Diplomacy and Passion Maserati Quattroporte

Safe and sound is how a diplomat would like to return after carrying out a mission.  It may be the most satisfyingly career-enhancing assignment, or a complex and challenging task that needed to be accomplished. Or it may just be to make a statement on arrival.

Pictured at the Maserati dealership in Bryanston are Marc de St Pern, Operations Manager (l) and Rens Rademeyer, General Manager (r)

The four door Maserati Quattroporte (as the name obviously suggests) is the hallmark of Italian design.  It was modelled around people with a certain station in life, people that have proved themselves as worthy of the authority they have been mandated with. This luxury sedan is the perfect fit for professionals who qualify for the position they occupy and deserve the perks associated with the high office.

Somaliland’s Lessons in Peace for Africa

by Greg Mills and Emily van der Merwe

21 May 2019

‘A place that has made something out of virtually nothing’ is how former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo describes the progress made by Somaliland.

Photo: Former Nigerian president Olusegun Obasanjo, here pictured with Somaliland’s President Muse Bihi Abdi, is the first African president, past or present, to visit Hargeisa

His trip there this month was the first by an African president, current or past, since the territory re-declared its independence in 1991. In June 1960 Somaliland gained its independence from its colonial master Britain before making an ill-fated decision to join former Italian Somaliland five days later in a union that was envisaged ultimately to include French Somalia (now Djibouti), the Somali-dominated Ogaden region of Ethiopia (now Region 5) and a chunk of northern Kenya.  

Following a bitter civil war that saw the forces of Somali President Mohamed Siad Barre cruelly bomb and strip the capital of Hargeisa (in which by 1990 only an estimated 2,000 of its former population of 500,000 remained), the Somali National Movement booted out the occupiers, and set about creating the conditions for stability which have endured for nearly three decades.

SA begins a New Chapter

15 May 2019

President Cyril Ramaphosa has reiterated South Africa’s commitment to working with the international community as the country begins a new chapter after the recently held elections.

Photo (l-r): Italian Republic - Mr Paolo Cuculi, Guinea (Conakry) - Mrs Hawa Diakite Kaba, Greece - Mr Roussos Koundouros, Serbia - Mr Goran Vujicic, Argentine Republic - Mr Alberto Pedro Da’Alotto, Federal Republic of Nigeria - Mr Kabiru Bala, President Cyril Ramaphosa, Japan - Mr Norio Maruyama, Botswana - Mr Lameck Nthekela, Ukraine - Mr Taras Kuzmych, Dominican Republic - Mr Héctor Galván, Iraq - Mr Arshad Omar Esmaeel and Montenegro Mr Ivan Lekovic (Jacoline Schoonees/DNS)

Addressing Ambassadors after receiving their letters of credence at Sefako Makgatho Presidential Guesthouse in Tshwane, President Ramaphosa said that South Africa this year celebrates 25 Years of Democracy as it ushers in the sixth democratic administration.
"You formally take up your posts just as South Africa is entering its 6th democratic administration. This is an administration that will be firmly committed to placing the country on the path of renewal, growth and transformation.

Travel Advisory – Sri Lanka open to African tourists

14 May 2019

It seems the coping mechanisms that kicked in a few weeks after the gruesome attacks in Sri Lanka have set in motion a healing process across the nation. The rebuilding of confidence, in particular of the tourism sector has received the most attention. Government support through cabinet approved concessions of billions in taxes and a moratorium on interest payments on loans by travel and tour enterprises, among others, are being used to boost the hospitality sector, the sector that bore the brunt of the deadly Easter Sunday suicide bomb attacks.

(Photo: Pixabay)

According to statistical figures 1700 tourists still enter Sri Lanka daily even after the cowardly assault that killed 257 people at hotels and churches on this holy day on the Christian calendar. The arrival figure is down from the 4600 visitors that arrived daily before the attacks. The downturn is not unexpected directly in the aftermath of the deadly strike as clean-up operations continue.

