Newsletter 6

Vol. 4: Issue 6, 12th February, 2018

Bolivarian Government of Venezuela

Ministry of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs Office of the Deputy Minister for Africa

Embassy of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela in Kenya Concurrent to Rwanda,Uganda, Tanzania and Somalia

Permanent Mission of Venezuela to the United Nations Environment programme (UNEP) and the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN Habitat).

Newsletter Weekly

What’s inside

Venezuela rejects U.S attempts to push a Coup d'Etat

Venezuela rejects U.S attempts to push a Coup d'Etat Russian Airline Plane Crashes Killing All 71 on Board Iran’s Celebration of the 1979 Islamic Revolution New Cryptocurrencies are no tales from the Crypt --Qatar central bank to consider topic of virtual currencies Arab Coders Initiative sees first 100,000 students begin their learning Oracle to open Abu Dhabi data centre soon Artificial Intelligence could add $320bn to GCC and Egypt economies by 2030

Inside Africa:

Artificial Intelligence could add $320bn to GCC and Egypt economies by 2030 -How can we ensure Africa continues to rise?

The Venezuela Government demanded Washington to “immediately stop all assaults and threats” against the Venezuelan people, repeating Venezuela was a free and sovereign country, defending its right to peace, stability and democracy.

“The Government of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela rejects the statements of the Assistant Secretary of State for Western Hemisphere Affairs, Francisco Palmieri, who once again pretends to exercise an authority that no one has granted him in order to ignore our legitimate, democratic and constitutional institutions with the objective of promoting a change of Government.

Neither the US regime nor its regional subordinates have any legal or moral competence to pretend to shape the future of Venezuelans, and even less when they are the ones directly responsible for the problems that afflict the citizens of our country, by imposing coercive unilateral sanctions that hinder our national development and interfere with the right of Venezuelans to exercise their democratic rights , generating to devastating effects on the economy and the population leading to what should be considered as crimes against humanity.

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If they really want to be humanitarian saviors, the US regime should stop bombing the countries in Africa and the Middle East, and dedicate themselves to improving the living conditions of their surviving populations, which have been victims of their destructive imperial desires.

And if they do not want to go very far, then focus on addressing the social and economic problems that exist in Puerto Rico after the passage of Hurricane Maria, and where, to this day, thousands of people have been forced to leave their homes due to the contempt with which the American white supremacist regime has treated them. More than four months later, most of the island lacks electricity and potable water service, turning its survivors into true displaced persons and refugees in need of urgent humanitarian assistance.

Venezuela demands the immediate cessation of all aggressions and threats of the US regime against our people and reiterates that it is a free and sovereign country, and as such will defend its peace, stability and democracy.” www.mppre.gob.ve www.telesurtv.net

Russian Airline Plane Crashes Killing All 71 on Board

Venezuela expresses condolences to the Russian people after plane crash

A Saratov Airlines passenger plane crashed into a field in Ramenski a short time after it had taken off from the Domodedovo airport in Moscow on its way to the city of Orsk some 1,500km from the capital. The pilot of the AN-148 short-haul aircraft lost contact with radio control two minutes before it hit the ground. The crew did not send out any distress signal prior to the accident.

The impact left human remains and debris scattered throughout the snow-covered field where the plane went down. The Russian Investigative Committee says there’s no chance of finding survivors.

Russian officials say they are investigating what caused the plane to fall, mainly taking into consideration human error, weather conditions, and the technical status of the eight-year-old craft.

Outside temperatures hovered around negative 5 degrees Celsius at the time of the crash early this morning.

"The debris of the plane are spread over a radius of at least one kilometer. Investigators are using modern investigative equipment taking into consideration the large territory. They are using quadcopters to get a view from the air." Svetlana Petrenko of the investigatory committee told the press.

An emergency service official said the government is “verifying (eyewitness) testimonies” of the crash to help in the investigation. The plane had carried 65 passengers and six Saratov Airlines crew members.

“The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, on behalf of the Venezuelan Government and People, expresses his most heartfelt words of condolences to the People and the Government of the Russian Federation, especially to the relatives of the victims of the plane crash that happened on Sunday, February 11th, 2018, of flight 6W-703 of the Sarátov Airline, which occurred in the district of Volga in the province of Moscow.

