By Busayo Onijala/Augusta Uchediunor

The United Nations Resident Coordinator, Edward Kallon, on Tuesday said that sustainable food systems should be put in place to ensure sufficient food for the present generation.

He said the systems do not just end hunger but helps future generations have access to adequate food and proper nutrition.

Kallon spoke at a virtual media briefing on “The Nigeria UN Food Systems Summit Dialogue (UNFSSD)” scheduled to hold on Feb. 23.

The News Agency of Nigeria(NAN) reports that the media engagement is a prelude to series of dialogues on the UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS) 2021, being organized by the Federal Government in collaboration with the United Nation in Nigeria.

According to Kallon,  as population grows, there is greater need to understand how availability of quality food can  cater for the needs of people in a sustainable way.

“The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, will convene the Food Systems Summit in September, as part of the Decade of Action to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030.

“The Summit will launch bold new actions to transform the way the world produces and consumes food.

“The UN and the Government of Nigeria is bringing together key players in science, business, policy, healthcare and academia, as well as farmers, women organisations, youth organisations, consumer groups, food processors, logistics organisations, environmental activists, and most importantly, the media,” he said.

Kallon urged media partners to get in the flow of the UN Food Systems Summit and “support our efforts by encouraging debate and discussion among the population on issues of sustainable food systems for the country.”

He said that without the media, all dialogues would be likened to ‘winking in the dark’, because no one would see what was being done .

“As you all know, every individual has a role to play in our efforts towards sustainability of food systems and we are all stakeholders when it comes to food – because we are all at least consumers,” he said.

Mrs Olusola Idowu, Convenor of the summit in Nigeria and Permanent Secretary, Budget and National Planning, said that in order to have a seamless Food System Dialogue, committees had been constituted.

These committees, she said, included sector experts within the government, development partners and Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) with specific responsibilities.

She said it was envisaged that the dialogues would harvest contributions to shape pathways leading to collective determination of sustainable food systems and how they would contribute to achieving food security in Nigeria.

“The dialogues will identify the practices and policies that will have the greatest impact on the achievement of the desired future vision within the Nigerian local food systems.

“Also, it will help consider the possibility of assessing progress towards improved food systems, as well as determine who needs to be involved in achieving the overarching objective of building effective food systems in Nigeria.

“The dialogues provide opportunity to different stakeholders to work together to devise pathways for the sustainable future of national food systems that makes contributions to the SDGs,” Idowu said.

NAN reports that in order to generate a robust discussion during the inception, a dialogue is scheduled for Feb. 23 with lead paper entitled, “An Overview of the Food System in Nigeria – Challenges, Prospects and the Way Forward.” (NAN)

South Korea’s health authorities on Tuesday said they had identified 26 more cases of COVID-19 variants, vowing to step up monitoring on foreign arrivals to better detect potential cases.

The Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA) said 24 people were confirmed to have been infected with the variant from Britain, while one person was infected with the South African variant and another with the one from Brazil.

Among them, four were domestically infected cases after coming in contact with their relatives from abroad, the KDCA said.

Authorities warned of the further spread of more transmissible viruses in the nation, saying they will expand the analysis of variant cases and tighten the monitoring of foreign arrivals.

“Those who recently arrived from abroad should pay extra caution during their self-isolation period to reduce risks of variant cases spreading in local communities,” the KDCA added.

The authorities have said they remained vigilant against the possibility that highly transmissible new variants could spark another uptick in virus cases here.

The recent emergence of several COVID-19 mutations has complicated the global fight against the pandemic because they are more transmissible than the original one.

South Korea has extended the ban on passenger flights arriving from Britain, which has been in place since Dec. 23, until Feb. 11 to block the new virus variant that was first identified in Britain.

The KDCA has conducted further tests, known as next-generation sequencing, on arrivals from Britain and South Africa.

The method provides an effective way to identify coronavirus strains and other pathogens without prior knowledge of the organisms.

Also, all foreign entrants must present papers showing negative polymerase chain reaction tests taken within 72 hours of their departure for South Korea.

The country added 303 more cases on Tuesday, raising the total caseload to 81,487, according to the KDCA. (Yonhap/NAN)

Health experts from World Health Organisation (WHO) had reached several agreements with China during their trip to Wuhan in search of the COVID-19 origin, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

“They were able to reach multiple agreements. I hope these will be thoroughly covered in their report,’’ Wang Wenbin, a foreign ministry spokesman, told reporters in Beijing.

The spokesman said China stood for openness and transparency and would bolster scientific cooperation with other countries to reduce health risks.

The experts arrived in Wuhan, the ground zero of the outbreak on Jan. 14, and self-isolated until Jan. 29.

