NewzIntel.com

Category: Trade

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: HK to be hub for health innovation

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee today identified innovation in the health sector, digitalisation across key industries, and an expansion of the city’s Intellectual Property (IP) trading ecosystem as key drivers of new quality productive forces in Hong Kong.

    Delivering his 2024 Policy Address, Mr Lee said the Government will combine technological and institutional innovation to develop Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub, accelerate the development of the digital economy and its integration with the real economy, and take steps to strengthen the city’s position as a regional IP trading centre.

    On the first of these ambitions, the Chief Executive pledged to expedite reforms to the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices, enhance Hong Kong’s clinical trial capabilities on all fronts, and facilitate the translation of innovative biomedical research into clinical applications.

    With regard to the approval of drugs, the “1+” mechanism will be extended to all new items, including vaccines and advanced therapy products, and refined to speed up the registration process. Meanwhile, preparatory work will be undertaken for the statutory regulation of medical devices, and timetables will be drawn up for establishing a Hong Kong Centre for Medical Products Regulation, the adoption of “primary evaluation”, and measures to facilitate research and development (R&D).

    In terms of clinical trial capabilities, Hong Kong will join hands with Shenzhen to establish the Greater Bay Area (GBA) Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform. A Real-World Study and Application Centre will also be established to open up local health and medical databases and promote co-operation between Hong Kong and Shenzhen on the integration of data generated from the “special measure of using Hong Kong-registered drugs and medical devices used in Hong Kong public hospital in the GBA.”

    In addition, Mr Lee set forth a number of policies designed to accelerate the digital transformation of industries and promote integration of the digital economy with the real economy.

    He outlined that the Government will push forward reforms relating to the digitalisation of enterprises and trade. The Commerce & Economic Bureau is developing a Trade Single Window, a one-stop electronic platform that will allow enterprises to lodge import and export trade documents more conveniently and efficiently.

    In the area of fintech, Mr Lee said that the Financial Services & the Treasury Bureau (FTSB) is due to issue a policy statement setting out its position on the application of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the financial market. The FTSB will also complete the second round of a public consultation on regulatory proposals for over-the-counter trading of virtual assets.

    In addition, the Monetary Authority (HKMA) is looking into add-on technology solutions and use cases related to cross-boundary trade settlement on the mBridge platform. It is also exploring the application of real-world asset tokenisation and the use of digital money for interbank settlements, and will work with the FTSB to introduce a bill on the regulation of fiat-referenced stablecoin issuers later this year.

    Mr Lee also mentioned efforts by the Hong Kong Housing Authority (HKHA) to promote smart construction and management of public rental housing estates. The HKHA has selected 10 such estates as pilot sites for smart estate management, and plans to introduce digital technologies in daily estate management work.

    Meanwhile, the Department of Justice will set up an Advisory Group on Promoting the Development of Lawtech to formulate policies and measures on the application of lawtech.

    With regard to expansion of Hong Kong’s IP trading ecosystem, Mr Lee highlighted that IP-intensive industries account for about 30% of Hong Kong’s Gross Domestic Product and total employment. He vowed to strengthen the city’s position as a regional IP trading centre in relation to innovation and technology, as well as the creative industries.

    Specifically, he said a proposal will be put forward next year to enhance the Copyright Ordinance with regard to AI technology development. A consultation will be launched, also in 2025, on the registered designs regime, and legislative amendments to streamline IP litigation processes will be proposed.

    Moreover, the Trade Marks Registry, under the Intellectual Property Department, will next year launch a new AI-assisted image search service for public use.

    Mr Lee added that the Government will continue discussions with patent agents and other stakeholders about introducing regulatory arrangements for local patent agency services, with the aim of nurturing professional talent and enhancing service quality.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Australia: Doorstop – Social Media Summit, Adelaide

    Source: Australian Executive Government Ministers

    PETER MALINAUSKAS, PREMIER OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA: G’day and welcome to the Adelaide Convention Centre for the second day of the Social Media Summit that is being hosted between the New South Wales Government and the South Australian Government.

    I want to take this opportunity to thank Chris Minns for his leadership. Chris suggested the Social Media Summit, and certainly after a successful day yesterday, we now roll it to the second day of the agenda and look forward to hearing from a range of experts throughout the course of the day. One of them is Professor Simon Wilksch, who will be here a bit later on, who has been a keen advocate for change in this area, and has done an extraordinary amount of research through the Flinders University. I want to thank the professor for his presence here at this press conference. Really looking forward to hearing from Mike Burgess, who, of course, is responsible for ASIO here in Australia to hear about the implications of disinformation and social media and the impact on young people in the context of the future of our democracy here within Australia. I look forward to hearing Mike, along with a range of experts this afternoon.

    But I am very, very grateful that we have representation of the Federal Government here who, of course, has displayed great initiative and leadership to pursue reform that will be applied throughout the country. To that end, I express my particular gratitude to Minister Rowland, who is here from Sydney in Adelaide today, and also Minister Aly, who is the Minister for Youth of course.

    Michelle has been a keen advocate to making sure that the Commonwealth is getting ahead of the curve, to make sure we deal with this global challenge emerging, and whether it be through the age verification trial, the work of the eSafety Commissioner, but most recently a commitment to introduce legislation into the Federal Parliament that will put in place an age restriction for young people’s access to social media.

    It is significant work and I want to thank the Albanese Government, but particularly Minister Rowland for leading this charge. I’m very grateful that she’s able to be with us today on the second day of the Summit.

    We have taken this opportunity, though, as a State Government, to make sure that we’re not just focusing on the institution of an age limit for access to social media, but also doing the work around educating young people around what safe online behaviour looks like. Social media represents only one part of a young person’s access to the internet. There, of course, remains other unregulated areas where we know there is work to be done when it comes to educating children on how best to deal with the challenges that they simply will confront.

    No one is suggesting for a moment that we should keep kids off the internet. Yes, we want to put an age limit in place in terms of their access to social media, but if we’re serious about their safety, we’ve got to make sure that they’ve got the skills and the capability to be able to deal with cyber bullying; to be able to understand what healthy messages are around body images; to understand what is illicit content, and really, is it safe for them, to give them the preparedness to know what to do and who to speak to, and if an online predator comes after them, we want to make sure that in South Australia, we’re leading the way in that regard.

    That’s why today we are announcing that there will be a school based program that applies to all schools throughout the state of South Australia, within the curriculum, that gives access to children, to the knowledge and the tools about how to confront the challenges they’ll experience online. We want to make sure that in the South Australian education system, we’re not just keeping kids off their phones while they’re at school. We want to give them the tools about what they can do to protect themselves from the harms of the internet when they get home from school, and otherwise might get access to it. This is a consequence of evidence-based work. The Department of Education, through Minister Blair Boyer, who is with us as well, has been doing this work now for some months and we are now in a position to commit to this roll out starting next year. So from the school year 2025, children in South Australian schools will start learning, with the resources and tools that are required, what they need to do to be able to go online and do it safely. Without it being at the expense of their mental health, and then in turn their futures. I want to thank the Department, and particularly Blair for his hard work in this regard.

    Chris put on a great show in Sydney yesterday. It was a thoroughly worthwhile exercise, and I just want to thank him for his partnership and his leadership to this end, and invite him to say a few words before we hear from Minister Rowland.

    CHRIS MINNS, PREMIER OF NEW SOUTH WALES: Well, thanks a lot, Peter. It’s a real privilege to be here in Adelaide this morning with you, and Anne, and of course, Michelle as well. This is an important breakthrough when it comes to confronting an issue that’s facing parents, not just across Australia, but right around the world – and that is how do you deal with this creeping use of technology, particularly social media, that’s ubiquitous, that’s comprehensive, that every family has to deal with. When you look at the eSafety Commissioner’s report out earlier this week indicating that most young people are on social media, and the evidence that presented at the Social Media Summit yesterday indicated that 16-year-olds are spending three hours a day on social media. How do we as a community, not just a Government, but how do we as a community come together to protect our children, to protect the next generation? I think it’s been our view for a while now that this is a global, unregulated experiment on young people. This is the first generation that’s gone through this kind of access to social media, and as a result of that access to social media, exposure to what is often harmful content, what is often hurtful content, or bullying behaviour within social groups.

    We need to be able to do something about it, and the two-day Summit has given us an opportunity, with South Australia, to get the issues on the table, to talk directly with parents, to arm people with both the latest facts as well as tips and strategies to get the best out of your kids and ensure that they’ve got the best start in life. I think most crucially, to progress legislative change so that we can deal with rapidly changing technology.

    I want to give full credit to the Commonwealth Government for stepping up here and introducing what will be a globally leading change to regulation in the world. We think it will make a difference and spark or ignite a fire when it comes to a recognition amongst communities that social media is doing harm to young people that could sweep right across the world. It’s been resisted at every gate, at every step by Silicon Valley and the billionaires that own these companies. But that’s not a good enough reason to do nothing. At the end of the day, our obligation is to do no harm for young people, and if we get this right, technology can work for us rather than running and dominating all of our community and family life.

    MICHELLE ROWLAND, MINISTER FOR COMMUNICATIONS: Thank you so much, Premiers. The safety of our young people is paramount. Not only their wellbeing, but also their mental health. To that end, the Commonwealth sees the safety of children, especially in the online space, as a collective responsibility. 

    The Premiers will know that their frontline services are being impacted by the harmful implications that can arise from social media. Whilst it can be a positive tool in many respects, there are harms that come with it. The Premiers will also tell you that the mobile phone ban in schools, for example, has seen a definite change in behaviours. At the same time, the consequences of the harms of social media are impacting on their education as well as health systems and mental health systems in particular. It’s for this reason that the Commonwealth takes a collective approach, not only right across the Albanese Government, but also with the states and territories as well. All Australians should know that we are working as one towards the safety of our most vulnerable.

    To that end, the Commonwealth has committed that we will introduce legislation this year to mandate a minimum age for access to social media. This is a commitment from the Prime Minister, and I am pleased that today we are announcing the legislative design principles that will underpin this approach. For example, we see the onus as being on the platforms, not on users or their parents when it comes to safety online. It’s important to incentivise the platforms to create less at risk platforms, less at risk apps, less at risk services. To that end, we look forward to working with industry to help achieve this goal. We know through recent developments that the platforms can, and they should, be doing more in this space. We will also be working with eSafety, who will be overseeing this legislative change. Importantly, we will continue to pursue efforts to make sure that the platforms are held to account, and do more. To that end, there won’t be penalties that will be imposed, as I said, on those children or their parents as users. But we will ensure, through our review of the Online Safety Act, that the penalties regime is fit for purpose. It’s important to note here, as I said, that this is a collective responsibility across Government. As I will outline today, this is one step in many that the Albanese Government is taking to keep young Australians safer online. The normative value of this is immense. So many parents are being overwhelmed by the amount of time their children are spending online, and what they can do as parents to help more effectively manage that – the normative value of this will be immense for those parents. So again, I thank the Premiers for convening this. It’s so important that the Australian people know that as one we have their back when it comes to keeping their children safer online.

    PROFESSOR SIMON WILKSCH: Hi, everybody. I’m absolutely delighted to see the collaboration between the Federal and State governments, the respective leaders and the premiers on this issue. We heard this week that 84 per cent of eight to 12-year-olds are on a social media site in Australia. That is entirely unacceptable. I’m a clinical psychologist working with patients with eating disorders – if we wanted to try to create a way of causing eating disorders, it would be to use these kinds of platforms with children that age. We’ve seen a 200 per cent spike in 10 to 14-year-olds experiencing an eating disorder over the last 12 years. As someone who works in the clinics helping these families through this problem, I see the devastation this causes young people; the families, the toll it takes – and these are just in the area of eating disorders. We know across the board with mental health and other areas there is suffering going on caused by these platforms, so I completely support minimum age. I would like to see it get up to 16.

    I also really welcome the announcement of funding towards school-based programs that will prevent these problems and really assist young people to be equipped to handle their online presence and be safe. I have a particular program, named Media Smart, for schools which has a very strong evidence-base. 

    It’s an eight lesson program designed to help young people be informed about those messages they see; to question how social is their experience on social media; just take steps towards taking care of themselves and others. So I’m really hopeful that that type of program can be made available widely, and thank you.

    JOURNALIST: You talked about the onus not being on the users or the parents, but putting it back on the platforms. We’ve seen platforms be reluctant to make that change to ownership of platforms rather than the user itself. How is the Government going to enforce this? Is there going to be big fines? Or what’s the timeline here for platforms to adopt this change?

    ROWLAND: Well, we are looking at a one-year implementation timeframe. But I think it’s important to note that even as we have seen recently with Meta’s announcement of a new Instagram teen product, that the platforms can do more in this space to create less at-risk services. So we want to encourage that. We want to incentivise those better, less risky services that they can actually produce. But the point is very valid when it comes to penalties for the platforms. Currently in the Online Safety Act, the maximum penalties for offences are less than $1 million, and these are actually not reflective of the sometimes litigious nature of these platforms, but also the amount of revenue that’s generated. So this is one of the specific areas that the independent review of the Online Safety Act is looking at, and I expect to have their findings in the upcoming weeks. But we are very mindful of that. We want to incentivise as well as provide that backstop through penalties, appropriate levels of penalties that make the platforms do better.

    JOURNALIST: Are you expecting resistance from these platforms?

    ROWLAND: Well, so two things there. The first is that the Online Safety Act has been in operation now for some years, and the industry is now accustomed to it. By and large, the social media platforms have a high rate of compliance with it. However, there are always instances where there is non-compliance or it is contested, and the fact that is contested again demonstrates that the Government considers that no company, despite its wealth, despite its multinational status, is beyond our laws. We will always assert Australia’s sovereignty in that regard.

    The second point too goes to the fact that we want those platforms to be accountable, by having not only incentives but proper penalties in place, that ensures that transparency and accountability. We do not wish to punish parents or users in this process. That is something that needs to be made very clear. This is about the platforms doing better. We have an Online Safety Act that was basically designed as a complaint-based system about individuals, not the onus being on the platforms. That’s something that we are looking at changing through our review, but it’s something that we are also committed to in the design principles of this legislative change.

    JOURNALIST: Minister Rowland, as part of this legislation, are you going to be advocating for better psychological support for young people who have suffered as a result of these tech platforms? Because hearing from the young people in there, that’s hand in hand with this legislation.

    ROWLAND: Now, that is certainly valid. The other side of that, of course, too, is that a lot of young people do access support services now through social media. So it’s going to be very important for Governments and departments to work together to ensure that young people can still access those services, even if they are below that minimum mandated age. So those two points are very valid.

    JOURNALIST: We’ve seen recent changes to Instagram. Do you think our Government’s push has led to that?

    ROWLAND: It is pleasing to see that these Instagram changes occurred after our Prime Minister made that commitment. Now, whether or not there is causation in there remains to be seen. But we do know that incentivisation does work in this area, and I can give that example from when Minister Amanda Rishworth and I convened the first roundtable to regulate dating apps services, because the level of tech facilitated abuse and death was simply too high as a result of this occurring. 

    Amazingly, these multinational dating app platforms suddenly discovered new safety features that they were able to roll out. So we welcome any safety features that the platforms may be rolling out, but that does not mitigate the need to legislate in this space.

    JOURNALIST: Premier Minns – the announcement today from the South Australian Government in curriculum and an adjustment there – could we see something similar to New South Wales and maybe even the mobile phone bans, etcetera.?

    MINNS: Yeah, we’ve got a proud history of stealing good ideas from Peter, so why should today be any different? It seems like a good initiative to us. We flat out nicked the mobile phone ban from South Australia which was resisted when we were in Opposition. But I saw it in implementation over here, Peter came over to Sydney to talk to us about the positive benefits, and I have to say it’s a reasonably early stage in our Government’s tenure, but I think it’s the best decision that we’ve made. 

    Interestingly, if you speak to kids and parents and teachers, they’ll tell you that the big difference has happened during recess and lunchtime. Where kids put down their phones, they can actually speak with one another, play games, and interact at a human level rather than online. So it’s great initiative. I think this is a good way for federations to work – see something in operation somewhere else, steal it and put it in your own jurisdiction.

    JOURNALIST: So the current plan to adopt more online safety into the curriculum from next year – is that something that New South Wales might be looking at as well?

    MINNS: Yeah. Look, I don’t have an announcement today, but give us a bit of time. I think part of the process for a summit like this is you get the ideas out on the table, you can learn from them, steal them and implement them and ultimately get the facts on the table. These two- this summit, the two days that we’ve had in both Sydney and Adelaide has been, I think, a breakthrough in both policy change, but also getting the facts out on the table and invaluable. So I’d like to see more of it actually.

    JOURNALIST: Is there the opportunity to take this then to National Cabinet as a joint collective then, if you seem interested in the idea to pursue it further, to maybe make it a bit more of a wider national problem, given that social media can happen anyway?

    MINNS: Look, potentially. We’ve got a lot on our plate when it comes to the National Cabinet agenda, and states have to work and operate independently. Public education, the curriculum is a state based responsibility. We take that very seriously. Obviously, that’s our responsibility, but if we can spot a good initiative that’s working somewhere else, I’m not afraid to steal it.

    JOURNALIST:  I’ve got a question for Premier Malinauskas – what kind of fines would you like to see the federal legislation do for this?

    MALINAUSKAS: Look, the Chief Justice French report, I think, lays it out pretty clearly that whatever the fine regime is needs to have a sufficient economic deterrence to make sure we change the behaviour of these social media companies. Now, economic deterrence is an established legal principle, and basically what it means is that capacity to pay should inform the size of the fine. 

    Now, when it comes to these social media companies, my word, they’ve got the capacity to pay. These companies are making an extraordinary amount of money out of the Australian market, which means if they break the law, the Australian jurisdiction, the fine should reflect that. In other words, it’s got to be billions of dollars. We certainly welcome the Federal Government’s not just interest but for the work that is already underway through the Online Safety Act.

    JOURNALIST: Premier, you’re a father of young kids. How do you see this sort of legislation playing out in real time? Won’t kids find a way to get on social media regardless?

    MINNS: It’s a really important question and it’s one that reflects, I think, a public sentiment. It continuously gets raised. Won’t kids find a way around the social media ban? Probably, but that doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t be establishing the principle in a law that sets the community standard, that arms the parents with the ability to say to their children, no, you can’t do that because it is against the law. No different to drinking underage or smoking before you’re 18. I mean, we say to kids you shouldn’t drink if you’re under the age of 18 – that’s consistent across the country. Do kids drink underage? Of course they do. Do they sneak behind the shed and have a cigarette? Probably. But what we know is that a lot less kids do that as a result of us having a clear standard and a law that can apply throughout the land. Social media is no different. With even the mobile phone ban at schools, we were the first state to do a proper phone ban in schools, bell to bell, not having them at recess and lunch. Are there examples of kids sneaking mobile phones into school post the mobile phone ban? Yeah, of course there are, but they are the exception to the rule because now the rule is clear. No phones in schools. So we establish rules and principles and standards that- in the full knowledge that someone will break them but that doesn’t mean they’re not worthwhile because the majority of people tend to comply.

    JOURNALIST: Premier, will you be taking this idea to National Cabinet? You’ve been very vocal in youth law and social media spaces

    MALINAUSKAS: Look, I think and Blake and [indistinct]… necessary of it. In that education ministers’ forum, there is a constant sharing of ideas between states and also with the Federal Government around various initiatives that are being undertaken. This will be shared in that context. Chris is right. I mean, I think when it comes to National Cabinet, my view is we’ve got to be a little bit careful that we don’t load up a National Cabinet agenda, so we don’t end up focusing on the main structural challenges that we have within our federation. So I don’t think this will be one that goes through National Cabinet, but it’s certainly an idea that’s clearly going to be shared through the appropriate channels and hopefully gets taken up.

    JOURNALIST: Would you like to see it adopted maybe through the Federal Government then maybe not through National Cabinet at all?

    MALINAUSKAS: As Chris said, what we teach our kids in the schools is the responsibility of states. We’ve got a range of discussions on [indistinct] with the Cabinet at the moment around funding school regimes and the like. This is an initiative that we’re applying here in South Australia, but if it’s relevant and appropriate in other jurisdictions, that would be great.

    JOURNALIST: Premier, what age will this new curriculum be rolled out to? Is it high school students and is it being done elsewhere?

    MALINAUSKAS: Well, it starts next year. I might invite Blair to go into a bit of detail on that.

    BOYER: Thank you, Premier. So it starts next year. It will be delivered at different ages or different year levels in high school, and each one will be adapted in a way to make sure that it’s actually age appropriate as you go up from year seven, year eight, year nine. I think Simon spoke really well about the kind of content that’s in there. Simon’s program is one of the ones already that is on the approved list here in South Australia. So the funding that we are announcing today to provide to schools so they can secure the services of Simon and other programs like that and come in and actually sit down with kids and talk through all these issues that we know come about because of the use of social media. So the important thing to do here, I think, though, is that what is taught and the kind of curriculum and detail in there needs to be different as it goes up from year seven all the way into the senior years, because as kids get older, they are dealing with different issues and the nature of their engagement with social media changes as well.