The Bolivarian Government extends its words of solidarity to the authorities of the Russian Federation and to the brotherly People of Russia, especially to the relatives and friends of the victims and reiterates his feelings of fraternity after this unfortunate event that befell that nation.” www.mppre.gob.ve www.telesurtv.net

Massive rally in Iran

Iran Celebrates the 1979 Islamic Revolution

Each year, Iranians rally all across the country to commemorate the 1979 Islamic Revolution's anniversary. Hundreds of thousands marched to the Azadi (Freedom) Square In Tehran to mark the day asPresident Hassan Rouhani addressed the crowd in Tehran, criticizing Trump's intentions and calling for national unity.

"I request that the 40th year of the revolution, the coming year, be the year of unity. I ask principlists, reformists, moderates and all parties and all people to come and be together," said Rouhani.

During the parade, the Iranian military put its strength on display in Azadi Square, showing the 3,750-meter range Toofan M-2 anti-tank missile and two Qadr ballistic missiles.

The Islamic Revolution was a diverse movement in Iran. Islamic, liberal and communist groups took part in it, united by their anti-imperialist stance against the Pahlavi dynasty, supported by the United States.

At the end, the Islamic faction turned out to be the most powerful and organized one, as Ayatollah Khomeini was the most popular political figure leading the movement.

"When the Revolution took place, we pushed some off the revolutionary train that we should have not," Rouhani told the crowd at Azadi Square. "Today, we have to let them board the train again" not specifying who he was talking about.

“The President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro Moros, on behalf of the Bolivarian People and Government, expresses his warmest congratulations to the sister Islamic Republic of Iran, on the occasion of the celebration of the XXXIX Anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, led by the Ayatollah Ruholá Khomeini.

The Bolivarian Government takes the opportunity to celebrate this historical revolutionary event, to express its total willingness to continue promoting the consolidation of the Strategic Alliance among our nations, which is based on the full conviction of both Peoples and Governments that it is possible to advance together towards a pluripolar and equilibrium world, based mainly on peace and respect.

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela reiterates its firm position of rejection in the face of the attacks of external factors against our countries, and its willingness to continue jointly articulating efforts in all international scenarios to ensure our full independence and sovereignty. The heroic people of Bolívar and Chávez have full certainty that the just and revolutionary causes that our nations claim are the way forward to continue guaranteeing our transit along the path of development and well-being.

Once again, the people of Venezuela express their desire to continue consolidating at the highest level, our commitment to strengthen and put in place actions in order to strengthen the historical relations of strategic alliance, cooperation, brotherhood, society and respect for the People and Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, as well as to continue to jointly defend our resources and strategic interests, as a guarantee of the welfare and future of our People.” www.mppre.gob.ve www.telesurtv.net

New Cryptocurrencies are no tales from the Crypt

What’s it about today’s emerging cryptocurrencies that so angers the chieftains and gatekeepers of Modern Capitalism?

Take Bitcoin. In 2017, its value soared by 1,000 percent, multiplying 20 times in 12 months, its market value skyrocketing from US$1,000 per coin in January to US$20,000 in December, accumulating a total circulating currency value of over US$160 Billion.

Now gone mainstream on capitalism’s global Main Street, analysts are today predicting the gilded coin’s value can reach US$30,000 each and eventually climb as high as US$142,000 — before 2018 ends.

Bitcoin is also a very lucrative commodity. Valued more than gold, it is now so popular that the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, CME, was forced last December buck the trend and allow trading in crypto futures.

In the past year, Washington has openly admitted moving purposefully to “deny” Venezuela access to “critical sources of funding.” As a result, Caracas is almost unable to service its debts or pay for imports using U.S. dollars, as banks across the world, reacting to the U.S. sanctions, are refusing to accept its payments. The national oil company, PDVSA, has also been rendered almost unable to sell crude on the world market.

Doomsday Predictions

New Measures

However, its unrivaled value and popularity notwithstanding, Bitcoin’s “Doomsday” is also being loudly predicted. First came concerns about its founders being invisible, followed by speculation about its longevity. Now its critics are banking on the sky-high coin tossing itself dirt-cheap back down to earth.