They have since visited the Wuhan Institute of Virology, which houses a laboratory known for its experiments on viruses, as well as the seafood market where the first coronavirus cases emerged. (Sputnik/NAN)

By Lizzy Okoji

Venezuela Ambassador to Nigeria David Caraballo says his country is open to dialogue with the U.S under the administration of President Joe Biden over economic sanctions.

Caraballo made this known when he spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday in Abuja.

Former President Donald Trump had on Aug. 6, 2019 placed an economic coercive measure on Venezuela, restricting other allies from trade relations with the country.

“President Nicolas Maduro has sent some public messages to the Biden’s administration that  we are ready for the dialogue.

“We are ready to establish normal relations under one condition, the respect of the international law, the respect of our constitution and the sovereignty, the independence of each country.

“In particular, I do not have many expectations because during the Obama’s administration, Biden was Vice President and then, they approved the executive order to announce Venezuela as supposedly a threat to the security of the United States.

“For that particular reason, I do not have many expectations. But the diplomacy, the dialogue, the international situation, the real political situations in the world maybe can open some windows, some doors for the dialogue for respectful relations,” he said.

Caraballo added: “Some days ago, they approved one license to have relations with the Venezuelan ports and airports in some economic sectors, it is a good signal.

“We do not need permission from the U.S administration to have economic trade or economic relations with any country but it is one signal.

“President Nicolas Maduro said we are ready for dialogue to recover the normal relations between the Venezuelan Government and the U.S government and with the people.”

He said that the political situation in Venezuela was stable and as a sovereign nation it would want the U.S to respect its constitution and not interfere in its governance.

He added that the new parliament which was stable would also ensure that legislations were put in place to ensure that U.S respect its sovereignty and independence.

The envoy said that the new parliament was not in any crises as against reports in the media and that the Juan Guido opposition was not recognised to rule its National Assembly.

“On Dec. 6, we had the constitutional parliamentary election, the Parliament is a Unicameral system with five years term and in the last two years former members of the Parliament like Juan Guaido used these institutions against the democracy, promoting military interventions, promoting the unilateral coercive measures.

“The parliament was increased from 167 to 277, more than six million people voted to participate in that election last year, more than 53 per cent of the total population participated.

“And on Jan. 5, this parliament was inaugurated and the Bolivian Revolutionary Force won 256 seats in this parliament, we have a very strong majority in this new parliament,” Caraballo said.

He said that the month of February was significant in the political history of Venezuela. (NAN)

U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken, and Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister, Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud, on Friday, discussed issues ranging from regional security to human rights and the war in Yemen, the State Department said on Saturday.

The discussion took place on the same day that the U.S. said it intended to revoke a terrorist designation for Yemen’s Houthi movement – against which a Saudi-led coalition is fighting – in response to Yemen’s humanitarian crisis.

“The secretary outlined several key priorities of the new administration, including elevating human rights issues and ending the war in Yemen,’’ State Department spokesman, Ned Price, said in a statement.

The new administration of President Joe Biden has said it would cut off U.S. support for a Saudi-backed campaign in Yemen and step up diplomacy to end the war through the appointment of a Yemen envoy.

Washington said it expects Riyadh to improve its human rights record.

The U.S. and Saudi officials also talked about counterterrorism and cooperation to deter attacks against Saudi Arabia, Price said.

The discussion, which took place by phone, was the first to occur between the two men, the Saudi state news agency, SPA said on Saturday.

The foreign minister congratulated Blinken on his appointment last week and said the kingdom hopes to work with the U.S. to face common challenges and maintain regional stability, SPA said.

Blinken’s first call to a Gulf state since assuming his new role was to the United Arab Emirates’ Minister of Foreign Affairs on Thursday. (Reuters/NAN)

Greece on Saturday announced plans to reopen its embassy in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, a statement by the ministry of foreign affairs said.

“By decision of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nikos Dendias, the Greek Embassy in Tripoli will reopen,” the statement said.

“In parallel, the necessary procedures will be undertaken to open a Consulate General of Greece in Benghazi, eastern Libya,” it added.

According to the statement, this decision was taken “in light of yesterday’s developments – and specifically the election of the interim President of the Presidency Council, Mohammad Menfi, its Members and the Prime Minister of Libya by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum”.

Meanwhile, Greek Prime Minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, welcomed the election of a new interim government in Libya.

“The election of a new unified Libyan government by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Geneva is an important step towards peace in our neighboring country. Congratulations to the new leadership. All actors should support the process towards democratic and free elections in December,” he said in a tweet.

Mohammad Younes Menfi was elected president of the Presidential Council by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum.

The new Executive Authority will guide the North African country through to national elections in December, seen as a major step toward installing unity and stability in Libya. (PANA/NAN)

By Lizzy Okoji

The Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama says Nigeria is making efforts and hopeful to get the coronavirus vaccines to the country by end of February.

