Latest news with #Leaders'Summit
Business Insider
3 days ago
- Business
- Business Insider
U.S.-Japan Trade Talks End with No Deal
Japan Economic Minister Ryosei Akazawa has concluded his meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. The meeting, which lasted over two hours and marked the fourth round of talks, ended without the two sides reaching a trade deal. Confident Investing Starts Here: Still, the two countries agreed to meet again with the topics of semiconductor and rare earth trade in mind ahead of the Group of Seven (G7) Leaders' Summit in July, according to Nikkei Asia. Japan Seeks Reversal of All U.S. Tariffs After the meeting, Akazawa said that it would be difficult to form a trade deal unless the U.S. agrees to drop all of its tariffs, including the duties set on Japanese vehicles. President Trump had previously enacted a 25% tariff on imported cars and trucks from Japan before reducing the rate to 10% for 90 days. In 2024, Japan exported roughly $148 billion of goods to the U.S. with vehicles accounting for about 28% of that figure. The U.S.' goods trade deficit with Japan stands at $68.47 billion.
Canada Standard
23-05-2025
- Business
- Canada Standard
G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors conclude productive meeting in Banff
Canada News Centre 23 May 2025, 00:33 GMT+10 May 22, 2025 - Banff, Alberta - Department of Finance Canada Today, G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors concluded their meeting in Banff, Alberta, which is part of Canada's 2025 G7 Presidency. The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Finance and National Revenue, and Tiff Macklem, Governor of the Bank of Canada, co-chaired the meeting. Ministers and Governors reached agreement on a communique which emphasized, above all, the the importance of G7 unity in the face of complex global challenges. In advance of the Leaders' Summit next month in Kananaskis, Alberta, the meeting included a productive and frank exchange on the global economy, unsustainable global imbalances, and ways to promote growth and productivity. Ministers and Governors agreed to: a G7 Financial Crime Call to Action to spur further concrete progress in tackling financial crime, including money laundering and terrorist financing. Canada will contribute $4.8 million in new technical assistance to developing economies so they can contribute to this effort; support the expansion of the World Bank-led Resilient and Inclusive Supply-Chain Enhancement (RISE) Partnership to strengthen the integration of developing countries into critical minerals supply chains. Canada will contribute $20 million to support the expansion of the RISE Partnership, including in Latin America and the Caribbean; address risks stemming from the large increase in low-value shipments imported into G7 markets; and continued unwavering support to Ukraine, an agreement to continue to explore all possible options to hold Russia to account, including further ramping up sanctions, as well as efforts to foster private sector participation in the recovery and reconstruction of Ukraine. Canada is a stable, reliable, and innovative partner with a wealth of natural resources and expertise. Through our G7 Presidency, we will shape the global agenda - working with allies and partners to grow our economies, defend Canadians' interests, and address the most pressing global challenges.
Mid East Info
16-05-2025
- Business
- Mid East Info
The 'SAMENA Council Leaders' Summit 2025' to Convene Global & Regional ICT Leaders in Dubai on May 26th - Middle East Business News and Information
Future of Digital Economies in the 5G-A & AI Environment ahead of Global Talks & Deadlines Dubai. UAE Thursday, May 15, 2025 The SAMENA Telecommunications Council Leaders' Summit 2025 will be held on May 26th in Dubai, bringing together renowned leaders, policymakers, regulators, investors, and industry executives from across the SA-ME-NA, Central Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and ASEAN regions, and regional as well as global ICT and industry development bodies, including the ITU, DCO, GSMA, among others. The SAMENA Council Leaders' Summit 2025, being held with the chief-patronage of the UAE's Telecommunications and Digital Government Regulatory Authority (TDRA), is organized with the strategic industry collaboration of Huawei, Mobily, WBBA, stc, ZTE, 7 Generation, as well as participation of members of the SAMENA Council. Bocar BA, CEO and Board Member of SAMENA Council, inviting industry leaders to the Summit, has stated: 'The Leaders' Summit 2025 will highlight the importance of dialogue in transforming digital economies in a sustainable manner. This requires collaboration, investment, intelligent and secure integration of AI in the 5G environment, infrastructure expansion to underserved areas, and deploying creative applications and services that are dramatically reshaping the digital future. The SAMENA Council Leaders' Summit, powered by legacy patrons and collaborators, is a critical platform for multi-stakeholder discussions and representation, and we invite industry leaders to join in the conversation.' This annual leaders' congregation will discuss the ongoing evolution of the