Last year, the Bolivarian Republic announced several new measures to defy Washington’s ongoing financial suffocation.

Its inherent volatility — with no central bank backing, not being regulated or taxed, but being manipulated by speculative gold-diggers — has led some governments to start acting against cryptocurrencies, ostensibly to protect traders and markets.

Indeed, China, South Korea, India, Britain and the U.S. have also all been moving to bring Bitcoin to heel.

The naysayers’ prime warning words today are: “The Bitcoin Bubble is about to burst!”

Dollar Supremacy

Same with Venezuela’s new cryptocurrency, the Petro.

Washington has long been using the U.S. dollar’s global supremacy to suffocate the Venezuelan economy through successive financial and economic sanctions.

In September, it started reporting its oil prices in Chinese currency, instead of U.S. dollars. Then in December it floated the Petro, backed by the country’s natural resources — gold and diamonds, oil and gas.

Caracas also signed-up five billion barrels of oil to back it up. Registration then became necessary for access to the Petro, through a new Registry of Cryptocurrency Miners.

President Nicolas Maduro said the new measures would help the country achieve the level of “monetary sovereignty” it needs and seeks – and indeed, early results were quite encouraging, as over 860,000 Venezuelans signed-up to use the Petro in its first month on the market.

Nothing New… Registration for use of cryptocurrencies is expected to eventually iron out existing difficulties caused by illegal use of Bitcoin in Venezuela. But distant analysts are also already casting shadows of doubt over the Petro’s future.

Yet, none of this is new, as history has shown that every time a new currency emerges, the traditional rulers of the international monetary roost always seek to discourage trust through negative predictions about reliability and/or longevity.

The U.S. dollar, the British Pound (Sterling) and the Japanese Yen have dominated global currencies for as long as anyone can remember, with no question about their reliability. But today’s forecasters of doom and gloom continue to proclaim that Bitcoin and Petro can be used for money laundering, financing drugs and other illegal activities.

Here again, that’s not new either, as, over time, all the world’s corrupt elements have always successfully used clean U.S. dollars for all their dirty businesses.

Fear and Hypocrisy The expressed fears of positive possibilities for cryptocurrencies have been driven by Bitcoin’s spectacular rise. The traditional currency guards fear its value boost can lure investors — and also spur investment in other cryptocurrencies, including the Petro.

Its inherent volatility is causing most major institutional investors to hedge their bets on Bitcoin (at least for the time being), while its enthusiasts are hoping it will become the new gold standard for safe investments.

Today though, more hedge funds are adding Bitcoin to their portfolios, its growing momentum helping make it look more legitimate to investors and its staggering rise attracting millions of new retail investors, mostly ordinary people.

There’s also a heavy dose of hypocrisy involved.

The loud fears are driven by Bitcoin’s staggering rise also giving rise to strong possibilities of eventual official intervention and regulator-scrutiny.

Cryptocurrencies are not usually backed by governments, central banks or regulators. But from the evidence emerging around Bitcoin, all that is changing.

No crypts…

Then there’s the dire difference between Bitcoin and Petro: the former is only a physical asset, but the latter is backed by natural resources.

Today’s loud claims against these two currencies sound very much like scripts from the age-old popular horror movie series called “Tales from the Crypt.”

But far from heading to their crypts tomorrow, Bitcoin and Petro look more likely to first force their fanged critics to swallow their forked tongue — and eventually hightail into oblivion, their tails between their legs. www.telesurtv.net The views and opinions expressed in these articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy

Qatar central bank to consider topic of virtual currencies

The big banks say they fear Bitcoin will destabilize the currency markets. But the feared coin’s US$400 Billion in global market capital value is nothing compared to the existing US$55 Trillion in equities and US$94 Trillion in bond markets.

JP Morgan-Chase, Citibank and Lloyds have banned customers from buying cryptocurrencies using their credit cards. But while their CEOs are calling Bitcoin “a fraud,” they are also simultaneously declaring plans to facilitate trading in its lucrative crypto-market.

