission of the League of Arab States in Beijing, during a recent interview with People’s Daily Online.

China and the Arab world have forged deep and historic relations for centuries since the ancient Silk Road was first explored. In 2014, this relationship reached new heights as President Xi Jinping put forward the idea to jointly advance the BRI with Arab countries during the Sixth Ministerial Meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum (CASCF). So far, 18 Arab nations have inked cooperation deals on BRI with China.

Under the framework of BRI, Arab states and China have witnessed extensive cooperation in such fields as infrastructure, energy, investment and trade guided by the principles of extensive consultations, joint contribution and shared benefits, said Elamin, noting that the volume of trade between China and the Arab world now totals $200 billion a year.

Several projects have already been carried out, such as the Hassyan Clean Coal Power Plant in Dubai, Attarat Oil Shale Power Plant in Jordan, and China-Egypt Suez Economic and Trade Cooperation Zone, he added.
The BRI, Elamin explained, accords with the development strategies of many Arab countries, such as Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and Jordan’s 2025 Vision, laying a solid foundation for stronger synergy of BRI cooperation between China and Arab countries.

“This initiative will go in line with the aspirations of many countries in the world, especially when we are talking about sustainable development and the vision of the UN’s 2030 Agenda. This initiative will also provide necessary resources to achieve the sustainable development of all projects, especially in the developing world,” said Elamin.

This year, the cooperation was lifted to a higher level as the second Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation (BRF) was successfully held in Beijing in April, attracting wide attention from Arab states as well as sending a positive message of strengthening international economic cooperation and building an open global economy.
“I remember one very important phrase said by [China’s] Foreign Minister. He said that the BRI is not a solo; it’s a symphony that is being played by all countries,” said Elamin.
The Arab official also highly praised the achievements China has made in the past few decades, especially since the reform and opening-up 40 years ago.

“Nobody imagined that China could achieve all this development within such a limited time. This development is not only limited to one aspect; it is in every aspect of life, such as poverty alleviation, the general economic situation, high-tech and openness with other parts of the world,” he said, expressing his belief that China will make greater contributions to global development and prosperity.
“The BRI might have begun in China, but its opportunities and outcomes belong to the world. I believe that this initiative is going to have far-reaching positive consequences for the whole world,” he said.

(People’s Daily)

The opening ceremony of the Fourth China-Arab States Expo kicked off in Yinchuan, the capital city of northwest China’s Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region on Sept. 5, 2019.

Under the theme of “New opportunity, new future,” the expo will focus on infrastructure, Internet-plus Healthcare, high technology, modern agriculture, logistics, tourism, digital economy and industrial cooperation via trade fairs and forums.

According to official data, this year’s event welcomes over 12,600 guests from 89 countries and over 2,900 regional organizations, chambers of commerce, associations and enterprises.

Co-hosted by the Ministry of Commerce of the People’s Republic of China, China Council for the Promotion of International Trade (CCPIT) and the People’s Government of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region, the expo will last from Sept. 5-8.

Friday Omakpo

Honourable Minister of Women Affairs, Dame Pauline Fallen, has said Nigeria has the highest number of out of school children all over the world.

Mrs. Tallen made this disclosure at her maiden press conference held in Abuja, to mark the beginning of the academic school year for children, where she stated that the number of out of school children in the country has become alarming, but gave assurance that the government is doing its possible best to restore normalcy to reverse the situation.

“Nigeria’s out-of-school population is the largest in the world. However a lot of efforts are put in place by this administration to degrade the insurgency and restore normalcy in the region and encourage school enrolment, retention and completion.”

Speaking further on the efforts by government, Mrs. Tallen disclosed that there was a launch of a program ‘17 5065’ which is set to address gender inequality, encourage the education of more girls and empower more women.
“It is worthwhile to note that the launch of the 17 5065 where goals 4 and 5 provides a tremendous opportunity for ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all and the achievement of gender equality and empower all women and girls.

“It is very important that all stakeholders appreciate the fact that children are individuals with rights and that all duty bearers understand that indeed they have a responsibility to discharge their duties to children from the point of view of rights. For this reason, this government has funded numerous advocacy and sensitization programmes to create awareness and facilitate the promotion of children’s rights.

However, the Minister advised the member of the public not to leave the quest to provide quality education children to the government alone adding that ‘a child with a stimulating home environment does better in all aspects of early childhood development.’
She thus urged parents not to relent in their efforts in providing enabling environment for their children, so as to achieve their potentials.

“We have no future without children and we must do whatever is necessary to ensure their survival, development and protection so that they become responsible and useful members of the society,” said Tallen.
Speaking on gender equality, she gave an assurance of the provision of enabling environment for maximum and holistic development of the Nigerian Women and Children through the implementation of international and regional laws, as well as attend to policies, programmes and projects aimed at enhancing the quality of life of the groups to enable them contribute national development and nation-building.