digital landscape and the role of technology in driving economic growth and sustainable development. The theme of this year's Summit, 'Intelligent & Sustainable Transformation of Digital Economies,' reflects the urgent need for smart and sustainable approaches to accelerating digital transformation and achieving digital growth across the SAMENA Council's markets of strategic focus, ahead of various global stakeholder meetings that will be held later in the year, including the G20 summit. The SAMENA Council Leaders' Summit 2025 will delve into how governments, businesses, and regulators need to collaborate to ensure digital ecosystems and economies are organically powered by digital advancements, sustainable practices, and incentivization for all stakeholders—especially in terms of creating new digital experiences and maintaining investments in digital infrastructure. With tools such as the Digital Economy Navigator (DEN) available to guide digital progress across borders, it is essential to examine how policies, regulations, and investment strategies are evolving to support the digital future in this age of 5G, 5G-Advanced, AI, and techcos – and as government bodies aspire to enhance their delivery of citizen-centric services. In addition to the strategic discussions, high-profile roundtables will be held during the Leaders' Summit 2025, creating unique opportunities for in-depth dialogue on key issues among a diverse group of stakeholders. By-invitation meetings will include a G20 Inter-Ministerial Roundtable, which will serve as the preparatory meeting for pre-G20 discussions, specially organized by the SAMENA Council in collaboration with South Africa's Ministry of Communications, to foster dialogue among the private and government sector stakeholders from G20 countries as well as non-G20 nations. Another important forum during the Leaders' Summit 2025 will be the Multi-TRA Forum, chaired by TDRA-UAE, which will focus on regulators and government bodies from the GCC region. This forum will address strategies for leveraging 5G infrastructure to improve municipal and smart city service delivery across the region, highlighting the crucial role of telecom regulations and 5G infrastructure in facilitating seamless transformation among government bodies. The SAMENA Council Leaders' Summit will also feature a roundtable focused on Space Development and WRC-27, another key roundtable on Cybersecurity. Participants of the Leaders' Summit 2025 will explore how operators, tech providers, government agencies, and enterprises of all profiles across multiple industries and economic sectors can accelerate the adoption of 5G, 5G-Advanced, AI, and other allied technologies in ways that not only foster growth but also ensure that digital transformation is sustainable and beneficial for all. More information about the Leaders' Summit 2025 will be made available on a by-request and by-invitation basis only. To learn more, please contact SAMENA Council at SMNLS25@ -Ends- For more information, please contact: Urvashi Kadam, urashi@ +971503570206 Leila Olan, info@ ; +971563092428
IOL News
12-05-2025
- Politics
- IOL News
Peacekeeping as Multilateralism: An African Perspective for Berlin
UN peacekeeping troops on patrol in the eastern DRC. In today's complex mediation landscape, marked by fragmentation and competition, the only way for the AU and the UN to retain some level of influence and advance solutions based on their principles is to tighten their cooperation, says the writer. El-Ghassim Wane On 13-14 May 2025, Germany will host the 8th Ministerial Peacekeeping Conference in Berlin, with 'The Future of Peacekeeping' as its overarching theme. This event, which will bring together the ministers of defence and foreign affairs from United Nations (UN) Member States, is part of the process launched after the 2015 Leaders' Summit to strengthen support for UN Peacekeeping. As African delegations prepare for the Berlin discussions, guided by the Independent Study on the 'Future of Peacekeeping, New Models and Related Capabilities,' they can bring valuable perspectives informed by direct experience with peacekeeping operations across the continent. Their contributions take on particular significance at this critical moment when peacekeeping faces renewed challenges to its relevance. Three points are worth mentioning here. First, peacekeeping works. Academic studies consistently demonstrate that it is a cost-effective way of reducing armed conflict and protecting lives. It also strengthens national sovereignty, not only because it accompanied decolonisation processes in the past, but also because it can ultimately help states recover the exercise of their basic functions. The real-world impact of peacekeeping is visible in Sierra Leone, Côte d'Ivoire, and Liberia, which stand as compelling examples. Even in situations where there is no peace to keep, the positive impact of peacekeeping is evident. Asserting that peacekeeping works is not to overlook its failures, and neither is it to overstate what it can achieve. Ultimately, missions operate under specific principles—consent of the parties, impartiality and restricted use of force—and their success primarily depends on the