Newsletter 11

Vol. 4: Issue 11, 26th March, 2018

Bolivarian Government of Venezuela

Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs

Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela

Newsletter Weekly

What’s inside Happy Easter

HAPPY EASTER

The Embassy of Venezuela wishes all of you a happy Easter season. Let us be a people with love, always thinking of doing good and empowering others.

Venezuela pays Homage to Maestro Jose Antonio Abreu New monetary unit Companies from 133 countries seek to buy Petros International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-atlantic Slave Trade Pakistan National Day Stephen Hawking's support for social struggles Remembered

Inside Africa:

Africa’s most ambitious joint venture kicks off with $3.4tr trade deal

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Venezuela pays Homage to Maestro Jose Antonio Abreu

JosĂŠ Antonio Abreu Anselmi was a Venezuelan orchestra conductor, pianist, economist, educator, activist, and politician best known for his association with El Sistema.

The language of

Harmony

Relatives and colleagues paid tribute to the great Venezuelan maestro Jose Antonio Abreu during his funeral that began on Sunday afternoon in the Eastern Cemetery, located in the southeast of the metropolitan area of Caracas.

The funeral followed the wake earlier this morning in the room Simon Bolivar of the National Center of Social Action for Music.

President Nicolas Maduro participated in the ceremony, offering the national flag and a reproduction of Simon Bolivar's sword to the altar.

An urn was placed on the stage, surrounded by the Guard of Honor and the musicians who accompanied him at the Orchestra the great.

Defense Ministry Vladimir Padrino Lopez also paid tribute to the maestro on Twitter, in the name of the Venezuelan Armed Forces.

The conductor’s expansive career in music was balanced with his dedication as a social activist. Abreu had in mind a mission: to democratize music for social sectors, as well as age and skill levels, El Impulso reports.

Abreu created 'El Sistema' (The System) 40 years ago in a garage with just nine musicians as "a social project because it aspires to apply music to the development of man, and national because it aspires to get the whole country to participate in it." www.telesurtv.net

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New monetary unit President, Nicolas Maduro, approved on a monetary conversion that involves the elimination of 3 ceros to the current unit. A new monetary unit will be effective in Venezuela from the 4th of June, announced Maduro in a message to the country.

President Maduro explained that he assumed the measure as a consequence of the economic war against the country. The Venezuelan leader informed that, after the conversion, the Bolivar coin will return to the country. Maduro exhibited the 2, 5 and 10 Bolivar bills that circulated in Venezuela between the 80’s and the 90’s.

The new bills commemorate the Nations heroes. Maduro explained that all the cash circulating in Venezuela has to be deposited in banks because they will lose validity before the 4th of June. 50, 100, 200 and 500 BolĂ­var bills will also circulate. .

Source: Chavez Vive www.el-nacional.com

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Companies from 133 countries seek to buy Petros

The Venezuelan government received more than 200 thousand purchase offers during the first month of the presale of the Petro, the cryptocurrency issued on the 20th of February. The purchase offers came from 133 countries, informed President Maduro, in a message to the Nation.

President Maduro stated that the equivalent of those purchase intentions exceeds 5 billion dollars. More than 52% of the offers received where emitted in dollars, while 22.59% of negotiations were received in Yuans. People and companies will be able to buy Petros through the electronic system arranged by the Venezuelan government. During 15 business days Petros can be purchased in Yuans, Euros, Turkish liras and Roubles. In the new presale phase, negotiations in three of the main world cryptocurrencies; Bitcoin,Ethereum and Zcash, will be accepted.

Source: Chavez Vive

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International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Trans-atlantic Slave Trade

For over 400 years, more than 15 million men, women and children were the victims of the tragic transatlantic slave trade, one of the darkest chapters in human history.

Every year on 25 March, the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade offers the opportunity to honour and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal slavery system. The International Day also aims to raise awareness about the dangers of racism and prejudice today.

The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolรกs Maduro, the Government and the heroic Venezuelan people commemorated on March 25th, the International Day of Remembrance of the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, decreed in 2008 by the General Assembly of the United Nations, with the opportunity to honor and remember those who suffered and died at the hands of the brutal system of slavery.

On this day tribute is paid to the tens of millions of men, women, girls and boys, victims of the inhuman slave trade developed over 400 years, to keep European colonialism and its voracious slavery system on its feet. We also remember those who from the oppression fought and still fight for freedom and for the construction of a free world, with equality and without discrimination of any kind.

The Government and Bolivarian People salute the African People and their diaspora, and reiterate their commitment to work together in order to contribute to the total elimination of any form of modern-day slavery or any expression of prejudice, discrimination and racism in the world.