    We need to make sure it’s evidence based, which Simon’s is, and make sure it’s regularly updated because the other thing I think here that is the real challenge that I’ve observed is that we’re on a burning platform here. I mean as we sit here having this press conference, there’s people outside here who seek to take advantage of young people through social media, whether it’s a scam or harassment or predators, they are constantly thinking of ways to get around the protocols and security features that we put in. Every day they are spending their time trying to get around the things that Governments do to keep our kids safe. So that’s why it’s really important that we use programs like Simon’s to make sure the information we’re giving kids is up to date. It also speaks to why we’re upgrading and updating the Keeping Safe: Child Protection Curriculum here in South Australia to make sure that it now includes things like AI, deepfakes and coercive control. We’ve actually done that work with the AFP, with the Australian Centre for Countering Violent Extremism and the eSafety Commissioner to make sure that what’s in our child protection curriculum is fit for the year 2024 and not still based on something that was an issue back in the 1980s.

    JOURNALIST: You mentioned the extra funding to allocate this to bring programs in like Simon, what’s that going to cost? 

    BOYER: I don’t know a specific figure yet because we’ve- we’re going to roll it right out across all schools. That will depend exactly how many sessions that we actually provide. We’ll work with some of the providers like Simon to see that. But we’ll make sure that what we provide is not just age appropriate, but can reach all South Australian students, which I think is important as well. It’s also going to be some work to do there in the future to do that constant updating, because, as I said, those people who are seeking to, you know, get around the things that we are doing to keep kids safe are doing that every, waking minute. So we need to make sure that things that we do are constantly updated. And you know, brought into the year 2024.

    JOURNALIST: So what will it look like in classrooms? Will it be a number of sessions with people and programs like what Simon has? 

    BOYER: So exactly right. So we have an approved provider list for the Department for Education. So there’s a number of providers who offer services like the ones that Simon does and schools are able to choose from that list of those providers and we will be funding them to do that and bring those providers in and sit down with students of all those year levels all the way up to year seven and offer the classes essentially. It’s all one on one basis, talking through all these issues and effective things they can do to protect their own mental health and wellbeing and have all those kind of deeper conversations, which as what we heard from the student panel today is needed, I think. It can’t be kind of a cursory tick and flick kind of part of the curriculum, because what these students are grappling with here is, incredibly complex, really complex stuff and changing all the time. So we need to make sure that the resource materials and support that our schools and teachers get is up to date. What we’re announcing today is making sure they have the financial resources to do exactly that.

    JOURNALIST: What are the indicators here to know that this is starting to get traction and working?

    BOYER: In terms of?

    JOURNALIST: In terms of the application.

    BOYER: Of the program?

    JOURNALIST: Yeah, the program through the school?

    BOYER: Yeah. Yeah. Good question. I mean, I always say that in my job as Education Minister, there’s nothing more powerful than hearing from students and premiers- Premier Malinauskas spoke with you well before I think around why the mobile phone ban was really important, even though it was going to be a very hard thing to do. Although now we’re talking about its success, I remember at the time there were plenty of who thought it was going to be very challenging to put in place. Are there still students who try to get around it? Absolutely they are, but the reason that is starting to drop in terms of the numbers of students we see who are trying to get a way around it, is because as those students this morning said, what they are finding is that when their classroom or the playground is free of mobile phones, they actually like the place more. The most powerful bit of advice I got or feedback I got from- was from a principal out in my way in the north eastern suburbs who said the playground feels like it did in the 1990s. As Kirsty said this morning, it’s kicking the football, playing sport, talking to each other and seeking more activities to do. So I think it’s that kind of feedback that speaks to how the kind of programs that we are funding today actually work and actually succeed and actually make the school and the classroom a place that kids want to be in, a place that kids enjoy.

    JOURNALIST: I suppose just further to Josh’s question, who’s been consulted on these new reforms? Have the kids been part of the discussion?

    BOYER: We’ve done a massive amount of consultation as part of the new Australian curriculum in South Australia, including the adapted South Australian part. I think 12,000 views people have taken into account. It’s the biggest consultation that the education system in South Australia has ever done. Students, classroom teachers, principals, industry groups, the employers, associations like Kirsty is the head of the Principals’ Association about what they want to see. I was fortunate enough to be part of some of the consultation groups that we held here.

    JOURNALIST: Minister Rowland. The flights from Lebanon, how much did they cost? 

    ROWLAND: That’s best directed to the Foreign Affairs Minister. But I will say this, the Australian Government has been saying for some time that Australian citizens need to return to Australia. It is becoming increasingly difficult; the situation is becoming unstable. The Government has made provisions to ensure that Australian citizens are safe but as we have been saying for some time, it’s time to get out.

    MIL OSI News –

  • MIL-OSI: Virtune announces its collaboration with Polkadot, aimed at achieving extensive visibility and awareness of its Virtune Staked Polkadot ETP in the Nordics

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Stockholm, October 16th, 2024 – Virtune, a Swedish regulated digital asset manager and issuer of crypto exchange-traded products (ETPs), is announcing a collaboration with the Polkadot Network, funded through the Polkadot OpenGov Decentralized Treasury. Through this partnership, Virtune aims to promote and raise awareness of its Virtune Staked Polkadot ETP throughout the Nordics. Since its inception, Virtune has rapidly grown in the Nordic market, earning recognition for its educational initiatives, regulated status, and transparency.

    The company has also swiftly expanded its product portfolio. One of these products, Virtune Staked Polkadot ETP, was listed on Nasdaq Stockholm on January 10, 2024. The product is 100% physically backed by DOT and offers investors exposure to Polkadot through a regulated structure, along with the benefits of staking, providing an additional 4% annual yield before fees on top of Polkadot’s own performance. It is accessible for both institutional and retail investors in Sweden, Finland, Norway and Denmark through banks and brokers, including Avanza and Nordnet, among others.

    About Polkadot
    Explore the transformative potential of Polkadot, the next-generation blockchain platform designed to power a fully interconnected digital future. Polkadot stands out by enabling seamless interoperability across various blockchains, allowing for secure message and value transfers without relying on third parties.

    About Virtune Staked Polkadot
    Virtune Staked Polkadot ETP provides exposure to Polkadot with enhanced returns through staking. This product includes secure and efficient staking directly from cold-storage with Virtune’s custodian Coinbase, with staking rewards providing 4% annual yield continuously being added to the ETP which is reflected in the daily price of the ETP.

    • 1:1 exposure: Easy and secure 1:1 exposure to Polkadot
    • Passive Income: Earn staking rewards from the included staking without any efforts required
    • Security: Non-custodial staking from cold-storage, the DOT tokens are never sent to any third party
    • Liquidity: The product can be traded freely without lock-up periods
    • Physical backing: Fully backed by DOT stored securely with Virtune’s custodian Coinbase
    • Regulated and accessible: Traded on a regulated market in the form of Nasdaq Stockholm as straightforwardly as trading a stock and can be held in ISK or capital insurance accounts for tax benefits

    About staking
    Staking is the process of actively participating in transaction validation on a blockchain that uses a proof-of-stake (PoS) consensus mechanism. Participants lock up a certain amount of crypto assets to support the network’s security and operations. In return, they earn rewards in the form of additional crypto assets.

    Polkadot OpenGov
    Polkadot OpenGov is a fully decentralized governance system designed to serve the Polkadot Network and all holders of the DOT token, Polkadot’s native crypto asset. Within OpenGov, any DOT holder can submit a referenda (proposal) requesting funds from the Polkadot Treasury to aid the ecosystem’s evolution and growth. The fate of each proposal is determined by a vote from all DOT token holders. OpenGov allocates its Treasury Funds, which are accumulated through worldwide network usage, to proposals that are successfully submitted and approved by the Polkadot community.

    Christopher Kock, CEO of Virtune:
    “Following a long and collaborative process with Polkadot Opengov, we are both pleased and humbled to have earned the trust of the Polkadot community to lead Polkadot adoption in the Nordic financial market. We recognize a significant knowledge gap in this region regarding Polkadot’s great capabilities, and we are committed to bridging this gap through a comprehensive campaign. This campaign will include educational content, as well as outdoor and digital advertising, and events aimed at educating about Polkadot’s fundamentals and the opportunities it presents, particularly how investments can be made into Polkadot’s native token DOT combined with staking rewards via a regulated exchange-traded product. We launched our Virtune Staked Polkadot earlier in 2024, and we are encouraged by the growing interest from investors across the Nordics.”

    The purpose of the campaign
    The goal of this campaign is to enhance awareness of Polkadot’s technology, its potential, and its suitability as an investment when integrated into traditional portfolios. Through the campaign and Virtune’s regulated exchange-traded product, Virtune Staked Polkadot ETP, both institutional and private investors will be informed and enlightened about Polkadot and its vibrant ecosystem, which includes all the projects building on-chain. The campaign aims to attract a significant number of new investors to Polkadot across the Nordics, while also providing educational content about Polkadot to the financial industry.

    The content of the campaign
    The campaign will introduce a new scale of marketing efforts, combining outdoor advertising in high-visibility areas such as Stockholm’s financial district, subway stations, and the Arlanda Express, among other prominent locations. This approach is designed to significantly boost the visibility of Polkadot and Virtune’s Staked Polkadot ETP. In addition, digital advertising will feature Polkadot across various digital channels. Furthermore, the campaign will include large-scale events focused on educating attendees about Polkadot both as a blockchain technology and as an investment opportunity.

    The campaign aims to showcase a range of dynamic technologies that demonstrate Polkadot’s valuable role in the evolution of web3, where it has made significant strides. Polkadot is exhibiting substantial progress in various sectors, including gaming, with companies like Mythical Games migrating their platforms to the Polkadot blockchain. Furthermore, Polkadot supports fast and cost-effective transactions with stablecoins and is continuing to show its strengths in other emerging areas within decentralized finance, real-world assets, data storage, and artificial intelligence (AI).

    Press contact

    Christopher Kock, CEO Virtune AB (Publ)
    Christopher@virtune.com
    +46 70 073 45 64

    Virtune with its headquarters in Stockholm is a fully regulated Swedish digital asset manager and issuer of crypto exchange traded products on regulated European exchanges. With regulatory compliance, strategic collaborations with industry leaders and our proficient team, we empower investors on a global level to access innovative and sophisticated investment products that are aligned with the evolving landscape of the global crypto market.

    Cryptocurrency investments are associated with high risk. Virtune does not provide investment advice. Investments are made at your own risk. Securities may increase or decrease in value, and there is no guarantee that you will recover your invested capital. Please read the prospectus, KID, terms at http://www.virtune.com.

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: CE says culture to drive development

    Source: Hong Kong Information Services

    Chief Executive John Lee pledged in this morning’s 2024 Policy Address to promote the integrated development of culture, sports and tourism in Hong Kong, and to foster economic diversification in the city.

    Mr Lee shared plans to enhance Hong Kong’s cultural soft power, promote sports development, build Hong Kong into a centre for international sports mega-events, and revitalise the city’s tourism industry. He also outlined initiatives to support small and medium enterprises (SMEs), develop the “silver economy”, and promote the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s agriculture and fisheries industries.

    The Chief Executive said that in order to enhance Hong Kong’s role as the world’s East-meets-West centre for international cultural exchange and boost its cultural confidence, the Government would deepen institutional reforms to the city’s cultural system, and improve its cultural and economic policies.

    Updating the community on the formulation of the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau’s (CSTB) Blueprint for Arts and Culture and Creative Industries Development, Mr Lee said the CSTB is due to consult the Culture Commission on it and will promulgate the blueprint later this year.

    He added that the Cultural and Creative Industries Development Agency, established in June, is incubating cultural and creative projects with potential for commercialisation through the CreateSmart Initiative, and facilitating more registration of cultural and creative products on the Asia IP Exchange Portal. It is also turning Hong Kong Fashion Design Week into an annual signature event, with a view to establishing Hong Kong as a fashion design hub. 

    Mr Lee also iterated that the West Kowloon Cultural District (WKCD) Authority is taking the lead on establishing an industry chain for Hong Kong’s arts, cultural and creative industries. He reported that it will promote the creation of a comprehensive arts trading ecosystem; host more major international cultural, creative and commercial events; export more performing arts programmes and exhibitions to the Mainland and overseas on a commercial basis; and brand the WKCD as a must-visit cultural landmark in collaboration with the Hong Kong Tourism Board (HKTB). 

    On sports development, Mr Lee said the Government will continue to promote sports in the community, support elite sports, enhance the professionalism of Hong Kong athletes and sports teams, maintain Hong Kong as a centre for major international sports events, and develop sports as an industry.

    He mentioned that the Hong Kong Sports Institute is reviewing the mechanism for direct financial support of athletes, including those with disabilities, and has set up a committee to oversee the development of sports medicine and sports science. He added that the Government will provide more sports and recreational facilities, including a new swimming complex suitable for hosting international competitions and a new sports arena with fencing facilities.

    In terms of sports governance, the Sports Federation and Olympic Committee of Hong Kong, China will conclude its review of the governance and operation of national sports associations (NSAs). Mr Lee also outlined that the Government aims to develop Hong Kong as a host city economy and will make use of the new Kai Tak Sports Park (KTSP) and other existing venues to host large-scale international competitions so that Hong Kong athletes and teams can compete on home soil.

    He added that the KTSP, due to open in the first quarter of 2025, will boost sports development and foster the synergistic development of major sports events, innovative entertainment, dining, conventions and exhibitions, and tourism activities.

    With regard to tourism, the Chief Executive said the CSTB will publish its Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0 later this year. It will cover areas such as the development of eco-tourism, and the enhancement of tourism-support measures to encourage more visitor arrivals from the Middle East and Southeast Asia. There will also be efforts to create tourism products around specific themes, such as yachting, pandas and horse racing, build the city’s mega-event tourism economy, promote gastronomy tourism and cruise tourism, and develop “smart tourism” through the application of technologies such as AI (artificial intelligence).

    In addition, Mr Lee said the Government will set up a Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots to co-ordinate with the community and develop new tourist hotspots in various districts. It has also proposed to the central authorities that the “multiple-entry” Individual Visit Endorsements for Shenzhen residents be resumed and that the “one trip per week” Individual Visit Endorsements pilot scheme be expanded to cover more cities.

    Mr Lee added that starting from today the Government has relaxed the criteria for nationals of Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar in applying for multiple-entry visas for travel or business, and extended the validity period of the visas offered from two years to three.

    The Chief Executive also unveiled a number of support measures to address challenges encountered by SMEs. These include re-launching the principal moratorium, meaning that enterprises that borrow under the SME Financing Guarantee Scheme will be allowed to apply for a principal moratorium for up to 12 months. Existing loans already granted under the 80%, 90% and special 100% guarantee products, as well as new loans under the 80% and 90% guarantee products, will be covered.

    In addition, $1 billion will be injected into the Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales to help SMEs upgrade their business operations and develop new markets, and the scope of Cyberport’s Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme, which offers SMEs funding for digital transformation on a matching basis, will be expanded to cover the retail and food and beverage sectors.

    Mr Lee said the Hong Kong Trade Development Council will formulate plans to set up more Hong Kong Pavilions at Mainland and overseas exhibitions, while an additional provision of $500 million will be allocated for the launch of the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions 2.0, which aims to attract large-scale international exhibitions to Hong Kong.

    In terms of the development of a silver economy, the Chief Executive said new products and services must be developed in response to the rapid expansion of the elderly market. The Government will set up a “Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy”, led by the Deputy Chief Secretary, to implement measures to boost elderly-related consumption and support elderly consumers.

    Mr Lee reported that the Government will also take forward the Blueprint for the Sustainable Development of Agriculture and Fisheries.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Policy Address: Reform for Enhancing Development and Building Our Future Together

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         The Chief Executive, Mr John Lee, today (October 16) announced his third Policy Address entitled “Reform for Enhancing Development and Building Our Future Together”, setting out a range of initiatives to create new impetus for economic development, improve people’s livelihood and enhance their quality of life.         Mr Lee said, “In this Policy Address, I will continue to follow through the ‘four proposals’ put forward by President Xi Jinping in his important speech delivered on July 1, 2022. I will also outline our vision and objectives for reforms and changes, as well as the related key measures and key performance indicators.     “Reform is a continuous process. Over the past two years, my team and I have focused on economic growth and on improving people’s livelihood through development, with the well-being of the people of Hong Kong close to our hearts. This Policy Address will deepen our reforms and explore new growth areas.”Consolidate and enhance Hong Kong’s status as an international financial, shipping and trade centre      Hong Kong has established strengths as an international centre for finance, shipping and trade, which are closely intertwined and can be developed in a synergistic and complementary manner.     On the financial front, the Policy Address sets out the strategic development of Hong Kong as an international financial centre on all fronts. It strives to reinforce Hong Kong’s status as the world’s largest offshore Renminbi business hub, enhance the asset and securities markets, and develop Hong Kong into an international gold trading market through measures such as building world-class gold storage facilities and strengthening the trading mechanism and regulatory framework. This will in turn drive demand for related services such as collateral and loan businesses, opening up new growth areas of the financial sector.     On the shipping side, the existing Hong Kong Maritime and Port Board will be reconstituted into the Hong Kong Maritime and Port Development Board. Additional funding will be provided to enhance its research capabilities, strengthen its Mainland and overseas promotional work and step up manpower training, encouraging more Mainland and overseas maritime service enterprises to establish presence in Hong Kong, promoting the sustainable development of Hong Kong’s maritime industry. The Government will advance the development of Hong Kong into a green maritime centre, while at the same time exploring the introduction of tax concessions and facilitate international commodity exchanges to set up accredited warehouses in Hong Kong, so as to establish a commodity trading ecosystem, especially for the storage and delivery of non-ferrous metal products, further promoting the development of Hong Kong’s maritime and trading services.     In respect of the trade sector, the Government will establish a high-value-added supply chain service centre. Through measures such as enriching a high value-added supply chain services mechanism and enhancing export credit services, as well as making good use of the new opportunities brought about by the Second Agreement Concerning Amendment to the Mainland and Hong Kong Closer Economic Partnership Arrangement (CEPA) Agreement on Trade in Services, the Government will seek to attract Mainland and overseas enterprises to set up their headquarters or corporate divisions in Hong Kong. The Government will continue to vigorously expand Hong Kong’s global economic and trade networks, with particular emphasis on strengthening Hong Kong’s economic and trade ties with and marketing efforts in emerging markets, so as to enable Hong Kong to exert a greater role in the country’s opening up to the world. Moreover, the Government will reduce the import duty on liquor, fostering trading of liquor and boosting development of high value-added industries.Develop new quality productive forces tailored to local conditions     The core element of new quality productive forces is to achieve high quality economic development through technological empowerment. The Government is striving to expedite Hong Kong’s development into an international innovation and technology (I&T) centre. On top of the additional investment put in over the past two years, a $10 billion I&T Industry-Oriented Fund will be set up to guide more market capital to invest in specified emerging and future industries of strategic importance, including life and health technology and artificial intelligence. The Government will also launch the I&T Accelerator Pilot Scheme to attract professional start-up service providers to set up accelerator bases in Hong Kong, fostering the robust growth of start-ups.     The Policy Address also proposed the establishment of the Working Group on Developing Low-altitude Economy. Starting with projects on low-altitude applications, the working group will designate specific venues for such purposes, draw up regulations and design the institutional set-up,  study and map out plans to develop the required infrastructure and networks, and promote interface with the Mainland, pushing forward development of the low-altitude economy.    At the same time, the Government is committed to promoting new energy development, such as green maritime fuel, sustainable aviation fuel and hydrogen energy. The Government will also expedite the reform of the approval mechanism for drugs and medical devices, establish the Real-World Study and Application Centre, and join hands with Shenzhen to establish the GBA Clinical Trial Collaboration Platform to enhance Hong Kong’s clinical trial capability and accelerate registration of new drugs, developing Hong Kong into an international health and medical innovation hub.Build Hong Kong into an international hub for high-calibre talents     To boost synergy and effectiveness of policies, the Policy Address introduced the establishment of the Committee on Education, Technology and Talents to co-ordinate and drive the integrated development of education, technology and talents. In addition to reforming various aspects of the talent admission regime to build a quality talent pool for long-term development, the Government will endeavour to create the “Study in Hong Kong” brand to attract overseas students, launch a pilot scheme to support the market to flexibly increase the supply of self-financed and private student hostels, and map out the development plan of the Northern Metropolis University Town. These measures aim to expedite the development of Hong Kong into an international hub for post-secondary education, bringing in more global high-calibre talents.Promote integrated development of culture, sports and tourism and foster economic diversification     Promoting integrated development of culture, sports and tourism is the objective of this term of Government in setting up the Culture, Sports and Tourism Bureau. The Government will reinforce the development of the West Kowloon Cultural District to take a leading role in establishing an industry chain for the arts and culture and creative industries of Hong Kong. The Government will also strive to develop the Kai Tak Sports Park into a sports and mega event landmark, building an international sports mega event hub. The Government will publish the Development Blueprint for Hong Kong’s Tourism Industry 2.0, putting emphasis on promoting areas including culture, sports, ecology and mega events, with a view to revitalising Hong Kong’s tourism industry. A Working Group on Developing Tourist Hotspots will be set up to strengthen cross-departmental co-ordination, and to identify and develop tourist hotspots of high popularity and with strong appeal in various districts.     Hong Kong is facing economic restructuring. To assist small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to cope with the prevailing challenges, the Government will put in place a range of support initiatives. Key measures include: relaunching the principal moratorium to offer SMEs flexibility in managing cash flows; injecting $1 billion into the BUD Fund (Dedicated Fund on Branding, Upgrading and Domestic Sales) to facilitate upgrading of enterprises; expanding the scope of the Digital Transformation Support Pilot Programme to cover the industries of tourism and personal services; and launching the Incentive Scheme for Recurrent Exhibitions 2.0. In addition, a Working Group on Promoting Silver Economy will be set up to implement measures in five areas, namely consumption, industry, quality assurance, financial and security arrangements, and productivity, meeting the growing needs of the elderly and help the industry to seize business opportunities.Take forward the Northern Metropolis as growth engine and deepen GBA collaboration     To take forward the development of the Northern Metropolis, it was announced in the Policy Address to explore the establishment of a pilot industrial park in the Northern Metropolis by granting it to a company established and led by the Government. The company will, in accordance with the Government’s industrial policies, be responsible for formulating the park’s development and operation strategies. To expedite the development, the Government will adopt, on a pilot basis, a large-scale land-disposal approach, for collective development by successful bidders. In addition, the Steering Committee on the Hong Kong Shenzhen I&T Park in the Loop, chaired by the Chief Executive, will formulate the overall strategy, planning and layout for the development of the Hong Kong Park. The Development Outline for the Hong Kong Park of the Hetao Shenzhen Hong Kong Science and Technology Innovation Co-operation Zone will be published later this year. Improve people’s livelihood in pursuit of happiness     This year, the Policy Address outlined a number of new measures on different livelihood areas, including land creation and housing construction and healthcare, making Hong Kong a better place to live and enjoy life.     On housing, a system on the renting of subdivided units (SDUs) in residential buildings will be devised, through legislation, to tackle the long-standing problem of SDUs at its roots in an orderly manner. The Government will also enhance the housing ladder to allow more people to realise their aspiration for home ownership.     Regarding healthcare, as noted in the Policy Address, the Government will deepen the reform of the healthcare system, strengthen public and primary healthcare services and promote the development of primary healthcare on all fronts, and boost healthy fertility. The Government also supports the plan, by local universities, to establish a third medical school. The Government will set aside sites in Ngau Tam Mei to build a new campus and an integrated medical teaching and research hospital.     To improve people’s livelihood, the Government will continue to take forward and enhance various measures for targeted poverty alleviation and focusing on different needs of the underprivileged. Meanwhile, the Government will regularise the funding provision for Care Teams and increase funding in the next term of service to strengthen support for their work. The Policy Address also proposed to reform the roles of the Employees Retraining Board to devise skills-based training programmes and strategies for the entire workforce, and lift the restriction on educational attainment of trainees.     Mr Lee concluded, “This Policy Address deepens the reforms that I have introduced since I became Chief Executive. It presents enhanced measures to boost the economy and improve people’s livelihood. It seeks to address the prevailing needs of our people, while mapping our vision and long-term goals for building a brighter future for Hong Kong. I am confident that Hong Kong will continue to go from strength to strength and attain new heights. Through our united efforts to reform and innovate, our economy will go even stronger and our people will lead a better life, making Hong Kong a shining city.”     A Supplement offering more backgrounds and details of various policy measures has been compiled with this year’s Policy Address. For related information and key initiatives of the Policy Address, please visit http://www.policyaddress.gov.hk.