There are also voices of dissent from within. J.P. Morgan-Chase CEO Johnny Dimon — an outspoken Bitcoin critic — insists that “It’s worse than tulips (and) it won’t end well.” But Goldman Sachs’ Jeff Curie says of the same coin: “It’s not that much different from gold, so I don’t see why there’s all that hostility towards it!”

Times are changing…

Meanwhile, observers predict Bitcoin will be listed on several global currency exchanges before starting to dip.

Never mind the loud rants of the raging critics, the new cryptocurrencies have been neither washed nor wished away.

Qatar’s central bank will consider the topic of virtual currencies and there may be an opportunity in the future to introduce them in Qatar, central bank governor Sheikh Abdullah bin Saud al-Thani said Sheikh Abdullah made the remark as he delivered a speech on Qatar’s plans to build a hub for financial technology.

Asked about his stance towards bitcoin, Sheikh Abdullah said the central bank would not focus on a single virtual currency, but would look at how to set best practice for such currencies.

The governor also said the central bank is developing a strategy to create a fintech hub for start-ups.

Sheikh Abdullah said that the growth of fintech could force banks to change their business models. Already facing competition, disruption from fintech could mean increased challenges for Qatar’s retail banking sector, he said. www.reuters.com The views and opinions expressed in these articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy

One Million Arab Coders Initiative sees first 100,000 students begin their learning journey on Udacity’s online platform

The One Million Arab Coders initiative welcomed its first cohort of 100,000 students on 28 January 2018, who began their online coding courses under four educational tracks.

The initiative has attracted 466,122 registrations so far, with 217,515 completing their applications to begin their course, in addition to 10,000 applications by tutors looking to provide guidance and tuition to the students.

“One Million Arab Coders Initiative has witnessed overwhelming response by enthusiastic students and tutors from across 12 Arab countries, with so many registering in the first few months since the initiative was announced,” said Hussain Sajwani, founder of the Hussain Sajwani – DAMAC Foundation, the strategic partner of this initiative. “The 450,000 registered students are testament to the region’s appetite for advanced skills which serve as the building blocks for jobs of the future.”

One Million Arab Coders Initiative was developed by Dubai Future Foundation, under the leadership of UAE Vice President, Prime Minister and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and aims to provide free software development courses to one million Arabs. Applications have been received from countries including Algeria, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Morocco, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

While the initiative has attracted applicants aged between 13 – 55 years, with the majority of the applicants aged between 18 – 24 years old, and over 194,000 have opted to receive their course instruction in Arabic language versus just over 32,000 opting for English language. Courses are

being offered across four tracks and include Front End Web Developer, Data Analyst, Android Developer and Full Stack Web Developer.

Of the four courses offered, Android Developer received the most registrations (34.62 percent), and followed

by Full Stack Web Developer (31.75 percent). The duration of each course is 8-10 weeks, including quizzes, projects and exams, to complete the program and receive the certification.

Applications for cohort 2 are currently being accepted.

The One Million Arab Coders Initiative will run over two years, with interested students and tutors required to register on www.arabcoders.ae, where students will receive essential skills required for employment in future jobs through a series of online courses and certifications. www.eyeofriyadh.com The views and opinions expressed in these articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy

Oracle to open Abu Dhabi data centre soon Global database giant expects to garner more public cloud customers Oracle is set to open its first cloud data centre in the Middle East and Africa in Abu Dhabi between May and August as it bids to keep pace with its growing customer base in the region, a top official said.

According to research firm International Data Corporation, public cloud spending in the region is expected to cross $1.1 billion (Dh4 billion) this year compared to $952 million last year.

Thomas Kurian, president of product development at Oracle, told Gulf News in an exclusive interview that the Abu Dhabi cloud data centre will be the company’s 29th centre globally.

Megha Kumar, research director for software at IDC, said that the UAE’s strategy around AI and IoT will be underpinned with cloud being the baseline infrastructure for the realisation of these projects.

The US sofware giant announced the Abu Dhabi plan in January 2016 but the rollout was delayed due to modernisation and legislation.