Commemoration Ceremony marking the end of WWII

16 May 2019

Ambassador of Ukraine Taras Kuzmych and Ambassador of Georgia Beka Dvali laid wreaths together with representatives and military attaches of diplomatic missions of France, Portugal, Poland, the USA, and high-level representatives of the South African Defence Force at Freedom Park in Pretoria, to mark the end of WWII.

Freedom Park in Pretoria memorialises the names of the fallen whose lives were lost in the many wars, battles and conflicts. In her welcome remarks Jane Mufumadi, CEO of Freedom Park, explained that every name engraved on the Walls of Remembrance have recorded files.

CUBA AND SOUTH AFRICA: MANY REASONS TO CELEBRATE THE FIRST 25 YEARS OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS

16 May 2019

By Rodolfo Benítez Verson, Ambassador of Cuba in South Africa, Eswatini and Lesotho

Twenty–five years ago, on 11 May 1994, Presidents Nelson Mandela and Fidel Castro formalized diplomatic relations between South Africa and Cuba.  That was one of the first foreign policy actions of the new Government in a liberated South Africa,

But before official bonds began, there was already a long history of special relations. Since the triumph of the Cuban Revolution in 1959, Cuba became an active and loyal supporter of the struggle against Apartheid.  

In the United Nations and other international forums, Cuba strongly opposed the racist government of South Africa and called for the expulsion of the Apartheid regime from the UN.

2019 Changwon K-POP World Festival

15 May 2019

The 2019 Changwon K-Pop World Festival regional round was held in South Africa on 1 May at the Atterbury Theatre in Lynnwood, Pretoria. This has become a popular annual event and is hosted by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in South Africa.

Mr Jong-dae Park, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea (pictured with contestants) was happy to see the number of K-Pop followers growing in South Africa and that it has become a worldwide phenomenon.

Psy's "Gangnam Style" music video was the first Korean YouTube video to reach one billion views and it certainly played a big role in the popularisation of Korean pop music. BTS, also known as the Bangtan Boys, is a seven-member South Korean boy band formed in Seoul in 2013. The band is the first Korean act to have topped the U.S. Billboard 200.

China Resumes Imports of Hides, Livestock Skins and Wool from South Africa

15 May 2019

Based on the results of the risk assessments of the foot and mouth disease, the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs of China decided to lift the suspension of imports of South African hides, livestock skins and wool in the Announcement No. 34 of 2019 jointly issued by the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs. The decision has come into force starting from 8th May, 2019.

(Image credit: pixabay.com)

Anzac Day 2019

13 May 2019

The Australian High Commission and New Zealand High Commission hosted an Anzac Day Dawn Service at Freedom Park in Pretoria on the 25 April 2019. The commemorative service acknowledged Australians and New Zealanders who served and are currently serving in conflicts and peacekeeping operations. The legend of the Anzac spirit was born in 1915 during the Allied campaign on Gallipoli in Turkey. To this day, Australians, New Zealanders and Turks remember Gallipoli as embodying courage, sacrifice, compassion and ultimately respect.  

Photo: Photo: Mr Mike Burrell, High Commissioner of New Zealand and Mr Adam McCarthy, High Commissioner of Australia laying wreaths (Debbie Yazbeck)

In his address at the service, High Commissioner of Australia, Mr Adam McCarthy paid tribute to the service and sacrifice of all people who have served in wars, conflicts and peacekeeping operations. He acknowledged Australian heroes who embodied the Anzac spirit.

Calm and confidence in Sri Lanka tourism recovering rapidly

9 May 2019

By Srimal Fernando and Kirtan Bhana

Sri Lankans are more resolute than ever to continue building a peaceful nation. They are all too aware that the cowardly suicide bomb attackers have no ideology and are carried out by a faithless few. They have belief that their over 300,000 strong tri-forces have the knowhow, support and will to extinguish any threat and bring about normality once again.

The past decade has been a boon for this teardrop-shaped island nation lapped by the waters of the Indian Ocean. Millions of people who have travelled to the country since it has found peace with itself, to encounter its abundant natural beauty, describe it as a paradise. They are sharing their experiences with others advising them to place Sri Lanka on their bucket list of places to visit.