In this regard, we welcome the achievements obtained during the implementation of the Work Plan of the AfroDescendant Decade, and we join our voices for the clamor for reparations, as a way to continue building a world of peace with social justice, as reflected in the Constitution of the Bolivarian Revolution : a society based on equity, equality and non-discrimination, where respect for each person without distinction of class, color or sex, are a fundamental pillar in the constitution of a social State of justice and law.

The Ark of Return, the Permanent Memorial to Honour the Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade, located at the Visitors' Plaza of UN Headquarters in New York.

mppre.gob.ve

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78 YEARS

Pakistan National Day celebrated with fanfare

Pakistan Day, also Republic Day, is a national holiday in Pakistan commemorating the Lahore Resolution passed on 23rd March 1940 and the adoption of the first constitution of Pakistan during the transition of the Dominion of Pakistan to the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 23 March 1956 making Pakistan the world's first Islamic republic.

The day celebrates the adoption of the Pakistan resolution by the Muslim League at the Minar-e-Pakistan (lit. Pakistan Tower) that called for establishing an independent federation comprising provinces with Muslim majority located in north-western and north-eastern region of British controlled territories in India (excluding autonomous princely States) on 23 March 1940.Since then, the day is celebrated annually throughout the country as a public holiday. The Armed forces of Pakistan usually hold a military parade to celebrate the event.

While Pakistan's Independence Day celebrates its freedom from British Rule, the Republic Day celebrates of coming into force of its constitution.

The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolรกs Maduro Moros, on behalf of the People and the Bolivarian Government, accompanies and congratulates the People of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for celebrating on this date the Day of Pakistan.

This day that commemorates the Lahore Resolution of 1940, which called for the independence of the territories that now constitute Pakistan, is a propitious occasion to reiterate the willingness of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela to deepen relations between both countries, on the basis of friendship, cooperation and equality between States.

The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela takes this opportunity to convey to the People of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan a great greeting of friendship, reaffirming their willingness to work together to contribute to the consolidation of a multipolar and multicentric world, which is guarantor of the peace and development of our nations. mppre.gob.ve

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Stephen Hawking's Support for Social Struggles Remembered The death of Stephen Hawking on March 13 made headlines around the globe. The renowned theoretical physicist made invaluable contributions to scientific fields – including astronomy and physics – by building a bridge between academia and regular folk, writing popular bestsellers 'A Brief History of Time' and 'The Universe in a Nutshell.' He also gave countless talks and took part in scientific TV shows. But, as a human being, Hawking was concerned not just with science, but also with justice and social issues.

During a Q&A on website Reddit regarding the automotization of production, Hawking made this lucid remark about the way 'progress' works: "Everyone can enjoy a life of luxurious leisure if the machine-produced wealth is shared, or most people can end up miserably poor if the machine-owners successfully lobby against wealth redistribution. So far, the trend seems to be toward the second option, with technology driving ever-increasing inequality."

Hawking will also be remembered for his support of the Palestinian cause against Israel's policies. In 2013, the British scientist announced he would comply with the Boycott, Sanctions and Divestment (BDS) movement in support of Palestinian rights, and refused to attend a conference in Jerusalem hosted by Shimon Peres.

Recently, he spoke about the dangers of artificial intelligence in a society that favors profit over common interest, and wrote regularly for The Guardian about contemporary social issues: "We can't go on ignoring inequality, because we have the means to destroy our world but not to escape it."

Media initially reported that Hawking had canceled his presence at the conference due to health issues, but he later dismissed these claims and made clear it was a political decision.

Hawking criticized the UK's decision to exit the European Union, arguing it would harm British and European scientific efforts: "We now recruit many of our best researchers from continental Europe, including younger ones who have obtained EU grants and have chosen to move with them here."

In a letter written to former President Peres, Hawking said: "I accepted the invitation to the Presidential Conference with the intention that this would not only allow me to express my opinion on the prospects for a peace settlement, but also because it would allow me to lecture on the West Bank."

He has also been critical of the global economy, cautioning that technological developments are of no use without wealth redistribution.

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After receiving numerous calls from Palestinian academics and supporters of the BDS movement, Hawking changed his mind. "They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster."

Hawking's decision inspired many to support the movement, and Palestinian supporters of the BDS celebrated it.

Peres once held the Israeli Presidential Conference annually, with the presence of top world leaders, artists, scientists and academics in Jerusalem, and the 2013 conference Hawking boycotted was intended to mark the former president's 90th birthday.

Critics, meanwhile, accused Hawking of anti-semitism.