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Hong Kong Customs detects four seaborne illicit cigarette smuggling cases with seizure worth about $33 million (with photo)

    Source: Hong Kong Government special administrative region

         Hong Kong Customs detected four illicit cigarette smuggling cases from September 25 to October 4. A total of about 7.4 million of suspected illicit cigarettes with an estimated market value of about $33 million and a duty potential of about $25 million in total were seized. 

         Through risk assessment and intelligence analysis, Customs on September 25 selected and inspected a 40-foot seaborne container, arriving from Nansha to Hong Kong and declared as carrying ceramic tiles, at the Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal Customs Cargo Examination Compound. Upon inspection, Customs officers seized about 2.4 million of suspected illicit cigarettes inside the container, and a 68-year-old man suspected to be connected with the case was arrested.

         After a follow-up investigation, Customs on October 2, 3 and 4 further detected three similar cases at the Tuen Mun River Trade Terminal Customs Cargo Examination Compound, where three 40-foot containers, all arriving in Hong Kong from Nansha and declared as carrying food, cardboards and chandeliers respectively, were examined. A total of about 5 million suspected illicit cigarettes were seized therein. Three men, aged between 67 and 68, who were suspected to be connected with the cases were arrested.

         Investigations of the four cases are ongoing.

         Customs will continue its risk assessment and intelligence analysis, and step up enforcement actions to combat cross-boundary illicit cigarettes activities. Smuggling is a serious offence. Under the Import and Export Ordinance, any person found guilty of importing or exporting unmanifested cargo is liable to a maximum fine of $2 million and imprisonment for seven years.

         Under the Dutiable Commodities Ordinance, anyone involved in dealing with, possession of, selling or buying illicit cigarettes commits an offence. The maximum penalty upon conviction is a fine of $1 million and imprisonment for two years.

         Members of the public may report any suspected illicit cigarette activities to Customs’ 24-hour hotline 182 80 80 or its dedicated crime-reporting email account (crimereport@customs.gov.hk) or online form (eform.cefs.gov.hk/form/ced002/).   

    MIL OSI Asia Pacific News –

  • MIL-OSI Russia: Mexico: Staff Concluding Statement of the 2024 Article IV Mission

    Source: IMF – News in Russian

    October 15, 2024

    A Concluding Statement describes the preliminary findings of IMF staff at the end of an official staff visit (or ‘mission’), in most cases to a member country. Missions are undertaken as part of regular (usually annual) consultations under Article IV of the IMF’s Articles of Agreement, in the context of a request to use IMF resources (borrow from the IMF), as part of discussions of staff monitored programs, or as part of other staff monitoring of economic developments.

    The authorities have consented to the publication of this statement. The views expressed in this statement are those of the IMF staff and do not necessarily represent the views of the IMF’s Executive Board. Based on the preliminary findings of this mission, staff will prepare a report that, subject to management approval, will be presented to the IMF Executive Board for discussion and decision.

    Key Messages

    Activity is decelerating. Despite an expansionary fiscal stance, growth is slowing to around 1½ percent this year, due to binding capacity constraints and tight monetary policy. Continuing monetary restraint and slowing activity are expected to lower inflation to Banxico’s 3-percent target by 2025. The current account deficit is expected to widen slightly in 2024 as investment- and consumption-related imports outpace exports. Risks to growth are tilted to the downside while inflation risks remain on the upside. Weaker-than-expected growth in the U.S., an increase in global risk aversion, and unforeseen effects from recent institutional reforms could weigh on output. On the other hand, better-than-expected import demand from the U.S. or the ongoing reshaping of global value chains could boost activity and inward investment.

    A medium-term fiscal strategy is needed to reduce deficits and debt, raise tax revenues, and create fiscal space for investments in human and physical capital. This would require putting in place a comprehensive tax reform early in the new administration, durably reducing the fiscal deficit while carefully prioritizing public spending, and reducing inequities in the pension system. Addressing the imbalances between the federal budget and Pemex, and enhancing corporate governance of the latter, are also important priorities.

    The ongoing reshaping of global value chains offers the incoming administration an important opportunity to deepen the already-strong economic links with the U.S. Taking advantage of these prospects, however, requires a wide-ranging set of supply-side reforms to complement the well-established, very strong institutional framework for macroeconomic policies. Regulatory reforms, better-targeted public investment that further relieves infrastructure bottlenecks, broader access to financial services, and a more predictable supply of energy and water would all support private sector-led growth. Other priority measures include governance reforms that address corruption and tackle organized crime.

    Recent judicial reforms create important uncertainties about the effectiveness of contract enforcement and the predictability of the rule of law. The replacement of judges at various levels of the judiciary in the coming year creates a new source of uncertainty that may impinge upon private investment decisions. It is critical that this reform be implemented in a clear and predictable way that ensures the independence and professionalism of the judiciary and strengthens the rule of law. Staff’s current baseline does not incorporate potential headwinds from these uncertainties.

    Fiscal Policy

    The authorities are committed to achieving their 2024 fiscal target. The overall deficit for the year is currently projected to be 5.9 percent of GDP, a fiscal impulse of around 2 percent of GDP that is expected to bring gross public sector debt close to 58 percent of GDP by end-2024. Increased spending on large infrastructure projects, wages, pensions, and social spending are all adding to fiscal support for the economy. There is, however, a risk that additional support for Pemex and/or greater-than-expected spending on infrastructure projects could lead to a modest fiscal overrun by end-year.

    Mexico needs to put in place a credible medium-term fiscal consolidation underpinned by well-identified policy measures. The incoming authorities’ plan to initiate an important fiscal consolidation in 2025 that should lower the deficit to below 3 percent of GDP over the medium term, underscoring Mexico’s commitment to fiscal prudence. This will require the identification and implementation of additional fiscal measures, preferably including an overarching tax reform. In particular, the 2025 budget should focus on reducing tax expenditures and reassessing both tax rates and thresholds, particularly for the personal income tax. Further expenditure rationalization, including tax exceptions, and improved tax administration would contribute to this needed adjustment and help bolster market confidence.

    A review of policies regarding support for Pemex, and the energy sector more generally, would enhance the credibility of the government’s fiscal plans. Federal government support for Pemex in the form of various tax reliefs, investments, and transfers have cost 1 percent of GDP in 2024. Further support should be conditioned on Pemex developing a viable business strategy and improving its corporate governance. This could include focusing Pemex activities on profitable fields, selling non-core assets, developing a new strategy for unprofitable refinery operations, and incentivizing public-private partnerships (including via equity participation). The strategy should also examine the implications for, and linkages with, the federal electricity company.

    More is needed to address structural inequities in the pension system. Public pension spending has increased by 0.6 percent of GDP over the past three years and will continue to rise over the medium term. While the recent reform to raise the replacement rate,aimed to equalize treatment across workers, inequities remain between and within cohorts. A broader review is therefore needed of the benefit structure and the minimum contribution requirement.

    Further deepening of financial intermediation would make growth more inclusive. The recent development of fintech products and digital payments have expanded access to financial products. In addition, financial regulations that lower loan-loss provisioning for female borrowers have increased women’s access to credit. These efforts could be complemented by expanding the adoption of digital payment systems and eliminating institutional barriers to entry for new products and entities that are deemed to be financially sound.

    The IMF staff team would like to thank the Mexican authorities and other counterparts for their support, hospitality, and constructive discussions.

     

    Table 1. Mexico: Selected Economic, Financial, and Social Indicators

    I. Social and Demographic Indicators

    GDP per capita (U.S. dollars, 2023)

       13,643.3

    Poverty headcount ratio (% of population, 2023) 1/

         37.0

    Population (millions, 2023)

            131.1

    Income share of highest 20 perc. / lowest 20 perc. (2022)

           8.4

    Life expectancy at birth (years, 2024)

               75.5

    Adult literacy rate (2020)

         95.2

    Infant mortality rate (per thousand, 2023)

    13.6

    Gross primary education enrollment rate (2022) 2/

       102.0

    II. Economic Indicators

    Proj.

    2020

    2021

    2022

    2023

    2024

    2025

    (Annual percentage change, unless otherwise indicated)

    National accounts (in real terms)

    GDP

    -8.4

    6.0

    3.7

    3.2

    1.5

    1.3

    Consumption

    -8.6

    7.1

    4.5

    4.6

    1.0

    0.9

    Private

    -9.8

    8.4

    4.9

    5.0

    1.0

    0.9

    Public

    -0.7

    -0.5

    1.7

    2.1

    1.2

    1.1

    Investment

    -18.3

    11.4

    7.4

    17.8

    4.0

    3.8

    Fixed

    -17.2

    10.5

    7.5

    18.0

    5.0

    3.0

    Private

    -18.6

    12.6

    7.7

    17.6

    5.3

    3.2

    Public

    -5.7

    -3.5

    5.8

    20.9

    3.8

    1.2

    Inventories 3/

    -0.3

    0.2

    0.0

    0.0

    -0.2

    0.2

    Exports of goods and services

    -7.0

    7.1

    8.9

    -7.4

    -0.6

    3.3

    Imports of goods and services

    -12.0

    15.7

    7.6

    5.0

    1.1

    2.3

    GDP per capita

    -9.1

    5.4

    2.9

    2.3

    0.6

    0.5

    External sector

    External current account balance (in percent of GDP)

    2.4

    -0.3

    -1.2

    -0.3

    -0.7

    -0.9

    Exports of goods, f.o.b.  4/

    -9.4

    18.6

    16.7

    2.6

    1.4

    3.6

    Imports of goods, f.o.b. 4/

    -15.9

    32.0

    19.6

    -1.0

    3.0

    4.6

    Net capital inflows (in percent of GDP) 5/

    0.8

    -1.0

    -0.9

    -0.9

    -1.9

    -1.4

    Terms of trade (goods, improvement +)

    0.8

    -1.0

    -3.1

    16.9

    -1.7

    -0.3

    Gross international reserves (in billions of U.S. dollars)

    199.1

    207.7

    201.1

    214.4

    235.0

    244.8

    Exchange rates

    Real effective exchange rate (avg, appreciation +) 6/

    -7.7

    5.9

    5.3

    16.4

    …

    …

    Nominal exchange rate (MXN/USD) (eop, appreciation +)

    -5.9

    -3.2

    5.7

    12.8

    …

    …

    Inflation, Employment and Population

    Consumer prices (end-of-period)

    3.2

    7.4

    7.8

    4.7

    4.5

    3.2

    Core consumer prices (end-of-period)

    3.8

    5.9

    8.3

    5.1

    4.0

    3.1

    Formal sector employment, IMSS-insured workers (average) 

    -2.5

    1.9

    4.3

    3.6

    …

    …

    National unemployment rate (annual average)

    4.4

    4.1

    3.3

    2.8

    3.0

    3.3

    Unit labor costs: manufacturing (real terms, average) 

    10.4

    4.4

    11.8

    -1.3

    …

    …

    Total population 7/

    0.8

    0.6

    0.8

    0.9

    0.9

    0.8

    Working-age population 7/

    1.1

    1.0

    1.1

    1.2

    1.1

    1.0

    Money and credit

    Financial system credit to non-financial private sector 8/

    0.9

    4.2

    10.9

    8.7

    8.0

    7.5

    Broad money

    13.4

    9.5

    7.3

    11.0

    7.8

    7.3

    Public sector finances (in percent of GDP) 9/

    General government revenue

    23.5

    22.9

    24.3

    24.4

    24.2

    23.8

    General government expenditure

    27.8

    26.6

    28.6

    28.7

    30.1

    27.3

    Overall fiscal balance 10/

    -4.3

    -3.7

    -4.3

    -4.3

    -5.9

    -3.5

    Structural primary balance  11/

    0.6

    1.2

    0.9

    1.1

    -1.1

    0.9

    Fiscal impulse 12/

    0.5

    -0.5

    0.2

    -0.2

    2.2

    -2.0

    Gross public sector debt

    58.5

    56.7

    54.1

    53.0

    57.6

    57.9

    Memorandum items

    Nominal GDP (billions of pesos)

    24,087

    26,690

    29,473

    31,772

    34,313

    36,766

    Output gap (in percent of potential GDP)

    -2.8

    -2.0

    0.0

    1.2

    0.6

    -0.1

    Sources: World Bank Development Indicators, CONEVAL, National Institute of Statistics and Geography, National Council of Population, Bank of Mexico, Secretariat of Finance and Public Credit, and Fund staff estimates.

    1/ CONEVAL uses a multi-dimensional approach to measure poverty based on a “social deprivation index,” which takes into account the level of income; education; access to health services; to social security; to food; and quality, size, and access to basic services in the dwelling.

    2/ Percent of population enrolled in primary school regardless of age as a share of the population of official primary education age.

    3/ Contribution to growth. Excludes statistical discrepancy.

    4/ Excludes goods procured in ports by carriers.

    5/ Excludes reserve assets

    6/ Based on IMF staff calculations.

    7/ Based on CONAPO population projections.

    8/ Includes domestic credit by banks, nonbank intermediaries, and social housing funds.

    9/ Data exclude state and local governments and include state-owned enterprises and public development banks.

    10/ The 2020 PSBR is adjusted for some statistical discrepancies between above-the-line and below-the-line numbers.

    11/ Adjusting revenues for the economic and oil-price cycles and excluding one-off items, in percent of potential GDP.

    12/ Negative of the change in the structural primary fiscal balance.
    IMF Communications Department
    MEDIA RELATIONS

    PRESS OFFICER: Brian Walker

    Phone: +1 202 623-7100Email: MEDIA@IMF.org

    @IMFSpokesperson

    https://www.imf.org/en/News/Articles/2024/10/15/cs-mexico-staff-concluding-statement-of-the-2024-article-iv-mission

    MIL OSI

    MIL OSI Russia News –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: African Development Bank supports BIASHARA Africa 2024 Business Forum

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    KIGALI, Rwanda, October 15, 2024/APO Group/ —

    The African Development Bank (www.AfDB.org) has lent support to the Biashara Africa 2024 Business Forum or AfCFTA Business Forum, held from 9-11 October 2024 in Kigali, Rwanda. 

    The meeting, organized by the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) (https://apo-opa.co/4h90Ciq), brought together industry leaders, policymakers and government representatives to promote African trade and foster economic growth on the continent. This year’s forum was themed “Dare to Invent the Future of the AfCFTA.” 

    As part of ongoing institutional support to the AfCFTA Secretariat, an African Development Bank delegation to the forum included Acting Director for the Bank’s Industrial and Trade Development department Ousmane Fall, Trade Policy Officer Abou Fall and Trade Facilitation Officer Rachael Nsubuga. 

    During the opening ceremony President Paul Kagame of Rwanda and AfCFTA champion emphasized connectivity across the continent in his remarks. 

    “How well we adapt as Africa to crisis depends on how strongly connected, we are,” Kagame said, urging governments to strengthen governance and institutions to prioritize implementation of AfCFTA protocols on trade in goods, services and movement of people for efficient trade.  

    Fall delivered a statement underscoring the Bank’s commitment to support African member countries through a comprehensive strategy to address investments tacking policy and regulation, corridors infrastructure, technology and connectivity constraints.  

    He noted that the African Development Bank has been very active in addressing access to trade finance as a major impediment to productivity. So far, the Bank has facilitated more than 3,000 trade transactions involving 170 financial institutions in all regional member countries  for a cumulative trade value of over $12 billion since the inception of The Bank Trade Finance Program.  

    Africa accounts for only two percent of global production, although it is most integrated in global value chains, but in the less profitable segments of value chains, Fall said.   

    The Biashara 2024 Business Forum held business exhibitions and side events on diverse topics such as unlocking the trade potential of Africa; trade finance; value chains; partnerships for Africa’s trade; and business to business events. 

    The AfCFTA is the world’s largest free trade area bringing together the 55 countries of the African Union (AU) and eight regional economic communities. The overall mandate of the AfCFTA is to create a single continental market with a population of about 1.3 billion people and a combined GDP of approximately US$ 3.4 trillion. 

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Africa: World Future Economy Digital Leaders Summit debuts at GITEX GLOBAL, shaping the future global tech and policy landscape

    Source: Africa Press Organisation – English (2) – Report:

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, October 15, 2024/APO Group/ —

    Government officials, global industry leaders and experts gathered in Dubai for the opening day of the World Future Economy Digital Leaders Summit on Monday as conversations began about charting a course for AI Compute-Driven economic transformation.

    GITEX GLOBAL, the world’s largest tech event, got underway at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC), as topics on ‘Tech Investment Day’ centred around the next-gen semi-conductors market, which is expected to be valued USD $1 trillion by 2030, and the future of data governance. The mega event is under the theme of ‘Global Collaboration to Forge a Future AI Economy’.

    The World Future Economy Digital Leaders Summit comes at a time where UAE is accelerating its efforts in adopting AI in different sectors. Last year, the country’s AI market was valued (https://apo-opa.co/3zPf3HZ) at USD $3.47 billion. H.E. Abdullah Bin Touq Al Marri, Cabinet Member & Minister of Economy at UAE’s Ministry of Economy, explained the importance of AI and how it is central to the country’s economic future.

    Addressing the audience, he highlighted AI is a major driver for the future and is already impacting our everyday lives whether it is transportation or ordering food but to propel growth even further across different sectors, people and companies need to learn how to enable AI effectively.

    This year’s GITEX GLOBAL has attracted its largest international participation with 40% growth, welcoming new nations to the 44th edition of the showpiece event. Europe has a major presence this week, the biggest in the event’s history with the region’s tech industry projected to grow by 12% by the end of this year.