Kurian said that the company expects to garner more public cloud customers with the opening of the Abu Dhabi data centre and act as a key catalyst for the implementation of UAE’s strategy for the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Global vendors such as SAP and Alibaba Cloud have data centres in Dubai while Amazon has it in Bahrain. Huawei is planning to formally launch its end-to-end cloud portfolio soon.

“Even though we don’t have a data centre here, many customers from the region run cloud solutions. The Dubai Airport, Landmark Group, DP World, for example. DP World has adopted Oracle cloud for end-to-end solutions globally,” he said.

He said that one of the key barriers to cloud adoption for many countries is due to the lack of data centre availability in that country. Today, many countries have data residency requirements which means that data has to reside in that country.

“If we don’t have data centres, then it will be difficult to offer the services. There are regions where there are no data centres. So, we offer on-premise data service where the company is highly regulated or a country where we cannot have a data centre. The data stays under their roof but managed and controlled by Oracle,” he said.

Strategy

Etisalat is the telecom partner for the data centre.

Arun Khehar, senior vice-president of applications at Oracle Eastern Central Europe, Middle East, Africa, said that there is a great cloud opportunity for Oracle for three key reasons — Smart City and Expo 2020, Saudi Arabia Vision 2030 and Abu Dhabi Vision 2030. www.gulfnews.com The views and opinions expressed in these articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy

INSIDE AFRICA:

Artificial Intelligence could add $320bn to GCC and Egypt economies by 2030 Artificial intelligence is set to swell the GCC and Egypt’s economies to the tune of $320 billion by 2030, according to a report. Globally, the economic uplift could be to the magnitude of $15.7 trillion, more than the current output of China and India combined, according to a report by professional services firm PwC. Within that increase, $6.6 trillion is likely to come from increased productivity, while $9.1 trillion is likely to come from benefits to consumers.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is a collective term for computer systems that can sense their environment, think, learn, and take action in response to what they are sensing and their objectives. Artificial intelligence is rapidly evolving, with current technology including autopilots, digital assistants and chatbots.

In the economies of the GCC and Egypt, the UAE and Saudi Arabia are expected to particularly benefit from the rise of Artificial intelligence, with PwC predicting it could contribute to almost 14 percent of UAE GDP by 2030. This is followed by KSA at 12.4 percent, the “GCC4” (Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar) at 8.2 percent, and lastly by Egypt at 7.7 percent.

The report reveals there are untapped opportunities that could increase the impact of Artificial intelligence on the Middle East’s economies, if governments continue to push the boundaries of innovation and the implementation of AI across businesses and sectors between now and 2030.

“The future strategy of governments in the region, particularly in the UAE and KSA, indicate a strong push toward

the development of AI technologies, for example Vision 2030 in KSA and the government’s Artificial intelligence Strategy in the UAE,” Richard Boxshall, senior economist at PwC Middle East, told Arab News.

The first wave of the Artificial intelligence revolution consists of largely known technological innovations that are either adoption-ready or are currently being fine-tuned for broader implementation. Beyond 2030, the scope of Artificial intelligence impacting both the economy and society overall will almost certainly increase, so it is important for the Middle East to be strategically placed in order to provide a springboard for the future, PwC said in a statement.

Fears of Artificial intelligence taking over human jobs have been voiced regularly but according to PwC this should not be a concern: “It is likely that in the coming years as Artificial intelligence is developed we will see a shift in the types of jobs performed by humans, but not necessarily a reduction in the number of jobs,” Boxshall said.

In the UAE, Artificial intelligence is at the forefront of the government’s strategic plans, with government representatives at the recent World Economic Forum touting how the country is embracing the technology.

At the sectoral level, the most significant gains in absolute terms are expected in the construction and manufacturing sectors, which are expected to account for almost a third of the entire benefits to the Middle East region, equivalent to almost $100 billion by 2030. www.arabnews.com The views and opinions expressed in these articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy

How can we ensure Africa continues to rise?

Much of the recent growth has benefited only a few, leaving many behind – most notably young people and women. From 2006 to 2013, inequality rose in many of the continent’s most important economies, including South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Tanzania, and Rwanda.