Onyeama disclosed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.

He said Nigeria was expecting vaccines from the People’s Republic of China, a strategic partner of Nigeria and from other countries.

“What we are engaging with China is in the area of vaccines for COVID-19, so we are also looking to import, to acquire significant vaccines from China and other partners too.

“I think in the short immediate time that is an area we will need China.

“They have cooperated with us with regards to personal protective equipment and other things in our COVID response.

“So we are now at the stage of the vaccine and we are hoping that we can get some support from them in that area.

“There are different ways we are expecting to get the vaccines. There is the bilateral way as a country that we are negotiating.

“Then we have the framework of the African Union collectively as a continent, they are also engagements to receive vaccine.

“The African Union has made some headway, more than 400 million as what has been agreed to. So we were hoping that at the end of January we would have started receiving the vaccines.

“But I think almost certainly by the middle of February we should have started receiving,” Onyeama said.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that in January when the Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Nigeria, the Federal Government opened discussions with China to have access to its COVID-19 vaccines.

Nigerians have, however, been expectant of vaccines, especially as the cases of COVID-19 in the country continues to surge. (NAN)

By Lizzy Okoji

Venezuelan ambassador to Nigeria David Caraballo says President Nicolas Maduro is keen on strengthening relations between Venezuela and other countries amid sanctions imposed by the U.S.

Caraballo told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Saturday in Abuja that the desire would help promote trade relations between Nigeria and Venezuela.

Venezuela’s economy is tightly tied to oil, its biggest export.

The South American country has the biggest oil reserves in the world while Nigeria stands as the sixth largest producer of oil in the world.

In 2017, Venezuela’s oil reserves totaled 302.81 billion barrels, according to data from OPEC.

On Aug. 6, 2019, former President of the U.S, Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing new economic sanctions on Venezuela, a mechanism that affected the country’s economy and its citizens.

Tensions between Venezuela and the U.S. can be traced back to when Hugo Chavez, Maduro’s predecessor, first became president of Venezuela in 1999.

During his campaign for president, Chavez villainised the U.S. and other countries he felt were taking advantage of Venezuela.

However, Caraballo says the focus of President Maduro’s administration and the new parliament is to restore Venezuela’s relations with the rest of the world and multilateral institutions with new legislations like the anti-blockade law.

He said that Venezuela was also keen on establishing bi-national commerce chambers with Nigeria to promote direct economic relations with the Nigerian government and the private sector.

According to the envoy, for this to be possible, Venezuela is putting measures in place to end the economic blockade.

“This anti-blockade law has different goals and purposes.

“One is to create the conditions, the regulations, the mechanics to prevent the possibility of the United States to attack the foreign investments.

“Foreign participation, the trade and commerce between some companies, countries, and Venezuela.

“These laws cover all the areas we need to attend to, to prevent these situations.

“And to guarantee that if for example one Nigerian company has relations with one Venezuelan company, this law guarantees that the conditions to this relations are normal and effective for both parties.

“And this can be in the situation of Nigeria, China or any country or company.

“And now the new parliament has the obligation to compliment these constitutional laws.

“They can approve new laws, new regulations to cover all the sectors of the international trade and commerce under this umbrella,” Caraballo said.

Caraballo added that the Maduro administration was not relenting in efforts to mitigate the impact of the economic blockade on Venezuela as a lot of measures were being put in place alongside the anti-blockade law.

The envoy said even with the impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19), the government still ensured that citizens did not suffer hardship as more than 7 million Venezuelans received food and social protection bonuses every month.

“With the anti-blockade law, with the new parliament, with the new electoral process for the governors, with the economic measures we hope to recover the internal capacities.

“With the crypto currency system, with the new financial mechanicswe can continue working to solve the impact of the economic cohesive measure of the blockade and sanctions of the United States.

“With the situation of the COVID-19, medical system, the social protection., in the political level, we are working with this new institution, in the economical level we are working with the anti-blockade laws.

“And with other measures, with China, Russia, Cuba, Turkey, India, and other countries allies of Venezuela.

“We remain committed to working in the social protection level.

“Last year, we completed the construction of more than 400,000 houses in less than ten years we built three million, four hundred thousand houses for the people.

“Every week, depending on the cases, we send money to the elderly, women, and students to guarantee the necessary economic assistance for their family or personal necessities.

“The social protection programme is working, the food supplement that we organise attend to seven millions of families every month, they receive food and social protection bonus.

“Direct economic subsidy and also the other actions promoted for the government to support the situation,” Caraballo said.

He called for the unfreezing of Venezuela’s accounts and assets in many countries to enable the country make progress. (NAN)

LIZ/CHOM/YEE