    Stephane Ouaki, Head of Department at European Innovation Council outlined how the continent is accelerating its tech ecosystem. He said the Council is supporting game-changing innovations, giving entrepreneurs access to opportunities to enhance their knowledge, and learn from other professionals to boost the growth of their businesses which benefits not only economies nationally but also regionally.

    Ignacy Niemczycki, Undersecretary of State Ministry of Economic Development and Technology of Poland, delivered a presentation on how the country is embracing technology. He said: “Our culture is a key pillar in our journey of being a tech leader and we have a stable economy which has been very resilient for the last 30 years.

    “More importantly, there is a real interest in the STEM field – if you ask most people in Poland, their choice would be to become an software engineer and this has created a situation where we have one of the best IT programmers in the world with some great tech entrepreneurs already from Poland.”

    Attendees also heard from Dr. Jaroslaw Kutylowski, the founder and CEO of DeepL a German-leading global language AI company, on how his business utilises large language models (LLMs). He said: “The models that we have been building have all stayed true to our products which has brought us success so far. As the company has been growing, we have been able to invest more into compute technologies and have built a data centre facility in Sweden. However, we need to keep innovating and see what the next step is. If we do not think ahead, we would be in the same position as we are today.”

    Meanwhile, Heman Bekele, who was named TIME’s 2024 Kid of the Year for inventing a potential treatment for skin cancer, shared his inspiring story. He explained how the failures that he experienced in life in producing his innovative soap product has made him a stronger individual and passion has a been a key attribute to his career success so far.

    Taking place at Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) until 18 October, GITEX GLOBAL presents its biggest, most international edition in its 44th year, welcoming over 6,500 exhibitors, 1,800 startups, 1,200 investors alongside governments from more than 180 countries.

    GITEX GLOBAL is seamlessly connecting with world’s largest network of tech events with its stellar list including GITEX EUROPE Berlin, GITEX ASIA Singapore, GITEX AFRICA Morocco, and GITEX NIGERIA. These events are fostering collaboration and driving innovation to shape the tech landscape of tomorrow.

    For more information on GITEX GLOBAL 2024 and to secure your passes, please visit http://www.GITEX.com.

    MIL OSI Africa –

  • MIL-OSI Banking: Amazing Black Friday 2024 Deals at Samsung South Africa Coming November 2024

    Source: Samsung

    Sign Up Now for Black Friday Offers!
     
    Get ready for Samsung Black Friday 2024, from 01-29 November 2024, coming soon with unbeatable deals across a wide variety of Samsung favourites. Whether you’re looking to upgrade to the latest Galaxy S, Galaxy Z and Galaxy A Series mobile phone, TV, gaming monitor, fridges or washing machine.

    Pre-Black Friday Deals
    As you wait for Black Friday 2024 to commence, you can continue to enjoy exclusive Samsung deals year-round by visiting our Samsung Deals Page and make sure to sign up to hear about the latest innovative products dropping, and exclusive Black Friday 2024 deals that you’ll love. Stay tuned for incredible savings and offers on all your favourite Samsung electronics and appliances.
     
    What’s in Store for Black Friday 2024 Samsung South Africa?
    Black Friday 2024 at Samsung is set to be bigger and better than ever! Get ready to tick off everything on your Samsung wish list. Whether you’re hunting for a Samsung Galaxy S24, Galaxy Z Flip6, Galaxy Z Fold6 mobile phone deal, upgrading your home with the latest Samsung French Door Fridge, or enhancing your entertainment discover the right Samsung TV for you with our range of Gaming TVs , Smart TVs ,  Sports TVs, Soundbars and more! The Black Friday 2024 Sale at Samsung is the best time to grab amazing deals on your favourite tech products.
     
    What and When is Cyber Monday?
    Cyber Monday follows right after Black Friday on Monday, 02 December 2024. It’s the perfect online shopping event to secure those last-minute Holiday Season deals. If you missed out on Black Friday, Cyber Monday offers you a second chance to grab incredible discounts on Samsung’s innovative tech.

    Why Buy from Samsung?
    When you buy directly from Samsung, you benefit from a range of exclusive perks designed to make your shopping experience seamless and rewarding.
     
    Enjoy Free Delivery on all purchases, allowing you to receive your favourite Samsung products straight to your door without additional costs.
    Take advantage of our Trade-in and Trade-up programs, where you can trade in your old device, and we’ll even remove and recycle your old item responsibly.
    Additionally with Flexible Finance you can spread the cost of your purchase over time with flexible payment options and 0% interest and no hidden fees, making it easier to afford the premium Samsung products you love.
    Latest Black Friday Offers:
    Smartphone Offers
    TV & Soundbar Offers
    Home Appliances Offers
    Tablet & Wearable Offers
    Monitor Offers

    MIL OSI Global Banks –

  • MIL-OSI Canada: Appointments to the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission

    Source: Government of Canada News (2)

    The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the appointments of Graham Flack, Douglas Hodson, and Anne Giardini, to the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission.

    October 15, 2024 – Ottawa – Department of Justice Canada

    The Honourable Arif Virani, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, today announced the appointments of Graham Flack, Douglas Hodson, and Anne Giardini, to the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission.

    The Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission, also known as the Quadrennial Commission, is established under the Judges Act (the Act) to examine the adequacy of the salaries and benefits of the federally appointed judiciary. Additional information on the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission is available at quadcom.gc.ca.

    Biographies

    Graham Flack of Ottawa is appointed as the member nominated by the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada. Mr. Flack received degrees in political science and economics from Dalhousie and Oxford University where he was a Rhodes Scholar. He is a former law clerk of the Supreme Court of Canada and graduated with an LL.B. from Dalhousie University and an LL.M. from Harvard University. Mr. Flack began his career in the Privy Council Office and worked on the Quebec referendum campaign, the Quebec Secession Reference and Clarity Act. Following 9/11 he became Director of Operations and led work on the Canada-US Smart Borders Declaration, as well as Canada’s first National Security Policy. He held senior executive roles at Natural Resources Canada and the Department of Finance where he was Assistant Deputy Minister, International Trade and Finance and worked on the G7 and G20 response to the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. From 2010-2013, he was Associate Deputy Minister then-Acting Deputy Minister at Public Safety Canada. From 2013-14, he was Deputy Secretary to the Cabinet at the Privy Council Office. From 2014-18, he was Deputy Minister of Canadian Heritage. From 2018-2022, he was Deputy Minister of Employment and Social Development Canada. From 2022-2024, he was Secretary of the Treasury Board. Mr. Flack is the founding chair of the Deputy Minister Committee on Innovation and Deputy Minister Champion for the Federal Youth Network and for Dalhousie University.

    Douglas Hodson, K.C., of Saskatoon is appointed as the member nominated by the judiciary. Mr. Hodson attended the University of Saskatchewan and earned a B.Comm. (with honours) in 1981 and a LL.B. (with distinction) in 1984. He was admitted to the Saskatchewan bar in 1985. Mr. Hodson is a partner at MLT Aikins LLP in Saskatoon since 1984. He focuses on commercial litigation and has significant experience in complex arbitrations, transportation law, and shareholder disputes. He has argued significant cases before all levels of court in Saskatchewan, British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario and before the Federal Courts and the Supreme Court of Canada. He was appointed King’s Counsel in 2007. Mr. Hodson is a fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers and a fellow of the Litigation Counsel of America. He is one of the most distinguished community leaders in Saskatoon. His volunteer portfolio is diverse and extensive, and includes active involvement with a number of professional, business and social organizations. His significant contributions to his profession and community have been recognized on numerous occasions.

    Anne Giardini, K.C., of Toronto is appointed Chair following her nomination by the other two members of the Judicial Compensation and Benefits Commission. Ms. Giardini is a Canadian business executive, journalist, lawyer, and writer. She earned a B.A. from Simon Fraser University and a LL.B. from the University of British Columbia. She also holds an LL.M. from Cambridge University. She was admitted to practise in Ontario, British Columbia, and Washington State. From 1985 to 2020, Ms. Giardini clerked at the Court of Appeal for British Columbia, articled at Bull Housser & Tupper (now Norton Rose), practised at Mawhinney & Kellough (now Dentons) in Vancouver, before moving to Italy to work for a US law firm. In 1994, she joined Weyerhaeuser Company Limited, Canadian subsidiary of Weyerhaeuser Company, an international forest products company with a head office in Washington. She was Canadian vice-president and general counsel from 2006 to 2008 and president from 2008 to 2015. Since 2015, she is a sole corporate director. She was appointed King’s Counsel in 2009. Ms. Giardini is an active volunteer and has served as Chair of the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade, Vancouver International Writers Festival, UniverCity at SFU, and Simon Fraser University as deputy chair. She is also a supporter of Plan Canada and volunteer for Vancouver YWCA’s Women of Distinction Awards and Young Women in Business. She served as the 11th chancellor of Simon Fraser University from 2014 to 2020. She has been on the boards of Hydro One, mining companies, the Sustainable Forestry Initiative Inc. and other companies. Ms. Giardini was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal in January 2013 for her fundraising efforts for Plan Canada’s Because I’m a Girl campaign. She was appointed an Officer of the Order of Canada in 2016 and was appointed an Officer of British Columbia in 2018.

    Chantalle Aubertin
    Deputy Director, Communications
    Office of the Minister of Justice and Attorney General
    613-992-6568
    Chantalle.Aubertin@justice.gc.ca

    MIL OSI Canada News –

  • MIL-OSI: NVIDIA Contributes Blackwell Platform Design to Open Hardware Ecosystem, Accelerating AI Infrastructure Innovation

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    SAN JOSE, Calif., Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) —  OCP Global Summit—To drive the development of open, efficient and scalable data center technologies, NVIDIA today announced that it has contributed foundational elements of its NVIDIA Blackwell accelerated computing platform design to the Open Compute Project (OCP) and broadened NVIDIA Spectrum-X™ support for OCP standards.

    At this year’s OCP Global Summit, NVIDIA will be sharing key portions of the NVIDIA GB200 NVL72 system electro-mechanical design with the OCP community — including the rack architecture, compute and switch tray mechanicals, liquid-cooling and thermal environment specifications, and NVIDIA NVLink™ cable cartridge volumetrics — to support higher compute density and networking bandwidth.

    NVIDIA has already made several official contributions to OCP across multiple hardware generations, including its NVIDIA HGX™ H100 baseboard design specification, to help provide the ecosystem with a wider choice of offerings from the world’s computer makers and expand the adoption of AI.

    In addition, expanded NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform alignment with OCP Community-developed specifications enables companies to unlock the performance potential of AI factories deploying OCP-recognized equipment while preserving their investments and maintaining software consistency.

    “Building on a decade of collaboration with OCP, NVIDIA is working alongside industry leaders to shape specifications and designs that can be widely adopted across the entire data center,” said Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of NVIDIA. “By advancing open standards, we’re helping organizations worldwide take advantage of the full potential of accelerated computing and create the AI factories of the future.”

    Accelerated Computing Platform for the Next Industrial Revolution
    NVIDIA’s accelerated computing platform was designed to power a new era of AI.

    GB200 NVL72 is based on the NVIDIA MGX™ modular architecture, which enables computer makers to quickly and cost-effectively build a vast array of data center infrastructure designs.

    The liquid-cooled system connects 36 NVIDIA Grace™ CPUs and 72 NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs in a rack-scale design. With a 72-GPU NVIDIA NVLink domain, it acts as a single, massive GPU and delivers 30x faster real-time trillion-parameter large language model inference than the NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU.

    The NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform, which now includes the next-generation NVIDIA ConnectX-8 SuperNIC™, supports OCP’s Switch Abstraction Interface (SAI) and Software for Open Networking in the Cloud (SONiC) standards. This allows customers to use Spectrum-X’s adaptive routing and telemetry-based congestion control to accelerate Ethernet performance for scale-out AI infrastructure.

    ConnectX-8 SuperNICs feature accelerated networking at speeds of up to 800Gb/s and programmable packet processing engines optimized for massive-scale AI workloads. ConnectX-8 SuperNICs for OCP 3.0 will be available next year, equipping organizations to build highly flexible networks.

    Critical Infrastructure for Data Centers
    As the world transitions from general-purpose to accelerated and AI computing, data center infrastructure is becoming increasingly complex. To simplify the development process, NVIDIA is working closely with 40+ global electronics makers that provide key components to create AI factories.

    Additionally, a broad array of partners are innovating and building on top of the Blackwell platform, including Meta, which plans to contribute its Catalina AI rack architecture based on GB200 NVL72 to OCP. This provides computer makers with flexible options to build high compute density systems and meet the growing performance and energy efficiency needs of data centers.

    “NVIDIA has been a significant contributor to open computing standards for years, including their high-performance computing platform that has been the foundation of our Grand Teton server for the past two years,” said Yee Jiun Song, vice president of engineering at Meta. “As we progress to meet the increasing computational demands of large-scale artificial intelligence, NVIDIA’s latest contributions in rack design and modular architecture will help speed up the development and implementation of AI infrastructure across the industry.”

    Learn more about NVIDIA’s contributions to the Open Compute Project at the 2024 OCP Global Summit, taking place at the San Jose Convention Center from Oct. 15-17.

    About NVIDIA
    NVIDIA (NASDAQ: NVDA) is the world leader in accelerated computing.

    For further information, contact:
    Kristin Uchiyama
    NVIDIA Corporation
    +1-408-313-0448
    kuchiyama@nvidia.com

    Certain statements in this press release including, but not limited to, statements as to: the benefits, impact, and performance of NVIDIA’s products, services, and technologies, including NVIDIA Blackwell accelerated computing platform, NVIDIA Spectrum-X Ethernet networking platform, NVIDIA GB200 NVL72, NVIDIA NVLink, NVIDIA HGX H100, NVIDIA MGX modular architecture, NVIDIA Grace CPUs, NVIDIA H100 Tensor Core GPU, and NVIDIA ConnectX-8 SuperNIC; NVIDIA contributing foundational elements of its NVIDIA Blackwell accelerated computing platform design to the Open Compute Project (OCP) and broaden NVIDIA Spectrum-X support for OCP standards; the benefits and impact of NVIDIA’s collaboration with third parties; third parties using or adopting our products or technologies; NVIDIA working alongside industry leaders to shape specifications and designs that can be widely adopted across the entire data center; by advancing open standards, NVIDIA helping organizations worldwide take advantage of the full potential of accelerated computing and create the AI factories of the future; as the world transitioning from general-purpose to accelerated and AI computing, data center infrastructure becoming increasingly complex; and the timing and themes of the 2024 OCP Global Summit are forward-looking statements that are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause results to be materially different than expectations. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include: global economic conditions; our reliance on third parties to manufacture, assemble, package and test our products; the impact of technological development and competition; development of new products and technologies or enhancements to our existing product and technologies; market acceptance of our products or our partners’ products; design, manufacturing or software defects; changes in consumer preferences or demands; changes in industry standards and interfaces; unexpected loss of performance of our products or technologies when integrated into systems; as well as other factors detailed from time to time in the most recent reports NVIDIA files with the Securities and Exchange Commission, or SEC, including, but not limited to, its annual report on Form 10-K and quarterly reports on Form 10-Q. Copies of reports filed with the SEC are posted on the company’s website and are available from NVIDIA without charge. These forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and speak only as of the date hereof, and, except as required by law, NVIDIA disclaims any obligation to update these forward-looking statements to reflect future events or circumstances.

    Many of the products and features described herein remain in various stages and will be offered on a when-and-if-available basis. The statements above are not intended to be, and should not be interpreted as a commitment, promise, or legal obligation, and the development, release, and timing of any features or functionalities described for our products is subject to change and remains at the sole discretion of NVIDIA. NVIDIA will have no liability for failure to deliver or delay in the delivery of any of the products, features or functions set forth herein.

    © 2024 NVIDIA Corporation. All rights reserved. NVIDIA, the NVIDIA logo, ConnectX, NVIDIA Grace, NVIDIA HGX, NVIDIA MGX, NVIDIA Spectrum-X, NVLink and SuperNIC are trademarks and/or registered trademarks of NVIDIA Corporation in the U.S. and other countries. Other company and product names may be trademarks of the respective companies with which they are associated. Features, pricing, availability and specifications are subject to change without notice.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a75e1ec2-a3aa-4833-a1fc-65420becb4cf

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: StableMetal Disrupts Traditional Metals Market with Innovative Tokenized Assets

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — StableMetal, a trailblazing project on the ToneOpenNetwork, is ecstatic to announce the forthcoming launch of its innovative tokenized metals – AuS, CuS, and FeS – scheduled for early 2025. These tokens, backed by real-world physical assets, aim to revolutionize the commodities market by introducing stability, security, and accessibility to metal trading.

    Reshaping the Metals Trading Landscape with Tokenization

    Driven by its mission to transform the metal trading landscape, StableMetal has constructed a robust platform that leverages derivative tokens secured by NFTs. This ingenious approach empowers investors to participate in the tokenized metals market while ensuring transparency and liquidity. The STBL token, the lifeblood of the platform’s ecosystem, has already gained significant traction with a market cap of $6 million, while the combined capitalization of its upcoming tokenized metals approaches a staggering $2 billion.

    Expanding Reach: Upcoming Listings on Major Cryptocurrency Exchanges

    StableMetal is actively engaged in discussions with leading cryptocurrency exchanges, including MEXC, BitMart, and Bitvavo, for listing the STBL token. Acquiring the necessary funds will be the final step before securing these listings, which will play a pivotal role in enabling global access to STBL and its tokenized metal derivatives.

    The project has further ambitions to secure additional listings on prominent exchanges like Gate.io, KuCoin, and Bybit, solidifying its market presence and bolstering liquidity. “Our primary objective is to make STBL and our tokenized metals universally available, granting investors effortless access to metal-backed assets,” stated the StableMetal Team.

    Rewarding Early Supporters and Bolstering Growth

    To commemorate the launch of these novel tokenized metals, StableMetal is planning a unique airdrop catering to early investors and active users. This campaign will shower participants with exclusive tokens, presenting an exciting opportunity to become an integral part of the StableMetal community.

    Furthermore, StableMetal is gearing up for a funding round, prioritizing a decentralized token distribution strategy. “We are thrilled to welcome new investors who share our vision of building a transparent and highly liquid metal trading ecosystem,” commented Semion Bozbei, CEO of StableMetal.

    Seamless Integration and Continued Expansion

    While STBL currently lacks EVM compatibility, StableMetal is diligently developing bridge solutions to achieve cross-chain compatibility. This initiative will ultimately enhance accessibility and facilitate integration with other platforms.

    Join the StableMetal Revolution

    StableMetal extends an open invitation to metal enthusiasts, investors, and traders to join its journey as it redefines the future of metal trading. To learn more, explore their website or connect with them on their social media platforms.

    About Us

    Stable Metal is a ground-breaking platform that combines blockchain technology with real-world precious metals. Built on top of vast metal reserves, the platform’s native token, STBL, ushers in a new era of market stability for cryptocurrencies. Combining the stability of precious metals with the potential of blockchain technology on the TON network, this novel strategy gives investors a chance to partake in the conventional and digital asset markets at the same time.

    Contact

    Company: StableMetal
    Name: Semion Bozbei, CEO
    Email: mail@stablemetal.com
    Website: https://stablemetal.com/

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by StableMetal. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/867ad240-f580-42ea-94b6-4a62c03be312

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Bybit’s World Series of Trading (WSOT) 2024 with DEX Integration is Now Open for Registration, Offering Over 10 Million USDT in Rewards

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    WSOT 2024 partners with the world’s top crypto ecosystem players, offering traders access to exclusive content, Web3 engagement, and a chance for incredible prizes.

    DUBAI, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Bybit, the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, has officially opened registration for traders worldwide for the World Series of Trading (WSOT) 2024.

    Now in its fifth year, WSOT 2024 is bigger, better, more connected and more innovative than ever and offers participants the opportunity to compete for the largest prize pool to date: more than 10,000,000 USDT.

    Don’t Miss Out on a 100,000 USDT Airdrop Special Event on 9 Oct 2024!

    In a one-day special event, Bybit is offering participants the chance to win a share of 100,000 USDT in an airdrop. Simply register and join a squad to boost your rewards. With multiple subaccounts allowed, participants can significantly increase their chances of claiming more prizes!

    Partnering with the World’s Top Crypto Ecosystem Players

    For WSOT 2024, Bybit has established strong collaborations with Web3 builders, top crypto platforms, and Key Opinion Leaders (KOLs). This year, participants will stay connected to the crypto world like never before, gaining access to exclusive livestreams, special events, and in-depth content.

    These partnerships will offer real-time insight and expert opinions, allowing traders to stay ahead of the curve in decentralized finance (DeFi) and Web3 projects. Participants will have access to the minds behind the top projects in the space, learn from the most innovative crypto industry leaders, and network with a like-minded community.

    WSOT Goes DeFi with DEX integration

    This year’s edition introduces the integration of centralized exchanges (CEXs) and, for the first time, decentralized exchanges (DEXs) trading, connecting participants from both backgrounds. This feature also introduces the WSOT DEX Wave, a decentralized side campaign integrating Web3 voting and rewards.

    Through Bybit’s DEX Wave, traders can engage with over 1 million decentralized tokens, including memecoins, GameFi tokens, and DeFi projects, earning points by completing tasks and voting for their favorite Web3 projects. With a daily prize pool of 200,000 MNT for top scorers, the DEX Wave allows participants to compete for a whopping 1,000,000 MNT prize pool.

    Fair Competition with Tiered Structure

    WSOT 2024 is committed to fairness and features a tiered competition structure that divides traders into lightweight, middleweight, and heavyweight categories based on their account balance. This system balances the scales for newcomers and seasoned traders alike, ensuring a fair competition that prioritizes skill and methodology above all else.

    For the first time in the series, WSOT 2024 introduces the ROI Reset Card, enabling participants to reset their profit and loss (PnL) metrics if they fall into negative values. This new feature gives traders a fresh start and a confidence boost as they persevere through the competition’s highs and lows.

    For even more fairness and an edge in the competition, Bybit’s Unified Trading Account (UTA) will allow participants to use one main account and up to four subaccounts. This multi-account flexibility enables traders to maximize their shot at winning in both the Squad Showdown and individual rankings.

    More Than 10M USDT Prize Pool and Luxury Rewards

    WSOT 2024 will feature the biggest prize pool to date: a staggering 10 million USDT in rewards and luxury prizes, including a yacht, Rolex watches, and world trips.

    Whether part of a Squad or flying solo, traders can get a chance to claim their share of these incredible prize offerings.

    WSOT 2024 Registration

    To participate in WSOT 2024, traders must hold at least 500 USDT in their participating Bybit account. Registration is now open for WSOT 2024, with different windows for Squad Leaders and general participants:

    • Squad Leader registration is open until Oct. 9, 10 am UTC,
    • Standard registration runs until Oct. 10, 10 am UTC, with late registration available until Oct. 20, 10 am UTC.

    The competition kicks off on Oct. 10, 10 am UTC, and runs through until Oct. 31, 10 am UTC.

    About Bybit

    Bybit is the world’s second-largest cryptocurrency exchange by trading volume, serving over 53 million users. Established in 2018, Bybit provides a professional platform where crypto investors and traders can find an ultra-fast matching engine, 24/7 customer service, and multilingual community support. Bybit is a proud partner of Formula One’s reigning Constructors’ and Drivers’ champions: the Oracle Red Bull Racing team.

    To learn more about Bybit, please visit https://www.bybit.com.

    Contact:
    Belinda Goh
    Belinda.goh@bybit.com

    Disclaimer: This content is provided by Bybit. The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the content provider. The information provided in this press release is not a solicitation for investment, nor is it intended as investment advice, financial advice, or trading advice. It is strongly recommended you practice due diligence, including consultation with a professional financial advisor, before investing in or trading cryptocurrency and securities. Please conduct your own research and invest at your own risk.

    A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/7e5a7b1d-27c1-485b-96c8-a2d21a0fb51f

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Global: Why might people believe in human-made hurricanes? Two conspiracy theory psychologists explain

    Source: The Conversation – UK – By Iwan Dinnick, Research Fellow, Psychology, University of Nottingham

    Hurricane Milton slammed into the west coast of Florida on October 9, becoming the second powerful hurricane to hit the state in just two weeks.

    While most people turned to meteorologists for explanations, a vocal minority remained sceptical, proposing that the hurricanes were engineered, that Florida’s weather was being manipulated, or even that it was targeted at Republican voters.

    These ideas aren’t new. As psychologists, we research the roots of conspiracy theories, and have found they often emerge in the wake of natural disasters. Investigating these theories is especially crucial as extreme weather events are projected to become more severe and frequent.

    Conspiracy theories explain important events by attributing them to the secret actions of a small, powerful group. Yet, if we take a step back from this psychological definition, something striking becomes apparent.

    If conspiracy theories explain events as the actions of a small group, then conspiracy theories should only apply to events where such a group’s influence is plausible.

    For example, faking the moon landing would have required Nasa to create an elaborate set, costumes, actors, and maintain secrecy. While unlikely, it is conceivable because humans can design sets, make costumes, and act. However, climate-based conspiracy theories don’t fit this mould as easily.

    Unlike movie sets or staged events, humans don’t control the climate in the same direct way. While we can seed individual clouds to encourage rain, for instance, a whole hurricane is simply far too big and too powerful for human technology to have any impact. This makes climate conspiracy theories seem less plausible, as the climate is beyond the direct manipulation that other conspiracy theories depend on.

    Why people turn to weather conspiracies

    People have a fundamental need to feel safe and secure in their environment. If climate change is real, it poses an existential threat, leading some to reject it in favour of conspiracy theories that preserve their sense of safety.

    Additionally, individuals desire a sense of control and agency over their environment. When faced with the uncontrollable nature of climate change, people often embrace conspiracy theories to regain that sense of control. Notably, recent psychological research has shifted focus from macro-level conspiracy beliefs, like climate change, to micro-level beliefs concerning local natural disasters.

    The first psychological study of this kind looked at a major tornado outbreak in the US midwest in 2019. Researchers found that people more affected by the outbreak were more likely to believe the tornadoes were controlled by the government. Importantly, this belief was explained by the fact that those affected by the tornadoes felt like they had no control over their own life.

    Tornado aftermath in Dayton, Ohio, May 2019. Tornadoes killed 42 in the US that year.
    CiEll / shutterstock

    Building on these initial findings, another study asked participants to imagine living in a fictional country called Nebuloria. Half were told that natural disasters might occur soon, prompting them to take precautions for their safety, while the others were told that such disasters were rare and that there was no need to worry.

    Participants were then asked about various conspiracy beliefs, such as whether the contrails left by planes Nebuloria were “evidence of weather manipulation”. Results showed those in the high-risk scenario were more likely to endorse conspiracy beliefs.

    Notably, what explained this increase in conspiracy beliefs was the fact that high-risk participants felt a sense of existential threat. This suggests that when people feel vulnerable due to environmental risks, they turn to conspiracies to regain control, even if the threats are beyond their reach.

    A self-perpetuating cycle

    It might seem intuitive that if you don’t believe in something, you won’t act as though it were true. Thus, if you don’t believe that climate change is true you are not going to act as if it is. Indeed, a large and growing amount of psychological research bares this out.

    The more that people ascribe to climate-related conspiracy beliefs the less likely they are to believe in the scientific consensus of human-made climate change, the less likely they are to have any pro-environmental concern, and the less likely they are to trust in the scientists that produce the evidence.

    These beliefs do not remain abstract. The more that people believe in climate conspiracy theories, the less likely they are to take action to mitigate climate change. Research has shown that merely exposing people to climate change conspiracies is sufficient to decrease their desire to sign a petition to support pro-environmental policies.

    This has serious implications. First, if people don’t believe in climate change, they won’t take action, accelerating its progression. Second, the more that climate change accelerates, the more frequent natural disasters become. As we’ve seen, an increase in natural disasters leads to a rise in conspiracy beliefs, creating a harmful and self-perpetuating cycle.

    Research shows that natural disasters can fuel conspiratorial thinking about unrelated events, which harms democratic engagement, public health and social cohesion. In short, climate-based conspiracy theories can have wide-ranging negative effects beyond climate-related matters.

    What can be done?

    There are reasons to be hopeful that certain interventions that foster analytical thinking or a critical mindset can reduce conspiracy beliefs. For example, exposing people to scientific reasoning that challenged the assumptions behind COVID-19 conspiracies significantly reduced their belief in those conspiracy theories. Also, a better use of resources and skills to cope with natural disasters can reduce conspiracy theories.

    If we don’t act on climate change, the rise in natural disasters will likely lead to more conspiracy theories. The stakes are high, but with thoughtful interventions, we can break this harmful cycle.


    Don’t have time to read about climate change as much as you’d like?

    Get our award-winning weekly roundup in your inbox instead. Every Wednesday, The Conversation’s environment editor writes Imagine, a short email that goes a little deeper into just one climate issue. Join the 35,000+ readers who’ve subscribed so far.

    Iwan Dinnick is employed as a Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham through a Leverhulme funded Research Project.

    Daniel Jolley has received funding from the Leverhulme Trust, the British Academy, and the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC).

    – ref. Why might people believe in human-made hurricanes? Two conspiracy theory psychologists explain – https://theconversation.com/why-might-people-believe-in-human-made-hurricanes-two-conspiracy-theory-psychologists-explain-241098

    MIL OSI – Global Reports –

  • MIL-OSI Economics: Appointment of Director General for the East Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office Dr. Kennedy K. Mbekeani

    Source: African Development Bank Group

    The African Development Bank Group is pleased to announce the appointment of Dr. Kennedy K. Mbekeani as Director General for the East Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office, effective from 16th October 2024.

    Dr. Kennedy K. Mbekeani, a citizen of Malawi brings over 25 years of senior level experience in development finance, project management, policy advisory services, and knowledge generation across country and regional levels. Prior to this appointment, he served as Deputy Director General for the Bank’s Southern Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office.

    He holds a Bachelor of Social Science (Economics and Statistics) degree from the University of Malawi, an MPhil in Monetary Economics from the University of Glasgow, and both an MA and PhD in International Economics from the University of California. He has authored numerous publications focusing on trade, regional integration, and infrastructure development in Africa.

    In his previous role as Deputy Director General for the Southern Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office, Dr. Mbekeani led the Bank’s business development and delivery for sovereign, non-sovereign investments and provided advisory services to South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini, Namibia and Mauritius. His efforts contributed to the Bank’s reputation as a trusted partner for high impact development projects in the region. He also managed relationships with key government and private sector, positioning the Bank for success.

    Dr. Mbekeani joined the Bank in 2009 as Chief Trade and Regional Integration Officer. He has held various senior roles including Lead Regional Economist at the South African Resource Centre, Officer in Charge and Acting Regional Director of the Bank’s South African Resource Centre in South Africa, and Officer in Charge of the Bank’s Ghana Country Office. When he served Country Manager for Uganda, he successfully expanded the Bank’s portfolio to over $2 billion.

    Before joining the Bank, Dr. Mbekeani worked for the United Nations Development Programme as a Trade, Debt and Globalisation Advisor for East and Southern Africa. He also served as Senior Research Fellow at the Botswana Institute for Development Policy Analysis, and Senior Economist at the National Institute for Economic Policy in South Africa.

    Commenting his appointment, Dr. Mbekeani said: “I am grateful and feel honoured by the confidence President Adesina placed in me through this appointment, as Director General for the East Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office. I look forward to working with the President, the Board of Directors, Senior Management, our teams and stakeholders to enhance the Bank’s operational efficiency, effectiveness and drive impactful developmental outcomes across the region”.

    Commenting the appointment, the President of the African Development Bank Group, Dr. Akinwumi Adesina said: “I am delighted to appoint Dr. Kennedy Mbekeani as Director General for the East Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office. Kennedy brings extensive experience in managing operations, policy dialogue, coupled with astute diplomacy and well-tested ability to work effectively with countries and development partners. He had previously worked in East Africa as the Country Manager for Uganda, before being promoted to the position of Deputy Director General of the Southern Africa Regional Development, Integration and Business Delivery Office. His knowledge of the Eastern Africa region and well-proven experience in delivering robust operations for the public and private sectors will strongly benefit the work and operations of the African Development Bank Group in East Africa and all countries in the region”.

    MIL OSI Economics –

  • MIL-OSI: Westland Insurance named one of the best companies to work for in Canada

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Surrey, BC/Territories of the Coast Salish (Kwantlen, Katzie, Semiahmoo, Tsawwassen First Nations), Oct. 15, 2024 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Westland Insurance, a leading Canadian insurance brokerage, has been recognized as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Canada. This accolade highlights Westland Insurance’s commitment to fostering a positive and inclusive workplace culture. 

    To determine the winners of the 2024 Best Places to Work, Canadian HR Reporter conducted a comprehensive survey among thousands of employees across the country. Westland Insurance stood out for its dedication to creating a welcoming and encouraging workplace environment, its prioritization of employee well-being, and a strong commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I).  

    As part of Westland’s commitment to its employees’ well-being, over the past year the organization introduced employee benefits enhancements, including increased coverage for mental health, fertility treatments, gender affirmation, dietician services, and Computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CCBT). This is in addition to a comprehensive package of financial benefits, perks, insurance discounts, and educational support, the latter benefiting both employees and their children. Westland also offers additional Values Days and paid time off for volunteerism.   

    “We’re incredibly proud to be recognized as one of the best companies to work for in Canada for 2024,” said Jamie Lyons, CEO, Westland Insurance. “This honor reflects the dedication and passion of our entire team, who make this organization a truly special place to work. Together, we’ve built a culture that prioritizes growth, collaboration, and well-being, and we’ll continue striving to set even higher standards in the years ahead.” 

    Keri Fraser, Westland’s Chief People Officer (CPO), had this to say about the recognition:  

    “Being named one of Canada’s Best Places to Work for 2024 is a testament to our commitment to fostering an inclusive, innovative, and supportive environment for all our employees. This recognition reinforces our belief that when we invest in our people, we create a workplace where everyone can thrive, and we’re excited to keep pushing the boundaries of what’s possible together.” 

    Award methodology 

    The rigorous entry process for the Best Places to Work recognition involved an employer submission and an employee survey. Organizations were required to complete an in-depth questionnaire, evaluating various factors such as employee engagement, turnover rates, compensation and benefits, diversity initiatives, and corporate culture. To be eligible for recognition, organizations had to meet a minimum number of responses based on company size and achieve an overall satisfaction rating of at least 75 percent. 

    Westland Insurance’s recognition as one of 2024s Best Places to Work is a testament to its ongoing commitment to providing an exceptional workplace experience for its employees. The company’s dedication to fostering a positive and inclusive culture, along with its comprehensive benefits plan and flexible work options, sets it apart as an employer of choice.  

    For more information on how to join Westland Insurance as a client or employee, visit westlandinsurance.ca.  

    -30- 

     About Westland Insurance Group:    

    Westland Insurance Group is one of the largest and fastest-growing independent insurance brokers in Canada. Trading over $3 billion of premium, Westland continues to expand coast to coast. Westland’s brokers provide expertise and advisory-based services across commercial, personal, employee benefits, farm, and specialty insurance segments. Since its founding in 1980, Westland has remained committed to supporting its clients, industry partners, and local communities. For more information, please visit westlandinsurance.ca.   

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI: Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 15.10.2024

    Source: GlobeNewswire (MIL-OSI)

    Nokia Corporation
    Stock Exchange Release
    15 October 2024 at 22:30 EET

    Nokia Corporation: Repurchase of own shares on 15.10.2024

    Espoo, Finland – On 15 October 2024 Nokia Corporation (LEI: 549300A0JPRWG1KI7U06) has acquired its own shares (ISIN FI0009000681) as follows:

    Trading venue (MIC Code) Number of shares Weighted average price / share, EUR*
    XHEL 1,793,972 4.07
    CEUX 465,034 4.07
    BATE – –
    AQEU – –
    TQEX – –
    Total 2,259,006 4.07

    * Rounded to two decimals

    On 25 January 2024, Nokia announced that its Board of Directors is initiating a share buyback program to return up to EUR 600 million of cash to shareholders in tranches over a period of two years. The first phase of the share buyback program started on 20 March 2024. On 19 July 2024, Nokia decided to accelerate the share buybacks by increasing the number of shares to be repurchased during the year 2024. The post-increase repurchases in compliance with the Market Abuse Regulation (EU) 596/2014 (MAR), the Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 and under the authorization granted by Nokia’s Annual General Meeting on 3 April 2024 started on 22 July 2024 and end by 31 December 2024 with a maximum aggregate purchase price of EUR 600 million for all purchases during 2024.

    Total cost of transactions executed on 15 October 2024 was EUR 9,195,510. After the disclosed transactions, Nokia Corporation holds 169,913,637 treasury shares.

    Details of transactions are included as an appendix to this announcement.

    On behalf of Nokia Corporation

    BofA Securities Europe SA

    About Nokia
    At Nokia, we create technology that helps the world act together.

    As a B2B technology innovation leader, we are pioneering networks that sense, think and act by leveraging our work across mobile, fixed and cloud networks. In addition, we create value with intellectual property and long-term research, led by the award-winning Nokia Bell Labs.

    Service providers, enterprises and partners worldwide trust Nokia to deliver secure, reliable and sustainable networks today – and work with us to create the digital services and applications of the future.

    Inquiries:

    Nokia Communications
    Phone: +358 10 448 4900
    Email: press.services@nokia.com
    Maria Vaismaa, Global Head of External Communications

    Nokia Investor Relations
    Phone: +358 40 803 4080
    Email: investor.relations@nokia.com

    Attachment

    The MIL Network –

  • MIL-OSI Europe: FDFA State Secretary Alexandre Fasel holds political consultations with Brazil

    Source: Switzerland – Federal Administration in English

    Bern, 15.10.2024 – Alexandre Fasel, the state secretary of the FDFA, met with the deputy foreign minister of Brazil, Maria Laura da Rocha, in Brasilia. The political consultations centred on bilateral relations, issues relating to economic and security policy, respect for human rights and cooperation to protect the environment.

    Since 2008, Switzerland and Brazil have held annual political consultations to discuss bilateral and multilateral matters of the day. At the 11th edition of these consultations on 15 October 2024, Mr Fasel and Ms Da Rocha highlighted the close relations between their two countries, which are put into effect through nine regular dialogues in areas ranging from business, science, and research to human rights.

    Brazil is Switzerland’s biggest trading partner in Latin America, with a total volume of approximately CHF 4.4 billion in 2023. This corresponds to around a quarter of Switzerland’s total trade with all Latin American countries. Economic issues were thus at the centre of the discussions in Brasilia. In addition to the intensification of bilateral trade and investment, a particular focus was placed on the negotiations between the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), of which Switzerland is a member, and Mercosur, a single market of around 270 million inhabitants comprising the four South American states of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. The negotiations between EFTA and Mercosur were largely concluded in 2019 and are now in the final phase. Mr Fasel and Ms Da Rocha expressed their hope that the free trade agreement can be signed soon.

    The political consultations also involved a discussion on various crises and conflicts, including regional security in general and in particular the situation in Venezuela, and the wars in Ukraine and the Middle East. Both interlocutors underscored the importance of contributing to peace and security through dialogue and mediation. In this context, Mr Fasel emphasised that in Switzerland’s view all initiatives for peace in Ukraine that are based on international law and the UN Charter should be considered. He also informed Ms Da Rocha about Switzerland’s work during its term on the UN Security Council, which will come to an end in December 2024.

    Measures to boost cooperation to protect the environment and promote sustainability were also on the agenda of the Brasilia meeting. Switzerland supports several initiatives to protect the Amazon rainforest and in areas such as decarbonisation, sustainable infrastructure and cleantech in Brazil. These projects are coordinated as part of the run-up to the COP 30 climate conference (‘the Road to Belém’), which will take place in Belém in 2025 – the gateway city to the Amazon.

    During his visit to Brazil, Mr Fasel also held talks with representatives from the political and scientific communities in Brasilia and São Paulo. In Brasilia, he also took part in an event to mark 75 years of the Geneva Conventions and Switzerland’s presidency of the UN Security Council in October 2024.

    Brazil is a priority country in the Federal Council’s Americas Strategy 2022–25: since 2023, seven meetings have taken place between members of the Federal Council and their Brazilian counterparts, and two at presidential level.

    Address for enquiries

    FDFA Communication
    Federal Palace West Wing
    CH-3003 Bern, Switzerland
    Tel. Press service: +41 58 460 55 55
    E-mail: kommunikation@eda.admin.ch
    Twitter: @SwissMFA

    Publisher

    Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
    https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html

    MIL OSI Europe News –

  • MIL-OSI USA: CFTC Charges Several People and Companies in a $280 Million Ponzi Scheme

    Source: US Commodity Futures Trading Commission

    WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced it filed a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against:

    • Traders Domain FX LTD. d/b/a The Traders Domain, a St. Vincent and the Grenadines company with principal operations in Canada, and its two co-founders, Fredirick Teddy Joseph Safranko, a/k/a Ted Safranko, of Ontario or British Columbia, Canada, and David William Negus-Romvari of Ontario, Canada and Mexico
    • Ares Global Ltd. d/b/a Trubluefx, a Saint Lucia company
    • Algo Capital LLC, a Florida company
    • Algo FX Capital Advisor LLC n/k/a Quant5 Advisor LLC., a Delaware company with principal operations in Medley, Florida, and four of their officers and agents including Robert Collazo Jr. of Miami Lakes, Florida, Juan Jose Herman a/k/a/ JJ Herman of Miami, John Fortini of North Miami, Florida, and Stephen Likos of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
    • Michael Shannon Sims of Sunny Isles Beach, Florida
    • Holton Buggs Jr., of Houston
    • Centurion Capital Group Inc., a Florida company, and three of its officers and agents including Alejandro Santiestaban a/k/a Alex Santi, Gabriel Beltran, both of Hialeah, Florida, and Archie Rice of Fulshear, Texas 

    The complaint alleges that, among other things, the defendants individually, and at times working in conjunction, made material fraudulent representations to their customers and misappropriated customer funds. In sum, more than 2,000 customers deposited no less than $283 million in connection with the alleged fraud.