These were challenges that we were starting to address in Nigeria when I was finance minister. We knew that we needed not just to secure growth, but also to improve the quality of that growth.

To that end, policymakers must ensure that growth is channeled into sectors that create jobs, such as agriculture, manufacturing, and services. They may also have to redistribute income and strengthen social safety nets to protect better those at the bottom of the ladder.

Africa’s rise is in danger of faltering. After years during which the continent’s economy grew at an average annual rate of 5%, global uncertainty, depressed commodity prices, and jittery external conditions are threatening to undermine decades of much-needed progress. Ensuring the wealth and wellbeing of the continent’s residents will not be easy; but there is much that policymakers can do to put Africa back on an upward trajectory.

First and foremost, policymakers must secure the financing needed to pursue sustainable development in an uncertain global environment. The World Bank estimates that Africa will require at least $93 billion a year to fund its infrastructure needs alone.

Climate-friendly, sustainable infrastructure will cost even more. And yet, as long as global growth remains weak, Africans cannot count on developed countries to fully honor their commitments to help attain the Sustainable Development Goals.

Africa must rapidly develop its own resources, beginning by nearly doubling tax revenues. Across Sub-Saharan Africa, tax revenues account for less than one-fifth of GDP, compared to more than one-third in OECD countries. This means there is plenty of room for improvement. From 1990 to 2004, for example, Ghana reformed its tax system and raised revenues from 11% to 22% of GDP. Admittedly, such progress is difficult; in Nigeria, we saw an opportunity in raising non-oil tax revenues, but struggled to seize it.

Another source of domestic resources is the roughly $380 billion in pension assets held by just ten African countries. Policymakers should be leveraging these considerable sums.

At the same time, African countries will have to find a way to diversify their economies. Diversification requires investment in the future, in the form of education and well-developed infrastructure, including telecommunications, power, roads, rail, and water.

The secret behind these countries’ success is relentlessly focused leaders, whether entrenched but benign dictators or democratically elected politicians with a shared vision of a broad-based economy. Sub-Saharan Africa has paths for diversified growth that many of the trailblazers did not: value-added agriculture and agro industry, the processing of mineral resources, petrochemical complexes, manufacturing of durable and consumer goods, tourism and entertainment, and an emerging information-technology sector.

As the necessary measures for diversification are implemented, policymakers must ensure that the economic growth they are pursuing creates jobs. Sadly, this has not always been the case.

Matching skills to job opportunities will be crucial. Some 70% of Africa’s population is under 30, and the continent is home to half the world’s primary-school-age children who have been deprived of the opportunity to study. Offering Africa’s children basic reading, writing, and technology skills, as well as vocational, technical, and entrepreneurial training, must be a top priority.

Weak health-care systems must also be strengthened in order to tackle the endemic diseases that sap productivity, such as malaria, as well as improving preparedness for outbreaks of deadly epidemics. The stakes are high. The World Bank estimates the Ebola outbreak shrank the economies of Sierra Leone, Guinea, and Liberia by 16%.

As the world economy sputters, African countries will have to develop trade with one another. In 2013, African goods and services accounted for just 16% of trade within the continent, and just over 3% of world trade. One problem is that most African countries produce the same type of commodities and trade them with very little value-added. Policymakers must encourage greater specialization; differentiated goods and services will add value and volume to trade.

Logistics pose another obstacle to intra-African trade.

Policymakers must make it easier to move goods across borders, by improving connectivity between countries and reducing bureaucratic hurdles and administrative costs. For example, road transport tariffs across Africa are estimated at $0.05-$0.13 per ton-kilometer, compared to the average of $0.01-$0.05 for all developing countries.

The Rift Valley Railway project, which will eventually link Mombasa on the Kenyan coast to Kampala in Uganda, is a good example of the benefits that investments in transportation could provide.

The African Development Bank estimates that it will double the volume of trade between the two countries, while reducing marginal costs by 30%.

Africa’s potential can hardly be overstated. The continent is well placed to build diversified economies based on low-carbon, sustainable infrastructure. But policymakers cannot simply assume that Africa’s rise will continue. They must take the right steps to ensure that it does. www.weforum.org The views and opinions expressed in these articles are of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Embassy