cooperation of host nations and conflict parties, as well as the support of the Security Council and the larger international community. Second, UN and African Union (AU) operations are complementary pillars of a shared multilateral architecture. Neither institution should be viewed as a substitute for the other. The UN maintains significant comparative advantages, notably predictable financing, specialised expertise, and logistical capabilities. For its part, the AU has a demonstrated willingness to deploy missions in asymmetric environments. This also means that the successes and failures of UN and AU peace operations are interconnected. Third, UN Peacekeeping is an embodiment of multilateralism in action. It brings together key constituencies and draws its strength from their consensus. The key role players here are the permanent and elected members of the UN Security Council, major financial contributors, host countries, and more than 120 countries, 40 of which are African, that have provided over two million uniformed peacekeepers to date. Going forward, the AU and UN should devise practical ways to further strengthen their partnership. As an immediate step, the two organisations should enhance their collaboration in support of ongoing UN peacekeeping operations in Africa. The UN missions can draw strength from the AU's political legitimacy, while the continent is both the immediate beneficiary of successes and the most affected by failures. The UN should routinely share mission information with the AU to foster its proactive support (this should, of course, be bidirectional). At the Security Council level, the African members can rally more effective support for peacekeeping operations by taking principled stances, driven by the relevant AU normative frameworks, and by leading discussions on the challenges confronting missions. This approach can help ensure that issues are addressed on their own merits rather than being caught in the crossfire of current geopolitical tensions. As the two organisations continue to work together to facilitate coordinated support to UN peacekeeping missions, they may also wish to consider the feasibility of systematically embedding AU liaison missions in UN operations. This would give the AU better insight into the unique role that UN peacekeeping plays and a deeper appreciation of its challenges. Additionally, the AU and UN should jointly examine how to leverage the peacekeeping models identified in the study. This should involve assessing how the models could be used to address situations of shared concern and how they might serve as frameworks for mission initiation, expansion, or drawdown. The AU and the UN could then, through joint scenario planning exercises, test these models against hypothetical crises. While the study focused on UN operations, it holds lessons for the AU, particularly regarding capabilities needed to enhance mission effectiveness, including planning, leadership, strategic communications, and rapid deployment capabilities. As the AU reviews its Standby Force, these priority areas could inform its modernisation efforts. Similarly, the AU and the UN could work together to examine how the former might utilise the Peacekeeping Capability Readiness System (PCRS) to generate capabilities for its operations more effectively. For peacekeeping to work more effectively, the AU and the UN need to step up their efforts towards peacemaking. This could entail the appointment of joint envoys as was done in the past, and the establishment of jointly led international contact groups or other similar structures. In today's complex mediation landscape, marked by fragmentation and competition, the only way for the AU and the UN to retain some level of influence and advance solutions based on their principles is to tighten their cooperation. In this context, the AU would benefit from striking a better balance between the various conflict management tools provided for in the Peace and Security Council (PSC) Protocol. It should effectively reinvest in prevention and peacemaking—areas where it possesses genuine comparative advantages. While peace support operations are necessary, they consume disproportionate organisational resources and attention. A recalibrated approach would maximise the AU's impact across the conflict spectrum, while complementing UN efforts. Finally, sustaining peacekeeping gains requires greater investment in structural prevention. The goal should be to effectively combine the AU's rich framework on governance, democracy and human rights (here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here and here), on the one hand, and the UN technical and resource capacity, on the other. Such an enhanced partnership would focus on three areas: assistance to individual African countries to implement the commitments made based on the African instruments; support to relevant African institutions mandated to follow up various aspects of the continent's governance and human rights agenda (here, here, here, here, here and here); and dissemination of the AU instruments to political, civil society and other actors to increase their level of awareness of the commitments entered into by their countries and foster greater accountability. In a world defined by geopolitical tensions and facing heightened competition among various states, the Berlin Conference offers an opportunity to rally the broadest possible support for one of the most tested and enduring tools of multilateralism. For Africa, the stakes could not be higher. Given the asymmetric distribution of power between states and regions in the current international order, the multilateral system, for all its shortcomings, still offers the best way to advance the continent's interests by enabling coalition-building and providing institutional platforms that can amplify Africa's collective voice. As African countries prepare for the Berlin Conference, it is worth recalling the July 1990 report on the Fundamental Changes Taking Place in the World and Their Implications for Africa, submitted by then OAU Secretary-General Salim Ahmed Salim. While stressing that 'the African response for the 1990s and beyond must […] be inward-looking, in that its major preoccupation [should] be to build Africa's inner strength,' he also emphasised that the continent 'must continue to court and nurture international solidarity.' In this respect, he urged that Africa must both strengthen its support for UN ideals and maintain the UN as the central focus of its multilateral diplomacy, recognising it as the continent's most vital forum for advancing its interests. Three and a half decades later, these words of wisdom remain relevant. * El-Ghassim Wane led the team that conducted the independent study on the Future of Peacekeeping, New Models and Related Capabilities. He served as Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General in Mali and head of MINUSMA, and assumed several other responsibilities in both the UN and the AU, including UN Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping and Director for Peace and Security at the AU Commission. ** This article was originally published at *** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.
Japan Today
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Japan Today
Starmer, under pressure from Farage, tightens UK migration rules
FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer listens during the Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) Leaders' Summit in Oslo, Norway, May 9, 2025. Alastair Grant/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo By William Schomberg British Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced a new salvo of measures to toughen up Britain's migration system on Sunday, saying many immigrants would have to wait longer before getting the status they need to claim welfare. Starmer's government - which is due to publish plans for new legislation to reduce immigration on Monday - is under pressure to counter the rise in popularity of Nigel Farage's right-wing, anti-immigration Reform UK party. Over the weekend, interior minister Yvette Cooper announced plans to restrict skilled worker visas to graduate-level applicants, prevent care sector firms from recruiting abroad and require businesses to increase training for local workers. "Every area of the immigration system, including work, family and study, will be tightened up so we have more control," Starmer said in a statement. "Enforcement will be tougher than ever and migration numbers will fall." Under the changes, automatic settlement and citizenship for people who move to Britain will apply after 10 years, up from five years now, although highly skilled workers - such as nurses, doctors, engineers and AI experts - would be fast-tracked. Migrants who are in the UK on visas are typically ineligible for welfare benefits and social housing. The government also said it plans to raise English language requirements to include all adult dependents who will have to show a basic understanding of English. It said the change would help integration and reduce the risks of exploitation. "This is a clean break from the past and will ensure settlement in this country is a privilege that must be earned, not a right," Starmer said. "And when people come to our country, they should also commit to integration and to learning our language," he said. The number of European Union migrants to Britain fell sharply after Brexit but new visa rules, a rise in people arriving from Ukraine and Hong Kong and higher net numbers of foreign students led to an overall surge in recent years. Net migration - the number of people coming to Britain minus the number leaving - hit a record 906,000 in the year to June 2023, up from 184,000 who arrived in the same period during 2019, when Britain was still in the EU. Employers' groups are worried that tightening the rules on foreign workers will make it harder for companies to fill vacancies. "This major intervention in the labour market will leave many employers fearful that in tackling concerns about immigration, government goes after the wrong target," Neil Carberry, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC), said. Being open to skilled workers was essential for Britain "but so is a controlled, affordable and responsive immigration system that keeps investment flowing to the UK," Carberry said. © Thomson Reuters 2025.