"We think this will rekindle the kind of interest among international academics in academic boycotts that was present in the struggle against apartheid in South Africa," said Omar Barghouti, a founding member of the BDS movement.

www.telesurtv.

The views and opinions expressed in these articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy

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INSIDE AFRICA:

Africa’s most ambitious joint venture kicks off with $3.4tr trade deal

The failure by Africa’s largest economies, Nigeria and South Africa, to sign the $3.4 trillion free-trade zone agreements in Kigali on Wednesday has cast a cloud over the integration given the strategic role the two countries play in continental trade.

It is blamed on a host of factors, from colonialism, to high internal tariffs to poor road and rail links to excessive border bureaucracy and petty corruption at frontier checkpoints. The relatively small size of many African markets — only Nigeria and Ethiopia have populations estimated at 100 million people or more — also inhibit private sector investment.

More than 40 countries signed the protocol to the treaty establishing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) in Kigali with AU chairman, Rwanda President Paul Kagame saying trade and free movement heralded prosperity.

Africa already has an alphabet soup of competing and overlapping trade zones — Ecowas in the west, the EAC in the east, SADC in the south and the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa — although only the EAC, driven mainly

by Kenya, has made significant progress towards a common market in goods and services.

But Africa’s economic giants, backed by Southern African Development community (SADC) member states, including Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, Lesotho and Zambia, failed to ink the deal. Others were Burundi, Benin, Sierra Leone, Eritrea and Guinea Bissau.

Analysts said governments needed to do more to ensure goods and people flowed freely across borders. “If they just sign the agreement without throwing open the borders, without getting rid of non-tariff barriers and if they do not work on free movement of people, it is not going to work,” Mr Kottoh said.

“It would have been great if the two biggest economies on the continent had signed, but the most important is that the rest of the continent is sending a right message to these two biggest economies that we are moving ahead without you,” Michael Kottoh, an analyst at Confidential Strategies in Ghana, told Reuters.

Even the six-nation EAC has its sticking points: Tanzania has been known to kick out Kenyan executives and impound Kenyan goods at the border in violation of EAC rules.

Businessmen said the current setup forced them to look outside the continent, particularly Asia for manufactured goods.

The project needed at least 22 countries to sign up to get off the ground. “At stake is the dignity and well-being of Africa’s farmers, workers and entrepreneurs,” President Kagame said.

“It is easier and cheaper to buy from Asia than from the sub-region because of less flexible rules of origin and unclear non-tariff barriers,” said Meriem Bensalah-Chaqroun, head of the Moroccan Confederation of Businesses.

National issues Economists cite the low level of intra-regional trade as one of the reasons for the continent’s enduring poverty and lack of a strong manufacturing base.

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Sudden changes in rules and impromptu checks on goods also held up supply chains. “Some countries suddenly decide they are going to do a quality check on goods but don’t really know what they want to check. That slows the trade,” said Thomas Schafer, CEO of Volkswagen Africa. “For instance, we are not able to bring a vehicle from South Africa into Zimbabwe in a cost-efficient and fast way and that needs to change.”

The African Union started talks in Ghana in 2010 to establish a 55-nation bloc that would be the biggest across the world in a bid to increase intra-regional trade, which currently stands at a paltry 15 per cent of the continent’s total commerce. The EastAfrican has learnt that Nigeria, which chaired one of the technical working groups, pulled a surprise and quietly left Kigali on Sunday, as it emerged that President Buhari would skip the event, bowing to pressure from his country’s private sector which has concerns over the deal’s impact on the Nigerian economy. “They have been very supportive of the meeting and have been with us in Kigali since February 22 at the working group meetings that built up to the summit. So we were taken aback when they quietly left the country at the weekend,” said one insider.

Some of the countries that did not sign the deal cited political decisions while others said certain national issues had to be addressed first. Tanzania, for instance, said that it would first have to seek approval from its parliament and the wider population.

African countries that signed free-trade deal Forty four countries inked the Continental Free Trade Area (CFTA) pact

UNDECIDED

South Africa asked the Summit to allow it to submit the document to its national assembly for scrutiny before signing it. President, Cyril Ramaphosa said they would sign it once domestic legal requirements were met and approved.

“South Africa has to go through its national assembly first and get its backing before signature,” Prudence Sebahizi, chief technical advisor and head of the AfCFTA unit at the AU Commissions’ Department of Trade told The EastAfrican.

“That is what its Constitution requires, so there is nothing sinister. We expect that before the next summit, they shall have finished this process and signed it awaiting ratification.” www.theeastafrican.co.ke The views and opinions expressed in these articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy