Africa’s second-biggest oil producer ‘Angola’ leaves OPEC after disagreements over production targets
Africa’s second-biggest oil producer, Angola is leaving OPEC after disagreements over its production targets, in a blow to the oil cartel chaired by Saudi Arabia. The decision comes after the producer group lowered Angola’s oil output target last month as part of a series of cuts led by Saudi Arabia to help prop up prices. Angola joined OPEC in 2007 but has clashed with Saudi Arabia at recent meetings over attempts to lower its production. It walked out of an OPEC meeting in June but eventually agreed along with Nigeria and the Republic of Congo for its production baseline to be reviewed by an independent third party. Angola has been battling to turn around declining production for nearly a decade.
OPEC:
The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is an organization enabling the co-operation of leading oil-producing countries in order to collectively influence the global oil market and maximize profit. It was founded on 14 September 1960 in Baghdad by the first five members (Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela). The 13 member countries account for an estimated 30 percent of global oil production
- Headquarters: Vienna, Austria
- Secretary General: Haitham al-Ghais
S. Korea to boost chip cooperation with Netherlands, US, Japan
South Korea plans to “significantly” strengthen semiconductor cooperation with the Netherlands, the United States and Japan. The Dutch government has recently joined the U. S. -led effort to curb China’s access to advanced chipmaking technology amid intensifying Sino-U. S. competition in the critical industry and other advanced technologies. The Netherlands is home to ASML, the world’s sole producer of extreme ultraviolet lithography machines, critical to making advanced chips. Samsung Electronics and SK hynix, the world’s two biggest memory chip makers in South Korea, are among the Dutch tech firm’s major clients.Note: Yoon will become the first South Korean president to pay a state visit to the Netherlands since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1961
South Korea
- Capital: Seoul
- Currency: South Korean won
- Prime minister: Han Duck-soo
- President: Yoon Suk Yeol
ADB approves loan to improve Indonesia’s flooding management
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a $250 million loan to improve Indonesia’s flood management capacity. The financial project will help reduce flood risk in the northern coastal area of Java island and strengthen the local community’s socioeconomic resilience. With an increasing population and assets in low-lying areas, Indonesia, particularly the northern coastal area of Java island which is a strategic economic corridor, is highly vulnerable to flooding and climate change. The project aims to operationalise flood risk management in the Cimanuk- Cisanggarung river basin territory in West Java and Central Java.
Indonesia
- Capital: Jakarta
- President: Joko Widodo
- Currency: Indonesian Rupiah
Dubai Inaugurates World’s Largest Concentrated Solar Power Project, amidst COP28
Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Vice President and Prime Minister of the UAE and Ruler of Dubai, inaugurated the fourth phase of the Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum Solar Park, marking the launch of the world’s largest concentrated solar power (CSP) project. The 950 MW phase, constructed at an investment of AED15. 78 billion, utilizes three hybrid technologies: 600MW from a parabolic basin complex, 100MW from a CSP tower, and 250MW from photovoltaic solar panels. The project features the tallest solar tower in the world, at 263. 126 metres, and the largest thermal energy storage capacity with a capacity of 5,907 megawatt hours , according to the Guinness World Records. The project covers 44 square kilometers and features 70,000 heliostats tracking the sun’s movement. The Molten Salt Receiver (MSR) atop the solar power tower is a crucial element, converting solar radiation into thermal energy.
COP 28:
UN Climate Change conferences (or COPs) take place every year, and are the world’s only multilateral decision-making forum on climate change with almost complete membership of every country in the world.
France decides to close embassy in Niger
France has decided to close its embassy in Niger, where “it is no longer able to function normally or carry out its missions,” according to diplomatic sources, definitively confirming a split between the two countries. This extremely rare measure comes after Niamey announced the departure of all French soldiers deployed in Niger as part of the anti-jihadist efforts. This marks the culmination of strained relations between France and Niger since the generals took power in Niamey during a coup on July 26. In Mali and Burkina Faso, where military regimes also expelled the French army in recent years after coups, France maintained its diplomatic representations despite strong tensions with these countries, which have aligned themselves with Russia, as Niamey seems to be doing.
Italy withdraws from China’s Belt and Road Initiative
Four years after becoming the only G7 nation to join China’s ambitious Belt and Road initiative (BRI), Italy has decided to leave the project. Italy’s decision to exit the Belt and Road Initiative seems to be influenced by the changing geo-political considerations and the limited impact of the project on Italy’s economy. The expert mentioned China’s failed strategy to create a divide between Europe and the US and its difficulties in dealing with them amid an economic crisis.
What is China’s Belt and Road Initiative?
China’s Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) development strategy aims to build connectivity and co-operation across six main economic corridors encompassing China, Mongolia, Russia, Eurasian countries, Central and West Asia, other countries of the Indian subcontinent and Indochina.
China frames ‘One Province, One Policy’ plan for the financial risk
China’s regulator wants provinces to come up with their own plans to handle financial risks. The country should make a greater effort in financial risk management but the policies need to be tailored, avoiding a one-size-fits-all approach. Provinces have to devise their own policies on how to handle risks, according to the report. The world’s second-largest economy has struggled for traction this year as a bounceback from restrictive Covid Zero policies proved to be softer than expected and a property crisis dragged on. That’s prompted successive waves of support from central and local authorities, but some economists have argued that government debt is now too concentrated at the local level. On risk management, there’ll be “one province, one policy,” Li was cited as saying in the article, which was published in a question-and-answer format. “Risk prevention and management are the eternal themes”. The agency will focus on looking into people who cause major risks, pledging to deepen so-called rectification of chaos and disruptive behaviour in markets.
China:
- Capital: Beijing
- President: Xi Jinping
- Currency: Renminbi
US House Committee approves ‘Resolve Tibet Act’ for Tibet-China dispute
A bill aimed at strengthening US efforts to push China to negotiate with the Dalai Lama’s envoys to resolve the ongoing Tibet-China dispute can now proceed to the House floor, following a unanimous vote by the US House Foreign Affairs Committee. The bipartisan legislation, known as the Resolve Tibet Act, received approval at a markup meeting attended by Tibetan Americans, according to the Washington-based advocacy group International Campaign for Tibet (ICT). The Resolve Tibet Act establishes official US policy that China must resume dialogue with the Dalai Lama’s envoys, emphasizing the unresolved conflict between Tibet and China and Tibet’s undetermined legal status under international law