    The CFTC seeks disgorgement of ill-gotten gains, civil monetary penalties, restitution, trading and registration bans, and a permanent injunction against further violations of the Commodity Exchange Act and CFTC regulations.

    On Oct. 3, Federal District Court Judge Roy K. Altman entered a statutory restraining order against the defendants, freezing their assets, and giving the CFTC immediate access to their books and records. The court scheduled a preliminary injunction hearing for Oct. 29.

    Case Background

    The complaint alleges from at least November 2019 through the present, TD, Safranko, and Negus-Romvari orchestrated a multi-layered scheme to solicit funds for trading leveraged or margined retail commodity transactions, specifically gold-to-U.S. dollar pairs (XAU/USD), as well as assorted other commodities, through pooled and individual accounts. 

    The complaint states TD, Safranko, and Negus-Romvari made fraudulent and material oral and written misrepresentations and omissions, and misappropriated customer funds. The complaint alleges TD and Safranko falsified trading records and TD’s successor, Trubluefx, further misappropriated customer funds by failing to refund the money despite repeated attempts by thousands of customers to access and/or liquidate their accounts.

    According to the complaint, TD, Safranko, and Negus-Romvari also used other individuals and entities (sponsors) on TD’s behalf, with each sponsor acting like a spoke extending from the TD hub. 

    The sponsors Algo Capital and Algo FX Capital Advisor n/k/a Quant5, and their agents Collazo, Herman, Fortini, and Likos; Sims; Buggs; and Centurion, and its agents Santi, Beltran, and Rice, also fraudulently solicited customers and misappropriated funds. The sponsors actively downplayed red flags and continued to solicit customers, helping to create the false impression customers were participating in legitimate trading even as the scheme was on the brink of collapse.

    In the fall of 2022, customers began to experience extreme withdrawal delays and/or were unable to withdraw their funds. According to the complaint, TD, Safranko, and Negus-Romvari, and the sponsor defendants provided numerous, conflicting excuses for the delays — falsely assuring customers their funds were safe, and withdrawals would be processed. All while the sponsor defendants continued to solicit funds from new and existing customers to be traded in the TD Pool, allowing the defendants to continue their fraudulent scheme for more than six months and bilk customers out of millions of additional dollars.

    The CFTC appreciates the assistance of the National Futures Association, Ontario Securities Commission, the Financial Services Authority Saint Vincent & The Grenadines, Finantsinspektsioon (Estonian Financial Supervision and Resolution Authority), and Vanuatu Financial Services Commission. 

    The Division of Enforcement staff responsible for this matter are Alison B. Wilson, Sean Hennessy, Sarah Wastler, Kelly Folks, Maura Viehmeyer, Michelle Bougas, Erica Bodin, Stephanie Cooper, and Rick Glaser. Jeremy Christianson and Christopher Beatty from the CFTC’s Office of Data and Technology also assisted.

    CFTC’s Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory

    The CFTC has issued several customer protection Fraud Advisories and Articles, including the Commodity Pool Fraud Advisory, which provides information about a type of fraud involving individuals and firms, often unregistered, offering investments in commodity pools. The CFTC also urges the public to verify a company’s registration at NFA BASIC before investing funds. If an entity is unregistered, a customer should be wary of providing funds to that entity.

    Suspicious activities or information, such as possible violations of commodity trading laws, should be reported to the Division of Enforcement via a toll-free hotline 866-FON-CFTC (866-366-2382) or file a tip or complaint online or contact the CFTC Whistleblower Office. Whistleblowers are eligible to receive between 10 and 30 percent of the monetary sanctions collected, paid from the CFTC Customer Protection Fund financed through monetary sanctions paid to the CFTC by violators of the CEA.

    MIL OSI USA News –

  • MIL-OSI United Nations: Experts of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women Praise Chile’s Laws on Violence against Women, Ask about Measures to Prevent Trafficking of Children and Sexual Abuse of Girls

    Source: United Nations – Geneva

    The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today considered the eighth periodic report of Chile, with Committee Experts praising the State’s laws on violence against women and femicide, and raising questions about measures to prevent trafficking of children and sexual abuse of girls.

    One Committee Expert said Chile had impressive laws on violence against women and femicide.  What was the reparation regime for femicide?

    A Committee Expert said trafficking remained a problem in Chile.  There were around 20,000 illegal adoptions; the stealing of children was reportedly a lucrative business for criminal groups.  What measures were in place to support women and children who were at risk of trafficking?

    Another Expert said the Committee was concerned by the high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse of teenage girls.  What was being done to prevent early pregnancies, sexual abuse of girls, and delays in processing of abortion requests?

    Introducing the report, Antonia Orellana Guarello, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile and head of the delegation, said an emblematic advance in the fight against violence in Chile was the enactment this June of the comprehensive law against gender violence. In the last two years, law reform had established a comprehensive protection and reparation regime for victims of femicide. National violence against women programmes had been redesigned to offer care to a wider range of victims.

    Ms. Orellana Guarello said the Government had developed the National Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons 2023-2026, focusing on prevention, protection of victims, prosecution of crimes, intersectoral coordination, and international cooperation.  This plan had made it possible to double the State’s capacity to care for adult victims.

    The delegation added that the State had a new procedure for assessing international adoptions and was supporting investigations into kidnapping of children. One individual who had been kidnapped had been identified and reunited with their family.  The State party was working to establish a genetic database to help reunite families and victims.

    Chile had seen a downward trend in teenage pregnancies since 2016, the delegation noted, influenced by the free distribution of contraception.  The State party was developing legislation that decriminalised abortion.  Around 70 per cent of girls under 14 who requested abortions did so on the grounds of rape.  An early referrals programme had been developed to speed up their access to abortions.

    In closing remarks, Ms. Orellana Guarello said Chile was committed to implementing the rights of women in all their diversity.  The State party would work to collect disaggregated data on women, achieve gender parity at all levels, increase access to abortion, promote the rights of older women and reform the pension system, and improve the situation of women deprived of liberty.

    Ana Peláez Narváez, Committee Chair, in concluding remarks, said that the dialogue had helped the Committee to better understand the situation of women and girls in the State party.  It would develop recommendations based on the dialogue to strengthen the implementation of the Convention for the benefit of all women and girls in Chile.

    The delegation of Chile consisted of representatives from the Supreme Court; Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; National Migration Service; Ministry of Foreign Affairs; Ministry of Women and Gender Equity; Ministry of the Interior and Public Security; Public Prosecutor’s Office; Gendarmerie; Public Criminal Defender’s Office; Cabinet of the Minister of Social Development and Family; and the Permanent Mission of Chile to the United Nations Office at Geneva.

    The Committee will issue the concluding observations on the report of Chile at the end of its eighty-ninth session on 25 October.  All documents relating to the Committee’s work, including reports submitted by States parties, can be found on the session’s webpage.  Meeting summary releases can be found here.  The webcast of the Committee’s public meetings can be accessed via the UN Web TV webpage.

    The Committee will next meet in public at 10 a.m. on Wednesday, 16 October to consider the tenth periodic report of Canada (CEDAW/C/CAN/10).

    Report

    The Committee has before it the eighth periodic report of Chile (CEDAW/C/CHL/8).

    Presentation of Report

    ANTONIA ORELLANA GUARELLO, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile and head of the delegation, said that since the last dialogue, Chile had experienced social protests, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the emergence of “anti-rights” groups.  Despite these challenges, the State had made progress in institutional, legal and administrative mechanisms to ensure the rights of women.  The National Equality Plan, updated in 2023, was the roadmap for equality policies in Chile. Minority groups had participated in the construction and monitoring of the plan.  In 2023 and 2024, six billion pesos were allocated to projects that directly benefited the diversity of women in different State institutions.

    An emblematic advance in the fight against violence was the enactment this June of the comprehensive law against gender violence, which established measures to punish and eradicate gender-based violence.  It created a judicial supervision mechanism, recognised children and adolescents as victims, and established an integrated data system on cases of gender violence. In the last two years, law reform had improved procedural guarantees and protected the rights of victims of sexual crimes; advanced the prevention, investigation and punishment of workplace sexual harassment; and established a comprehensive protection and reparation regime for victims of femicide, including a pension for sons and daughters, which until August 2024 has benefited 126 children and adolescents. National violence against women programmes had been redesigned to offer care to a wider range of victims.  The budget allocated to the prevention of violence against women had been increased by 22 per cent between 2021 and 2024.

    In 2022, a law prohibiting child marriage was enacted.  Thanks to this law, in the last two years there were no marriages with spouses under 18 years of age.  The Government had also developed the National Action Plan against Trafficking in Persons 2023-2026, focusing on prevention, protection of victims, prosecution of crimes, intersectoral coordination, and international cooperation. This plan had made it possible to double the State’s capacity to care for adult victims.  As of May 2024, humanitarian visas were issued to 21 women victims.  Progress had also been made with respect to the payment of child support through the creation of the National Registry of Alimony Debtors and the effective payment law. This had allowed the payment of more than 333 million United States dollars for alimony, benefiting more than 50,000 families as of May 2024.

    Chile was processing the bill that modified the Labour Code to promote equal pay between men and women, seeking to address the persistent gender wage gap, which stood at 23.3 per cent.  The Buenos Aires Commitment recognised the right to care and be cared for.  The Government had introduced a bill to establish a national policy on care to guarantee access to care in conditions of dignity.  Resources for care systems would be increased by 40 per cent by 2025, with the goal of serving 75,000 people with severe dependency.

    The More Women Scientists Programme had provided posts to women in science, technology, engineering and maths programmes at the university level.  The number of women selected for such programmes had since increased by 16.8 per cent.  The Government had implemented an inspection manual for the voluntary interruption of pregnancy law, which gave tools to local authorities for the supervision of health facilities.  It had also reduced the prices of oral, vaginal and long-acting contraception.

    The percentage of women participating in politics had increased in recent decades.  Chile was ranked sixth worldwide in high-level representation of women, with 58.3 per cent of members of the Cabinet of Ministers being women.  The Government was also promoting projects such as gender quotas in the elections of regional governors and councillors.  In the last two years, spaces had been created for women to participate in the evaluation and transformation of public policy, such as the Citizen Dialogues for the Care System, which had 12,614 participants, of which 80.4 per cent were women.  Dialogues were also held for rural women and for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community, on sexual and reproductive rights and pension reform.

    In the last two years, 119 indigenous language and culture educators were recruited.  The Good Living Plan promoted the participation of Mapuche and rural women in political and social decisions through territorial dialogues.  The Government had also doubled the quota for hiring people with disabilities in companies and public institutions with 100 or more workers.  The National Policy on Migration and Foreigners provided comprehensive care for foreign women victims of domestic and gender-based violence.  Since 2023, the gender identity accompaniment programme had been implemented, serving more than 2,500 transgender and gender non-conforming children and adolescents.  This year, the Protocol for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders was approved, reaffirming the commitment of the State to protect women human rights defenders.  The Protocol on the Treatment of Pregnant Women in Detention sought to guarantee respect for and exercise of these women’s rights.  From 2022 to May of this year, a total of 321 pregnant women had benefited from this law.

    The Committee’s recommendations would allow the State to make progress in complying with its international commitments and to guarantee respect for human rights.

    LORETO CARVAJAL, Senator of the Republic, said she was a member of a group of parliamentarians that promoted the creation of the Commission on Women and Gender Equity, a space to debate policies against discrimination and violence against women. The law on labour conciliation enshrined the right to remote work for all workers who had children under 14 years of age in their care.  Another law prohibited sexual and workplace violence and harassment at work.  The National Congress had also established its first breastfeeding room, and the Senate had installed 24 kits with menstrual hygiene products in its bathrooms.  The Work-Life Balance Protocol supported women with family and care responsibilities. 

    Chile also faced several challenges.  The revision of the civil partnership regime was still pending, as was a bill to strengthen the anti-discrimination law.  It was essential that resources were appropriately allocated to initiatives that addressed gender-based violence and promoted women’s economic empowerment.  There also needed to be increased cooperation between the legislative branch, the executive and civil society.  The delegation would faithfully reflect on both the State’s progress and the challenges remaining regarding the implementation of the Convention.

    ANDREA MUÑOZ SÁNCHEZ, Minister of the Supreme Court of Chile, said Chile’s understanding of the need to increase women’s access to justice had improved over the reporting period, and legal instruments and rulings reflected this.  The Supreme Court of Justice had a technical secretariat on gender equality and a gender equality policy.  There had been rulings regarding cases of violence against women that dealt with abandonment and recognition of non-typical cases of violence, including the use of legitimate use of self-defence by women.  There had also been rulings on the rights of women deprived of liberty and rulings recognising non-binary gender, and alternatives to detention had been issued for pregnant women.  The judiciary had also implemented many measures to eradicate sexual harassment in the workplace.

    Statement by the National Human Rights Institute

    CONSUELO CONTRERAS LARGO, National Director, National Human Rights Institute of Chile, said Chile’s statistics on violence against women were not disaggregated based on ethnicity, location, age, disability, sexual orientation and migrant status; this needed to be done.  It was worrying that amendments to the conjugal partnership law and the anti-discrimination law had not progressed.  The gap in representation between men and women continued to be wide, especially in mayoral offices and in the Senate, where women made up only 17 per cent and 24 per cent of representatives, respectively.  There was no gender quota in municipal elections, and for parliamentary elections, the quota would be in force only until 2029. 

    Difficulties in reporting violence and accessing care for minority women were concerning. There was a low number of personnel responsible for investigating trafficking in persons in the investigative police.  It was also worrying that only 15 universities offered training in gender violence, women’s rights, and gender perspective, and there was no discussion in Congress about comprehensive sex education in the school curriculum. 

    Gaps in wages and employability of men and women remained, while unemployment rates continued to be higher in women than in men.  The Institute was also concerned about barriers that hindered the provision of access to voluntary termination of pregnancy, including training and conscientious objection, and about the situation of pregnant women and women with children in prisons and the lack of progress on the bill prohibiting pretrial detention for such women.  The Institute was concerned about the lack of cultural relevance of policies for the prevention of violence against indigenous women.

    Questions by a Committee Expert

    MARION BETHEL, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Chile, said that the Committee welcomed the efforts by the State party to disseminate the Convention and the ratification of the Optional Protocol in 2020.  Capacity-building efforts had reached over 46,000 public servants.  Had the State party established a permanent accountability mechanism regarding the Convention?  Was the Convention promoted in rural areas and had it been translated into indigenous languages? 

    The recent reform of the Constitution was a unique opportunity to advance gender equality and incorporate comprehensive protections for women’s rights.  However, this process had faced challenges.  What steps had been taken to anchor women’s rights in the Constitution? The Committee was concerned about discrimination targeting indigenous women and women of African descent.  What steps had been taken to amend the law on discrimination in line with the Convention?  How many cases had been tried under the law and what reparation had been provided to minority women?  What steps had been taken to address the law’s inadequacies?

    The availability of legal assistance for minority women remained insufficient.  How was the State party addressing this?  What training was being provided on gender equality and support for women for members of the judiciary?  Did training provided for the police and prison service improve access to justice for indigenous women, and how was gender mainstreaming being incorporated in the judiciary?

    Ms. Bethel welcomed that the Convention had been invoked in court rulings.  The State party needed to collect disaggregated data to inform public policy on gender.  What had been the impact of the work of the Intersectoral Working Group on the Rights of Indigenous Women?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said Chile was committed to addressing gaps in monitoring the implementation of the Convention. The State party was making use of the “SEMORE” system, which collected data on the implementation of human rights treaties.  A mechanism had opened that allowed civil society to monitor the implementation of the Convention and a gender budgeting system would soon be implemented.

    More than 33,000 public servants had received training on gender equality.  The State was collaborating with the local office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to strengthen training on the Convention for public officials.  Between 2022 and 2024, around 7,500 members of the judiciary took courses on gender issues and more than 900 members of the investigative police had also received such training.  From this year, all criminal and family judges were required to undergo mandatory training on violence against women, and prosecutors also underwent training on the Convention.

    The judiciary provided defence for all individuals.  There were specialised defenders for indigenous women and intercultural communicators who supported these women.  A bill to reform the Anti-Discrimination Act addressed shortcomings in the legislation and the need to compensate victims; this bill had been rejected, but work was underway to reform it so that it could be passed.

    The Government was working to establish institutions, roadmaps and training programmes to promote the rights of indigenous women.  The judiciary had a handbook of good practices related to gender, and a repository of judgements related to gender had been published.  More than 11,000 judgements had referenced the Convention, including 8,000 judgements by family courts.

    The Sub-Commission on Gender Statistics had established a standard on statistics on gender identity.  Upcoming surveys on gender-based violence would cover rural areas.  The new national census would include questions on gender identity, ethnicity and other characteristics.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    A Committee Expert congratulated the State party on the creation of the Ministry for Women and Gender Equity. What percentage of the national budget had been devoted to gender institutions in the last three years? How did the State party ensure compliance by public officials with the Convention?  What was the mandate of the National Service for Women and Gender Equity? How was the Women’s Ministry empowered to influence other ministries, institutions and the media?

    The fourth national action plan on equality between men and women was commendable.  What budget had been attached to the plan and what achievements had it made?  Were issues concerning disadvantaged women integrated into national priorities? What measures were in place to monitor the implementation of the plan?

    MARION BETHEL, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Chile, commended the State party for its use of temporary special measures in promoting the representation of women in political bodies.  There was an absence of temporary special measures to promote the rights of disadvantaged women in other areas, however.  What groups of women had been targeted by temporary special measures and what steps had been taken to guarantee women’s rights in the economic recovery plan?  How were temporary special measures being used to address gender stereotypes and promote women’s access to employment?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the National Service for Women and Gender Equity promoted gender equality and women’s empowerment in various areas.  The budget for the Service had been increased in recent years, and its programme to combat violence had been strengthened.  Its activities reached more than 150,000 women, preventing violence and promoting women’s political participation.

    Almost 46,000 members of the police service had received training on human rights and gender, including over 500 directors of the police force.  The share of women applying for posts within the police had increased to 40 per cent. 

    The Women’s Ministry had participated in drafting the post-pandemic economic recovery plan in 2022, incorporating gender perspectives into the plan.  The rate of female integration in the workforce had increased by two per cent since the implementation of the plan.  Subsidies were provided to employed women to access childcare, and structures providing care for the elderly had been strengthened to alleviate women’s care burden.  The childcare system had been reformed to increase access for marginalised women.

    The labour inclusion law had helped to double the number of women with disabilities who had access to the labour market.  There was currently a record number of women in construction in Chile.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    MARION BETHEL, Committee Expert and Rapporteur for Chile, said there was a lack of temporary special measures for indigenous women, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women, and other disadvantaged women.  Was the State party working to create these?

    ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chair, asked how the State party ensured access to justice for vulnerable women.  Could indigenous women use their own languages in court?  What measures were in place to protect girls in the justice system?  How did the State ensure access to its national surveys for indigenous women, girls and women with disabilities? 

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said the Government was drafting a law on access to justice for gender-based crimes.  The judiciary had training programmes on gender and sexual diversity and there had been an inclusion protocol developed for the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex community.

    The Government was working to ensure access to social programmes for marginalised groups of the population. Community care centres had been set up in rural areas to support the care burden for indigenous peoples. Information on sexual and reproductive rights was being provided to indigenous women in different indigenous languages and in Braille.  The national census was made available in the main three indigenous languages.  A law had been passed to recognise Chilean people of African descent, and the Ministry of Women had a body working to promote the rights of women of African descent.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    A Committee Expert welcomed that Chile’s domestic legislation needed to be interpreted in line with the international human rights treaties ratified by Chile, and commended the State party’s efforts to address historical wrongs against women.  How was the State party advancing space exploration led by women and addressing the threats posed to women by autonomous weapons systems?  How would the State party incorporate women peacebuilders within its national action plan on women, peace and security?

    Technology-assisted violence disproportionately affected women.  How was the State party addressing algorithmic biases against women in artificial intelligence models?  The State had impressive laws on violence against women and femicide.  What was the reparation regime for femicide?  How did the State party monitor the implementation of the law on workplace harassment and prevent reprisals against women who reported it?  The State party needed to immediately promulgate the law on consent for sexual relations.  Was the monitoring mechanism for discrimination against HIV-positive people still in place?  Did the media law prohibit gender stereotyping? 

    Trafficking remained a problem in Chile. There were around 20,000 illegal adoptions; the stealing of children was reportedly a lucrative business for criminal groups.  Children in child protection centres were at risk of trafficking.  What reparations had been provided for victims of illegal adoptions?  What measures were in place to support women and children who were at risk of trafficking?

    ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chair, congratulated the State party on implementing the ruling of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights regarding reparation for the forced sterilisation of a woman.  Was forced sterilisation of women with disabilities common?  When would the State party criminalise this practice? How was the State party ensuring protection for girls who were wards of the State from institutional violence?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said women were included in Chile’s armed forces.  The Commission of Peace and Understanding between the State and the Mapuche people, which included Mapuche women, was striving to achieve peace and an end to conflict with the Mapuche.  Chile had had a feminist foreign policy since 2022, and a gender lens was incorporated into foreign aid activities.  Chile was focusing on including women in international peace negotiations, such as negotiations with Colombia.  The State party had included a gender dimension in the regulation of autonomous weapons and in disarmament efforts.

    There were differing opinions on the effectiveness of establishing a law on consent for sexual relations; negotiation on this act was ongoing.  Laws had been implemented that increased penalties for obstetric violence and the non-consensual dissemination of pornographic material.  The new comprehensive law on violence against women addressed obstetric violence.  Courts were providing compensation for moral harm caused by obstetric violence and failed sterilisation procedures requested by women.

    Chile was promoting the inclusion of women in science, technology, engineering and maths careers and there had been an increase in women taking up these careers.  The State party had passed a law that promoted the inclusion of women in the mining sector.

    The State had a new procedure for assessing international adoptions and was supporting investigations into the kidnapping of children.  One individual who had been kidnapped had been identified and reunited with their family. The State party was working to establish a genetic database to help reunite families and victims.

    Chile had not received complaints related to the forced sterilisation of persons with disabilities.  It had recently adopted a law that required free, prior and informed consent for sterilisation procedures.  The State party had created a special body monitoring girls, boys and adolescents who were wards of the State.  Protection measures were implemented as a last resort.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    A Committee Expert commended the State party’s commitment to female diplomacy and representation in all decision-making arena.  Would the State party implement quotas for 50 per cent representation of women at all levels of government?  The Expert welcomed the definition of “political violence” against women in the State’s legislation.  Was there a system for implementing this legislation?  What measures were in place to promote gender parity in the private sector? Was there a system to assess the environmental and gender impacts of foreign policies?

    Another Committee Expert welcomed efforts to address statelessness, including the implementation of the Statelessness Convention and the granting of Chilean nationality to all people born on Chilean territory.  Many children were born on migratory routes in Chile, increasing their risk of statelessness.  How was the State party working to register the births of migrant children?  Could it provide statistics in this regard?  How was the State party promoting access to refugee status determination procedures?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said Chile’s feminist foreign policy included measures promoting the representation of women in the foreign service.  Around 24 per cent of Chile’s ambassadors were female, up from around 12 per cent in 2022.  The State was approaching gender parity in its diplomatic corps.  All Chile’s trade agreements had specific chapters on women. Chile had won a prize from the World Trade Organization for promoting gender equality through trade.

    There had been a rise in female participation in the Congress.  Quotas had been established for electoral lists.  Women were currently heading 13 different ministries, including ministries typically led by men.  Quotas were also being implemented in the regional elections that were currently underway.  A tool had been developed to support women wishing to run for election.  The Government had recognised political violence as a form of discrimination.  The Electoral Service was developing clear standards on this form of violence.

    Currently, all children born on migratory routes had access to Chilean nationality.  The State project on statelessness had allowed for the provision of nationality to around 100 children.  The law on immigration respected the best interests of the child. A draft law had been developed to provide nationality to children who did not have identity documents.  The State party worked to prevent refoulement of migrants.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    A Committee Expert commended the educational reforms implemented by the State party.  What strategy did the State party have to prevent the dissemination of gender stereotypes in education?  What redress systems were in place for victims of discrimination within education? What monitoring was in place to ensure that the language policy empowered and did not stigmatise indigenous children?  What temporary special measures were in place to promote access to education for minority girls? 

    Had the State party developed disability-friendly learning environments and promoted inclusive education?  What was the rate of return for girls who left the education system early?  How did the State party’s science, technology, engineering and maths education programme address structural barriers to women accessing careers in this field?  The reproductive health education programme started in the second education cycle and was not compulsory.  Would the State party make the programme compulsory, continuing and age appropriate?

    Another Committee Expert commended the State party’s gender parity initiative, the law to reduce the maximum weekly working hours, and the law to implement International Labour Organization Convention 190.  The gender pay gap persisted in the State party.  What measures would the State party take to address the gap, particularly in higher paying positions?  The labour participation rate for women was 48.1 per cent in 2021.  What measures were in place to increase the rate and eliminate horizontal and vertical discrimination against women in the workplace? How was the State party promoting women’s participation in the digital economy, and the employment of marginalised women?  How were self-employed women and domestic workers supported to access State benefits? What efforts had been made to promote the equal sharing of household responsibilities between men and women? Could data on this be provided?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said Chile had developed a draft bill on schooling that addressed discrimination within the educational community.  The bill was currently being assessed by Congress.  National days on non-sexist education had been held; over 450,000 children and parents had participated.  The admission system for higher education had been amended to support women’s access.  Textbooks had been updated to remove gender stereotypes.  The Government was also working to discourage violence in educational settings.  There were seven possible programmes for sex education, and schools could choose which programme they provided.  The State party planned to develop a bill that would improve the quality of sex education.  Educational institutions were being provided with guidance to implement inclusive education for children with disabilities.

    Between 2022 and 2024, women’s wages had increased by six per cent, and employment rates for women had returned to pre-pandemic levels.  The gender wage gap had decreased from 25 per cent in 2022 to 23 per cent in 2023. Most trade unions had greater participation of women than men.  Regulations had been implemented that allowed for shorter working hours for workers with children.  The number of days that parents could have off when their children were sick had been increased from 15 to 30.  Chile’s legislation established the joint responsibility of parents in caring for their children.  A programme had been developed to provide care for children in rural areas during holiday periods to allow their mothers to continue working.  This programme was now being expanded.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    A Committee Expert said learners with auditory disabilities had complained that digital education portals were not accessible for them.  Had the State addressed this issue?  Each of the seven possible sexual health education programmes needed to be compliant with the Convention.  How many educational institutions had been fined for discrimination against girls?

    Another Committee Expert commended the State party’s initiative to decriminalise abortion on all grounds. The Committee was concerned by the high rates of teenage pregnancy and sexual abuse of teenage girls.  What was being done to prevent early pregnancies, sexual abuse of girls, and delays in processing of abortion requests?  Around 42 per cent of obstetric practitioners were conscientious objectors to abortion.  In rural areas, there were no alternatives if local doctors were conscientious objectors.  How was the State party addressing this?  Many women had experienced obstetric violence.  What support was the State party providing to ensure access to reparation for such violence?

    One Committee Expert commended the State’s pension and labour law reform.  Women’s unpaid working hours exceeded those of men by a large margin. Almost half of households were headed by women, many of which were impoverished.  There was a pay gap regarding pension payments for retirees. How was the State party preventing the widening of the gender wage gap and working to reduce the representation of women in the informal sector?  How would the State party correct the gender inequalities in the pension system and compensate women for unpaid care work?  Over 40 per cent of companies did not have women on their boards; how was this being addressed?

    What measures were in place to promote women and girls’ access to cultural and sporting activities, and to address discrimination against women in sports?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said Chile had seen a downward trend in teenage pregnancies since 2016, influenced by the free distribution of contraception.  To prevent the underground use of misoprostol, the State party was developing legislation that decriminalised abortion.  Under 10 per cent of health providers had conscientious objectors to abortions.  The State party supported the referral of persons seeking abortions to alternative abortion providers in cases of conscientious objection.  Conscientious objectors were required to provide abortions if there was a risk to the life of the mother.  Chile had amended legislation to require healthcare institutions to provide patients with information on their abortion rights in various languages.  Around 70 per cent of girls under 14 who requested abortions did so on the grounds of rape.  An early referrals programme had been developed to speed up their access to abortions.  Most family court cases concerning abortions for minors who had been raped were decided within two days.

    Coverage of the pension system had reached 80 per cent, increasing greatly in recent years.  The State party was implementing reforms to close the gender pension gap.  It had drafted a law towards this aim that was currently in its second reading.  A national survey was being carried out that assessed the distribution of domestic work responsibilities.  It would inform future support policies.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    A Committee Expert asked if the State party had considered mechanisms to prevent backstreet abortions.  What support did the State provide to girls who underwent abortions?

    Another Committee Expert asked if girls aged 16 and over could access abortions in cases of rape.

    One Committee Expert asked about measures to support women entrepreneurs’ access to loans and credit.

    A Committee Expert asked about steps that had been taken to develop an action plan on rural women and girls that addressed their access to services and land.  Chile was the only country in Latin America that did not recognise indigenous peoples in its Constitution.  Would the State party establish a ministry of indigenous affairs, as the Committee had previously recommended? What measures were in place to guarantee the right to tenure and ownership of land for indigenous women? Women of African descent were not visible in the State party due to a lack of data. Not all women of African descent were recognised by the State party in its legislation; how would this be addressed?

    Another Committee Expert commended reforms that raised the minimum age of marriage to 18 without exception.  De facto early unions were still being carried out in Chile.  What measures were in place to identify such unions and to support their dissolution, particularly in rural areas?  How was the State party promoting access to adoption for same-sex couples?  What was the status of efforts to amend the marital regime and to educate the population in this regard?  How effectively were temporary protective measures implemented to protect women and children in cases of family violence?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said Chile planned to collect more data on people of African descent through its 2025 census. The Ministry of Women and Equity had implemented measures to support access to land tenure for indigenous peoples. There had yet to be progress on the draft law establishing a ministry of indigenous affairs; the Government would devote further efforts toward this aim.

    A national roundtable had been set up to support rural and indigenous women.  The roundtable had developed a programme to support access to water for these women.  There was also a programme supporting the development of rural and indigenous women as leaders.

    Amendments to the adoption law had been discussed for over 10 years.  The Government was working to establish a law that allowed for the adoption of children by same-sex couples.  Custody of children was not granted to violent parents.  Recent legislative reform defined children who experienced domestic violence as victims.  The State party was working to reform the marital property regime to increase women’s access to property in cases of divorce.

    Questions by Committee Experts 

    A Committee Expert said extractive industry activities had affected access to water in rural areas.  Would the State party strengthen environmental regulations to ensure that agribusiness activities did not negatively affect rural and indigenous women?  What steps had been taken to hold persons responsible for human rights violations occurring in the context of the 2019 protests?

    Another Committee Expert noted that a case had been brought before the Supreme Court in 2021 by two women regarding the shutting down of a power plant in Huasco.  What measures were in place to protect women in Huasco from pollution from power plants?

    Responses by the Delegation

    The delegation said a plan was being developed to gradually close power plants in Huasco and to provide reparations to persons who had been affected by pollution from these plants.  A draft bill had been put forward to address the loss of rural ecosystems caused by the activities of extractive industries.  A climate change adaption plan was also in place.

    Around 50 complaints had been brought against civil servants related to their actions in response to the 2019 protests, some of which had led to prosecutions.  Five of these cases involved female victims. 

    Concluding Remarks

    ANTONIA ORELLANA GUARELLO, Minister of Women and Gender Equity of Chile and head of the delegation, said the dialogue had been constructive.  The Committee’s inputs had been and would continue to be vital for the State party.  Chile was committed to implementing the rights of women in all their diversity. The State party had made progress but acknowledged that gaps remained.  The Committee’s recommendations would help the State party to move forward.  Chile would work to collect disaggregated data on women, achieve gender parity at all levels, increase access to abortion, promote the rights of older women and reform the pension system, and improve the situation of women deprived of liberty.

    ANA PELÁEZ NARVÁEZ, Committee Chair, said that the dialogue had helped the Committee to better understand the situation of women and girls in Chile.  It would develop recommendations based on the dialogue to strengthen the implementation of the Convention for the benefit of all women and girls in Chile.

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    not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.

     

    CEDAW24.028E

    MIL OSI United Nations News –

  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: India to play a role in making telecom services and digital connectivity available to emerging economies: Shri Goyal

    Source: Government of India

    India to play a role in making telecom services and digital connectivity available to emerging economies: Shri Goyal

    Seamless broadband connectivity across the country has made India the trusted partner of the world: Shri Piyush Goyal

    Innovation defines India growth story, world recognises India as a leader in democratising technology for the world: Shri Goyal

    Posted On: 15 OCT 2024 5:28PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister of Commerce & Industry, Shri Piyush Goyal said that India is all set to become a provider of telecom services and Indian companies will become providers of high security and quality technological equipment to emerging economies.

    During his address at the inauguration of World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly and 8th edition of India Mobile Congress today in New Delhi, the Minister expressed confidence that India in the future will lead international telecom supply chains and urged companies to find solutions to help take telecom to countries still behind in network connectivity. India has a role to play in making technology available in the Global South and in leading the world in fulfilling the Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) to make digital connectivity affordable across the globe. He added that  seamless broadband connectivity across the country has earned India the moniker ‘Trusted Partner of the World’.

    Commerce and Industry Minister highlighted India’s stable network connectivity across rural and urban areas as an achievement of the flagship ‘Digital India’ campaign launched by the Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi in 2015. He hailed the Prime Minister’s foresight of using technology as an enabler for good governance, for providing business opportunities and as an enabler to expand the country’s economic activities. Shri Goyal said that India today thinks as one nation and attributed Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi of ushering a change in the mindset of the youth and aligning the thought process of the entire country towards the nation’s development.

    Shri Goyal continued that making the digital push back in 2015 helped in continuation of essential services leading to seamless business activities across the country during Covid pandemic. When countries work with India, they are assured of high quality, affordability and cost effective solutions and are assured of uninterrupted business activities allowing companies to look up to India for their global capability centres (GCCs), he said.

    He noted that in terms of technological developments in telecom services like innovation, availability of equipment, services and data India is far ahead of developed countries. Of India celebrating World Standards Day yesterday, Shri Goyal said that the government is working towards making India a provider of quality goods and services. Everything that India does will have an imprint of quality defining the India growth story, he said.

    Alluding to the theme of the event “The Future Is Now”, the Minister said that India is contributing to not only its future but of the world and its offering of digital technologies plays an integral part in bringing the world as one family. He further stated that the entire ecosystem of digitalisation involving machine learning, artificial intelligence and data analytics has its imprint in India. India is recognised for its innovation, talent and the large market it provides. Innovation defines the India growth story and the world recognises India as a leader in democratising technology for the deprived and the whole world, he said.

    While paying his respects to Dr. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam on his birth anniversary, the Union Minister stressed that his pioneering work in cutting edge technology has been appreciated worldwide and his engagement with the youth will always remain a source of inspiration for the country.

    Shri Goyal praised the Telecom Equipment and Services Export Promotion Council (TEPC) for instilling confidence in making India self-reliant in technological achievements. He emphasised that India today is a different story as it has been able to launch 5G parallelly with the rest of the world and underlined that the country will be the leader in launching and developing 6G. He said that through the National Broadband Mission, every corner of the country will benefit from 5G technology.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: 4th Meeting of National Traders’ Welfare Board held in New Delhi

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 15 OCT 2024 5:59PM by PIB Delhi

    The 4th Meeting of the National Traders’ Welfare Board (NTWB) was held today, at Vanijya Bhawan, New Delhi, under the chairmanship of Chairman, NTWB, Shri Sunil J. Singhi.

    All the members representing various Trade Associations were requested to promote the work being done by NTWB among the traders across the country and spread awareness about the VC interactive session launched by DPIIT.

    During the meeting, Shri Sunil J. Singhi highlighted that the representations received from the members and trade associations have been brought to the attention of the concerned Ministries/Departments for necessary action.

    Suggestions and inputs were solicited from the members to improve awareness and the reach of welfare schemes related to retail trade. Major suggestions and representations received from the board members were discussed, focusing on key action points.

    The meeting was attended by the non-official members nominated by the Central Government, representing Trade Associations and States/UTs, as well as the ex-officio members representing nine Ministries/Departments of the Government of India.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman to leave tonight for an official visit to Mexico and USA from 17th to 26th October 2024

    Source: Government of India

    Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman to leave tonight for an official visit to Mexico and USA from 17th to 26th October 2024

    Union Finance Minister to attend Annual Meetings of the IMF-World Bank

    FM will also take part in  G20 Finance Ministers & Central Bank Governors meetings besides bilateral meetings with many countries and organisations

    Smt. Sitharaman will engage in multilateral discussions on multiple fora and also showcase India’s attractiveness as an investment destination

    Posted On: 15 OCT 2024 5:38PM by PIB Delhi

    Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman will embark on a visit to Mexico and USA on an official visit beginning 16th October, 2024.

    During the official leg of her maiden visit to Mexico from 17th to 20th October 2024, the Union Finance Minister will lead an Indian delegation of officials from the Ministry of Finance, underscoring a positive trajectory of growing bilateral economic and trade relations between the two countries.

    Beginning her visit in Guadalajara, Union Finance Minister Smt. Sitharaman will chair the Tech Leaders Roundtable that will bring together global technology leaders, including the major Indian IT giants present in Guadalajara. Later, Smt. Sitharaman will also visit the TCS headquarters in Guadalajara — a significant contributor to the Mexican IT ecosystem and known as the ‘Silicon Valley’ of Mexico with a significant presence of major global IT and tech companies. 

    Smt. Sitharaman will also hold a bilateral meeting with her counterpart H.E. Mr. Rogelio Ramirez de la O, Minister of Finance and Public Credit of Mexico. Besides, the Union Finance Minister will also hold discussions with several members of the Mexican Parliament to strengthen parliamentary cooperation and foster economic development.

    In Mexico City, Smt. Sitharaman will deliver a keynote address at the India-Mexico Trade and Investment Summit with participation from key industry captains from both the countries. Separately, Smt. Sitharaman will also engage with leading business figures and industry representatives from Mexico. These meetings with leading business leaders and investors are aimed at highlighting India’s policy priorities, and deliberate on measures to facilitate foreign investment by showcasing India’s attractiveness as an investment destination.

    In the last leg of her maiden visit to Mexico, the Union Finance Minister will participate in a community event, being hosted by the Indian diaspora.

    During the official leg of her visit to the USA from 20th to 26th Oct. 2024, Smt. Sitharaman will participate in the Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, the 4th G20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor (FMCBG) Meetings, besides the G20 Joint Meeting of FMCBGs, Environment Ministers, and Foreign Ministers; and G7 – Africa Ministerial Roundtable.

    In the course of her two-city visit to New York City and Washington D.C., the Union Finance Minister will participate in the Pension Funds Roundtable at New York Stock Exchange; interact with students and faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, and also at the Columbia University; and the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable (GSDR) and take part in discussions organised by the Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure (CDRI) and Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) respectively.

    The Union Finance Minister will take part in bilateral meetings with several countries, including United Kingdom, Switzerland, and Germany, besides holding one-on-one meetings with heads of World Bank (WB), Asian Development Bank (ADB), European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), and CEOs of banking and financial institutions.

    In a high-level event, the Union Finance Minister will participate in a World Bank Group discussion ‘From Idea to Implementation: New Financial Solutions to Accelerate Development’.

    The Union Finance Minister will also share her thoughts during a discussion on Bretton Woods Institutions (BWI) with other panelists, Mr. Lawrence H. Summers; Mr. Carlos Cuerpo, Minister of Economy, Trade and Business, Spain; and Ms. Rania Al-Mashat, Minister of Planning, Economic Development, and International Cooperation, Egypt. The event is organised by the Centre for Global Development (CGD).

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: DPIIT announces relaxations in Quality Control Order for Cookware, Utensils, and Cans to enhance ease of doing business

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Posted On: 15 OCT 2024 6:00PM by PIB Delhi

     

    The Quality Control Order (QCO), 2024 on Cookware, Utensils, and Cans for Foods and Beverages is one of the many initiatives of Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) for quality ecosystem development, attracting investments and fostering entrepreneurial talent that places paramount importance on product quality.

    To enhance ease of doing business, several relaxations have been introduced in the said QCO, which includes exemption from the QCO for very small micro-enterprises (i.e., micro-enterprises registered under the Udyam portal) where the investment in plant and machinery does not exceed 25 lakhs, and the turnover does not exceed 2 crore.

    Further, a six-month relaxation to clear legacy stock has been provided through a specific provision and exemption for the import of cans filled with powder, semi-solid, liquid, or gas through a specific provision has been introduced.

    An exemption for 200 units of cookware, utensils, and cans for food and beverages intended for research and development (R&D) by manufacturers of such goods and articles has also been introduced through a specific provision.

    The Cookware and Utensils (Quality Control) Order, 2023 which was earlier notified on 10th August 2023 contains 5 Indian Standards (IS). The said QCO was extended with the amendment in name of the QCO i.e. “Cookware, Utensils, and Cans for Foods and Beverages (Quality Control) Order, 2024” which was notified on 15th March 2024 and effective from 1st September 2024 for Large and Medium-Scale Manufacturers and foreign manufacturers.

    DPIIT has further extended the date of implementation of the said QCO vide e-Gazette notification dated 14th October 2024 after consultation with Industry Associations/ Industry to address the issues faced in the implementation of the QCO and has introduced certain relaxations. The QCO shall now be implemented from 1st April 2025. For Small Enterprises and for Micro Enterprises the QCO shall be effective from 1st July 2025 and 1st October 2025, respectively. This extension period has been provided to enable domestic manufacturers to align with the enhanced quality standards while contributing to India’s broader economic goals of achieving self-reliance and manufacturing excellence.

    Compliance with the Standards will promote growth in the corridors of performance, durability, and dependency. India is, therefore, poised to be recognized as the manufacturing hub of premium quality goods on the back of a strong Industry-Government partnership as homegrown brands are set to capture a significant market share by fostering consumer trust.

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  • MIL-OSI Asia-Pac: Second meeting of Joint Committee under India-UAE CEPA held

    Source: Government of India (2)

    Second meeting of Joint Committee under India-UAE CEPA held

    Both sides note substantial growth in bilateral trade; to achieve US$100 mn non-oil trade target before 2030

    Posted On: 15 OCT 2024 5:58PM by PIB Delhi

    India and UAE successfully held the second Meeting of the Joint Committee (JC) under the India-UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in UAE yesterday. The Indian delegation was led by Additional Secretary, Department of Commerce, Government of India, Shri Ajay Bhadoo and Assistant Undersecretary for International Trade Affairs, Ministry of Economy of the United Arab Emirates, H.E Juma Al Kait co-chaired from the UAE side.

    Both sides noted substantial growth in bilateral trade during the first two years of implementation of CEPA and expressed optimism in attaining the target of $100 million non-oil trade well before the year 2030. The two sides also held wide-ranging discussions on all aspects of the bilateral partnership including measures to further strengthen and enhance two-way trade.

    The progress achieved in accomplishing agreed outcomes from the 1st Sub-Committee Meeting on Trade in Goods which was held in January, 2024 was also reviewed. In this regard, both sides agreed to establish a technical group of technical experts for seamless and timely exchange of trade-related data. It was decided that the group would meet at the earliest to understand each other’s statistical systems and formulate methodologies for harmonization of bilateral trade statistics. It will enable analysis of trade data in a compatible and comparable format further deepening mutual understanding.

    On the issue of implementation of Tariff Rate Quotas on earmarked products, both sides agreed to work closely to ensure that UAE exporters are able to access the benefits effectively. The Indian side conveyed to the UAE counterparts that the procedure for allocation of licenses under TRQ have been amended by factoring in the feedback received from different stakeholders.

    Indian side reiterated its request that the Indian Jewellery Exposition Center located in Dubai may be categorized as a Designated Zone so that the benefit of concessional duties may be availed by Indian jewellery manufacturers including those which are non-registered entities under UAE’s domestic regulation. UAE side conveyed its willingness to examine this request after consulting its internal stakeholders including federal tax authorities.

    On issues related to SPS/TBT measures, Indian side reiterated that the UAE side may grant recognition to the i-CAS Halal scheme which will considerably ease the certification process and promote export of animal products to the UAE. Both sides also agreed to take forward the discussion on fast tracking of registration as well as reference pricing mechanism for pharma products. Both sides agreed on early finalization of MoU on food safety between their competent authorities.

    On issues related to the trade in services matter, the two sides exchanged focal points and agreed to hold the First Sub-Committee Meeting at the earliest. Indian side highlighted the need of professional bodies from both sides to enter into Mutual Recognition Agreements that would enable professionals like chartered accountants, lawyers, nurses etc. to provide their services without the need for another certification. Both sides agreed to work on an actionable plan in this regard.

    Indian side raised the issue related to the recent surge in imports of silver products, platinum alloy and dry dates and urged UAE to verify compliance to the rules of origin norms and ensure that the rules are not circumvented. UAE agreed to examine concerns raised by the Indian counterparts.

    The two sides agreed to hold the next JC in India at a mutually convenient date. The visit of the Indian delegation led by the Additional Secretary to UAE is in keeping with the well-established mechanism of regular exchanges between India and UAE, and to further strengthen the existing close ties of friendship and cooperation between the two countries.

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Burgum signs MOU with Korean UAS association, expanding North Dakota’s collaboration opportunities

    Source: US State of North Dakota

    Gov. Doug Burgum and Korea Research Association for Unmanned Vehicles (KRAUV) Chairman Choi Myungjin today signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the state of North Dakota and KRAUV to establish a partnership and promote collaboration in Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) research and development.  

    KRAUV is focused on the advancement of UAS technology in Korea and the continued development of the country’s UAS ecosystem. Much like the state of North Dakota, the South Korean government is a strong proponent of UAS development, investing well over $1 billion to grow the industry and establishing policies supportive of UAS research, development and commercialization. The nation has also invested millions of dollars in its own UAS military fleet to protect its borders.

    “Working together with KRAUV to advance UAS research and development will help North Dakota further cement our status as a global leader in this industry while also strengthening our relationship with the Republic of Korea, one of our state’s top trading partners and a key U.S. ally,” Burgum said. “From monitoring crops and assessing risks to energy infrastructure, to emergency response and defense capabilities, the list of UAS applications continues to grow, and we’re grateful for KRAUV’s partnership in exploring and developing those possibilities into jobs and economic growth.”

    Myungjin highlighted the strategic importance of this collaboration, stating, “North Dakota is recognized for its world-class UAS infrastructure, particularly in testing capabilities. Through this partnership, we are confident that Korean companies will build a strong foothold in the international market, beginning with North Dakota. Today’s agreement will stimulate greater investment between Korea and North Dakota, supporting sustainable growth and serving as a crucial step towards creating a vibrant global unmanned vehicle ecosystem. KRAUV remains committed to fostering the growth and progress of the global unmanned vehicle industry.” 

    The signing ceremony in Seoul was attended by Burgum, Myungjin, Commerce Commissioner Josh Teigen and North Dakota Trade Office Executive Director Drew Combs, among others. 

    North Dakota is a UAS leader in the United States. The Northern Plains UAS Test Site in Grand Forks constitutes the hub of the state’s UAS ecosystem. A designated FAA partner, the Test Site boasts the nation’s first Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) system in Vantis. Additionally, the University of North Dakota’s John D. Odegard School of Aerospace Sciences offers the first UAS degree program in the nation, and Grand Sky Business Park is the first of its kind, offering commercial UAS business and aviation services adjacent to the Grand Forks Air Force Base.   

    The MOU signing was part of a weeklong trade and investment mission to the Republic of Korea for Burgum and fellow members of the North Dakota delegation from the North Dakota Department of Commerce, North Dakota Trade Office, Energy & Environmental Research Center at the University of North Dakota, and North Dakota companies representing agriculture, energy, manufacturing, aerospace and technology.  

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  • MIL-OSI USA: Attorney General Bonta Issues Consumer Alert Reminding California Workers of Their Rights

    Source: US State of California

    No-poach, non-compete, and others anti-competitive agreements that restrict employee mobility are generally unlawful in California 

    OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today issued a consumer alert with information and resources for workers about unlawful restraints on employee mobility, including no-poach agreements, non-compete agreements, and Training Reimbursement Agreement Provisions (TRAPS). These agreements, along with other provisions in employment contracts that limit workers’ ability to move to competitors, can stifle job mobility and suppress wages and advancement, often in violation of California law.

    “Employees deserve the freedom to seek better opportunities and better wages by finding new employment within their industry. Agreements that restrict employee mobility such as non-compete agreements, no-poach agreements, and TRAPs undermine this freedom,” said Attorney General Bonta. “I urge all Californians to be aware of the unlawful nature of anticompetitive contracts and their potential impacts on career advancement and wage growth. If you believe you are being affected by this type of agreement, report it to my office at oag.ca.gov/report.”

    Non-Competes

    Understanding Non-Compete Agreements

    Non-compete agreements are between an employer and an employee and generally found within an employment contract. These agreements typically prevent employees from working for competitors or starting their own businesses within a certain time frame or geographic area, with limited statutory exceptions. These agreements can significantly impact workers by:

    • Limiting Employment Opportunities: By restricting the types of jobs or companies workers can join, non-compete agreements can hinder workers’ ability to find new employment within their field or industry.
    • Suppressing Wages and Career Growth: Workers may face stagnated wages and limited career progression due to reduced competition and fewer job offers.
    • Deterring Job Mobility: The fear of legal repercussions or financial penalties may prevent workers from seeking better opportunities or moving to a different company.

    Non-compete provisions in employment contracts have generally been void in California for decades. As of January 1, 2024, it is also illegal under California law for an employer to enter into or attempt to enforce such void agreements (see below).

    Recognizing Non-Compete Agreements

    Signs that you may be affected include:

    • Explicit Contractual Clauses: Review your employment contract carefully for any clauses that outline restrictions on working for competitors, starting a similar business, or otherwise limiting your future employment options.
    • Restrictions on Future Employment: If your employer has specifically mentioned or enforced restrictions on your ability to work for certain types of businesses or within particular geographic areas after leaving or you are asked to sign an agreement that limits your future employment options. 

    No Poach Agreements

    Understanding No-Poach Agreements

    No-poach agreements are arrangements made between companies to refrain from hiring each other’s employees. Such agreements can violate California law. These agreements can negatively impact workers by: 

    • Limiting job opportunities and career growth.
    • Restricting wage increases and competitive job offers.
    • Creating a stagnant labor market where workers are less likely to find better employment conditions.

    Such agreements can be illegal under California antitrust laws, which are designed to ensure fair competition and protect workers’ rights.

    Recognizing No-Poach Agreements

    While these agreements might not always be overtly stated, signs that you may be affected include:

    • Being discouraged from applying for jobs at competing companies.
    • Statements from a prospective employer that they cannot hire from your current employer.
    • Policies at your current employer that restrict hiring from certain competitors.

    Training Reimbursement Agreement Provisions (TRAPs)

    Understanding Employer-Driven Debt Products 

    TRAPs are agreements between an employer and employee where an employer provides necessary training to a worker, but requires the worker to reimburse the employer for training costs if the worker leaves their job before a certain date, sometimes even if the worker is fired or laid off. Similar employer-driven debt provisions require departing workers to reimburse the cost of employer-supplied equipment or supplies. These types of arrangements are often unlawful. Like non-competes and no-poach agreements, employer-driven debt products like TRAPs can:

    • Limit job opportunities and career growth. 
    • Restrict wage increases and competitive job offers.
    • Create a stagnant labor market where workers are less likely to find better employment conditions.

    Last year, Attorney General Bonta issued a legal alert to remind all employers of the state-law restrictions on employer-driven debt.

    Recognizing TRAPs

    Explicit Contractual Clauses: Review your employment contract carefully for any clauses that detail an obligation to pay your employer for required training, equipment, supplies or the like if you leave employment before a particular timeframe or under certain conditions.   

    New California Laws

    California’s Senate Bill 699: Non-Compete Agreements Are Illegal 

    Effective January 1, 2024, Senate Bill (SB) 699 makes it generally illegal for employers to enter into noncompete agreements with California employees. This applies to agreements signed both within and outside California. Employers who enter into or attempt to enforce void agreements will be committing a civil violation.

    The new law extends its protection to workers even where the contract was signed or the employment was maintained outside of California. If a former employer tries to enforce a noncompete agreement in California, SB 699 can be used to challenge such enforcement.

    Additionally, employees can now seek damages, injunctive relief, and reasonable attorneys’ fees if their employers try to enforce unlawful non-compete agreements. 

    California’s Assembly Bill 1076: Existing Non-Compete Agreements Are Void

    Assembly Bill (AB) 1076 codifies that any existing noncompete agreements in employment are void, unless they satisfy an explicit statutory exception.

    Employers were required to notify current and certain former employees, whose contracts include unenforceable noncompete clauses, that these agreements are void, by February 14, 2024. Failure to have done so constitutes an act of unfair competition.

    Resources for Workers 

    If you believe you are being affected by an unlawful restriction upon your job mobility, you can take the following steps:

    1. Report to Authorities: File a complaint with the California Department of Justice at oag.ca.gov/report. 
    2. Seek Legal Advice: To find a free or low-cost legal aid office near where you live, visit LawHelpCA.org. If you do not qualify for legal aid, you may also obtain a referral to a certified lawyer referral service by contacting the California State Bar.

    Attorney General Bonta is dedicated to upholding workers’ rights and combating unfair labor practices. In 2024, Attorney General Bonta took action by defending wages and overtime owed in the West Coast Drywall Lawsuit; he also secured a settlement with Amalfi Stone & Masonry Company, Inc., resolving allegations of unfair competition and payroll tax, and labor violations. In 2023, Attorney General Bonta took action to protect workers by launching a historic investigation into gender discrimination in the National Football League, joining 17 attorneys general in supporting the Federal Trade Commission’s proposed rule limiting non-compete agreements, launching a legal fight for in-home-healthcare workers, and fighting for the rights of transportation workers and immigrant children.

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  • MIL-OSI Economics: DDG Paugam: Aligning carbon measurement standards key to future of global trade

    Source: World Trade Organization

    Ladies and Gentlemen,

    It is an honour to be here with you today.

    Thank you to Edwin for the invitation and for our ongoing partnership.

    The topic that you have chosen today, that of aligning CO2 measurement, represent one of the most important keys to the future of globalisation and the world trading system. You may think that I am grossly exaggerating my point but I am not. Let me tell you why.

    Ladies and Gentleman, about 30% of steel products are traded internationally so you would know it first hand: globalisation and the World Trading System, as proxied by World Trade dynamics, have proved impressively resilient over recent years.

    We went through two major global macro-economic crises: the 2008 financial crisis and the 2020 pandemic. With very different root causes, both had a major recessive impact on world trade and stirred some protectionist tensions. Yet trade bounced back each time and globalisation has continued its expansion. While there is a debate about the dynamic of trade in goods, which has seemed to slow down during the last decade, there is no such debate about trade in services, including of course services to industry, which has been continuously expanding, growing about 15-fold between 1990 and 2019. For the foreseeable future we anticipate a steady growth of world trade, “Steady not Stellar”, as the Chief Economist of the Allianz Group nicely sums it up, around 2.7% in 2024 and 3% in 2025.

    Yet globalisation also faces some significant pitfalls, which have a potential to rock the world trading system: geopolitical tensions, strategic industrial autonomy, and climate and sustainability policies are the names of these challenges.

    We see that geopolitical tensions, and the rise of national security concerns in international trade, represent a growing threat and a source of increased trade costs, especially for transport and logistics. Related to that, but also responding to more classical competitiveness concerns, we see that industrial policies and policies of strategic autonomy are generating other types of tensions: for instance, the discussions around supply chain resilience, overcapacity, and subsidies and trade defence that the steel sector is historically very familiar with. Please do not get me wrong here:  I am not being judgmental or discussing the political legitimacy of these trends, I am just stating facts which have an influence on trade flows. 

    The third challenge to globalisation comes from sustainability and climate policies that countries are implementing in the framework of implementation of the Paris Agreement and other environmental agreements. In the fight against climate change, some countries mobilize carbon pricing strategies, others resort to subsidies or regulations, and several of them combine a mix of all these instruments.  

    These policies are not only needed and welcome but must be intensified and accelerated. Yet, countries could do globally a better job in trying to coordinate them and minimize negative trade spill-overs to others. Some developing and LDC Members have raised concerns about the rise of unilateral environmental measures, which can exclude their exporters from value chains, and called for technology transfers to meet these increasing stringent climate measures.

    The Members of the WTO have started to recognize these challenges and several of them are calling for renewed discussions about climate-related trade policies. The key concept that some of them put forward is “interoperability”. How to make different policies interoperable so as to minimize their adverse impact on trade flows and foster the investments in decarbonization of the value chains.

    This is where the challenge on carbon emission measurement emerges as a central task.

    Because to meet the objectives of the Paris Agreement, whatever the mix of instrument countries choose, they will need to measure their impact in terms of emissions reduction. And of course, this brings to the fore a very thorny issue of equivalence among the different regimes. At the WTO Secretariat we have been advocating for a Global Carbon Pricing approach. On these grounds we convened an interagency task force, along with UNCTAD, UNFCCC, OECDE, IMF and World Bank on this topic and we are coming this week with a first report which aims at reviewing the interactions between all these policies.

    Also, because even if they choose the same policy instruments, say, for instance, a carbon tax, they will need to compare the tax bases used to establish equivalence and avoid double taxation. This will involve alignment of carbon measurement standards and emissions calculation methodologies.

    Of course, the same is true for businesses themselves, which are confronted to multiple reporting and regulatory requirements. This is true especially in heavy industry sectors like steel, which are facing mounting pressures from governments, shareholders, and consumers. According to McKinsey, “global demand for low-CO2 steel is expected to grow tenfold over the next decade from approximately 15 million metric tons in 2021 to more than 200 million metric tons by 2030”. The LEADIT Green Steel Tracker is following more than 60 active green steel projects around the world.

    Here is the heart of the challenge that we face: if we can align carbon measurements, we will be able to reasonably guarantee the integrity of the world trading system; if we can’t we are entering dire straits. Not only for trade, but also for climate and sustainability.  Because a fragmentation of world trade would immediately lead to inefficiencies and losses of specialisation benefits and economies of scale which would in their turn weaken the struggle against climate change.

    As our economies become greener, and market access increasingly depends on sustainability criteria, the measurement of environmental performance will become the gateway to globalisation.

    So where do we start? One problem is that there is not really one single place where this question is being globally discussed. Another one is that businesses, not governments, are the one who finally can and must do the measurement and the investments needed for decarbonization.

    This is the reason why we, WTO Secretariat, have embarked in a dialogue with you, in businesses, as well as international standards organisations, professional associations, customers and NGOs.

    The WTO is uniquely positioned to help address these coordination and cooperation challenges. We are not a standards-setting body, but we are a forum where nations can come together to discuss how to make their policies fit for purpose and avoid trade frictions. By ensuring transparency, facilitating dialogue, and fostering cooperation on issues like carbon pricing, green subsidies, or emissions measurement standards, we can help create a global trading environment that supports decarbonization

    The WTO Secretariat dialogue with the steel sector and Worldsteel on CO2 measurement is driven by the will to demonstrate in concrete terms that global trade can be an enabler of the green transition.

    The work on “Steel Standards Principles,” which was launched at last year’s COP in Dubai, is the best example of collaboration in this direction. These principles aim to align the way emissions are measured in the steel sector. From our dialogue and the impressive work that World Steel has achieved over this year, I believe there is a path to deliver meaningful outcomes for COP29 in Baku.

    If we can get this right, it will show that steel industry decarbonization and trade can work hand in hand for a greener and more prosperous future. By working together — governments, industries, associations, and international organizations — we can ensure that trade accelerates decarbonization.

    This is absolutely pioneering work. This is absolutely central to the future of globalisation. Other sectors are watching. WTO Members are watching.  Do give them some surprises in Baku!

    Thank you for your kind attention.

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  • MIL-OSI Economics: WTO 2024 SPS Transparency Champions Course concludes in Geneva

    Source: WTO

    Headline: WTO 2024 SPS Transparency Champions Course concludes in Geneva

    Participants were trained on the importance of transparency in the SPS Agreement, with particular attention to notifications of health and safety regulations. They also gained hands-on experience of the ePing SPS&TBT Platform designed to facilitate this process.
    The course’s programme included sessions dedicated to supporting participants in developing action plans to improve SPS transparency frameworks in their respective governments. Participants further benefited from the expert guidance and contributions of SPS practitioners from Brazil and Uganda, and from various organizations, including Codex Alimentarius, the World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH), the International Plant Protection Convention (IPPC), and the Advisory Centre on WTO Law (ACWL).
    In his remarks at the opening session of the course, Edwini Kessie, Director of the WTO Agriculture and Commodities Division, underscored the critical role of transparency in international trade.
    “Non-tariff measures like SPS regulations are a double-edged sword. While they play a vital role in safeguarding public health and safety, they can sometimes be misused as disguised restrictions to trade. Therefore, being ‘transparent’ about these measures is critical to facilitating trade, and ensuring a stable, predictable business environment, which, in turn, encourages investment,” said Edwini Kessie​. He further emphasised the significance of tools like ePing in streamlining notifications and fostering coordination on SPS regulations.
    Upon completion of the course, Sakshee Pipliyal, from India’s Food Safety and Standards Authority, highlighted the engaging format of the course, which combined theoretical insights with real-world examples: “The course offered an in-depth exploration of the SPS Agreement and its transparency provisions, significantly enhancing my understanding of both the legal framework and practical implementation.”
    For Sonam Dorji N, from Bhutan’s Ministry of Health, the training was an eye-opener: “The course expanded my capability to understand how to manage SPS related issues and communicate effectively with the traders and private industries, which is important for exporting agricultural products.”​
    Jabulani Njabulo Mkhonta, from Eswatini’s Ministry of Agriculture, stressed the broader economic benefits of SPS transparency among his key takeaways: “Being transparent on SPS measures benefits the country by boosting participation in global trade.” He also noted that the interactive and practical aspects of the programme were particularly enriching, allowing participants to network and share experiences across diverse sectors.
    After the training programme, participants are expected to implement the action plans developed during the course to strengthen transparency in their SPS frameworks. A follow-up session, scheduled for 2025, will provide them with the opportunity to report on their progress and share lessons learned.
    The WTO members and observers represented at the training course included: Angola, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Eswatini, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Kyrgyz Republic, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Nicaragua, Paraguay, Russian Federation, Chinese Taipei, Thailand, Türkiye, and Zambia.

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