Interestingly, an internal Pentagon memo, states that Afghanistan could become the “Saudi Arabia of lithium,” a key raw material in the manufacture of batteries for laptops and mobile phones. It also reports that the country is home to previously unknown deposits — including huge veins of iron, copper, cobalt, gold and large deposits of niobium, a soft metal used in producing superconducting steel, besides lithium.

The memo compels to probe, what is Pentagon’s task in Afghanistan? Is it mining, peace-keeping or capturing the elusive terrorists? The timing of the announcement also induces the misgivings on the veracity of the study as well as the US interest in the country. Is the US trying to stay longer in Afghanistan on this pretext to thwart the increasing presence of the regional powers, China and India, by providing business options to the county?

In November, a 30-year lease, to start mining copper in the Aynak valley, southwest of Kabul, which holds one of the world’s biggest untapped copper deposits, was sold to the China Metallurgical Group for $3bn, making it the biggest foreign investment and private business venture in Afghanistan’s history. Likewise, post-Taliban, India is also heavily involved in the re-construction and development of Afghanistan’s infrastructure.

The retrospective chronicling of the events on the recent discovery compel to call for more queries. Why Russia did not show much interest in Afghanistan despite having the cognizance of country’s rare mineral wealth?

According to the study, while leaving Afghanistan in 1989 after nearly a decade-old occupation the Soviets left behind a horde of old charts and data hinting on the massive mineral deposits in the country. Incidentally, it says, it was with these data, the US Geological Survey began a series of aerial surveys of Afghanistan’s mineral resources in 2006.

Consequently, it establishes a fact that the US entered Afghanistan with prior knowledge of potential mineral wealth in the country. If there is truth in the find, then the Afghanistan’s new found fortune fuels the perception that any ‘offensive’ war includes an exploration agenda for natural resources or knowledge treasure trove behind it whenever any country initiates a war in a foreign land, especially a far-off one.

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Al Tayer’s projection comes after global cues such as growth in the US, European, Chinese and Indian economies driving demand for crude and related products. It should be recalled, last week at an international conference on petrochemicals Mukesh Ambani, the oil baron said crude prices could rise to $100 a barrel in the near future.

Under the theme of ‘Finance for the Next Decade of Growth’, the two-day MENASA Forum, held between 23 and 24 May 2010, widely focused on discussing the critical opportunities and challenges confronting the region over the next decade. Over 250 members of the regional and international banking and financial services industry, regulators and senior business executives attended the Forum hosted by the DIFC.

Earlier, Sheikh Ahmed Bin Saeed Al Maktoum, Chairman of the Dubai Supreme Fiscal Committee and Chairman of the Emirates Group delivered the key note address on the first day of the Forum. He told that the platform was a great occasion for discussing how the MENASA countries could forge greater integration in trade, investment and finance, and stressed at setting up of a mechanism for cooperation similar to that of the ASEAN.

Arif Masood Naqvi, Founder and Group CEO, Abraaj Capital observed the MENASA region remained as the heart of the emerging markets, helping drive global growth through the combination of population growth, economic reform and hydrocarbon wealth. Likewise, Al Tayer said the vast potential of the MENASA region was “undeniable” despite the challenges being faced in the post-global downturn environment.

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The world body should lay emphasis on reducing the growing divide between the rich and the poor rather than pushing for trade to please some of the business powerhouses. If increasing world trade through global action means prosperity for all, the WTO has to address problems of the workforces that comprise of about 70 percent excluding self employed involved directly or indirectly in global trade.

It has to press for regulations which will bring in all workforces under one umbrella of organized sector as majority, particularly in developing countries are forced to work incognito. The workers of unorganized sector are deprived of employment protection such as paid leave, sick leave, healthcare and other perks; and are almost enslaved by their employers.

Similarly, even workers of organized sector are exploited by overloading with work schedules that may go up to 20hrs per day without any rest or extra allowance. Especially the workforces from countries without minimum hourly wages have been largely put to this hardship by calibrating it as a day’s work.

At a glance, it may seem like how on earth the strengthening of organized sector of workforce will improve the living standards of the poor and marginalized workers without developing other key areas such as free right to education, healthcare and other civic amenities. But by elevating the dignity of workers by providing reasonable earnings for what they work is likely to boost their confidence, and thereby prod themselves to meet all immediate needs without any administrative influence.

As far as trade is concerned, the atrocities perpetrated on workforces should also be given equal care like that of other aspects of trade agreements to avoid social unrests stemming from socio-economic asymmetries. The absence of minimum wages for workers or potentially running unorganized workforces, perhaps even with the backing of governments, should be given serious re-look as it is implied in individual trade deals as grievous human rights violations.

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Today, the international trade committee of the Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry has signed a MoU with the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and World Business Chicago, in an attempt to promote economic activity between the two nations with an accent on industry, trade and technology. Similarly, GE too renewed its seven decade old business ties by signing a MoU with Ministry of Commerce & Industry to fuel Kingdom’s vision for sustainable economic growth and job creation.

Saudi Arabia is planning economic diversification through industrialization, and will launch the $16bn National Industrial Strategy in May 2010 to strengthen the Kingdom’s manufacturing sector and double the industrial output of the GDP. Saudi ministers are of the opinion that the Kingdom’s future will be focused on knowledge-based initiatives and infrastructure development, emphasizing that “Saudi Arabia no longer wants to be the gas station of the world.”

According to Saudi Gazette, the meet will see the signing of several agreements covering almost all areas of trade ranging from agriculture to science and technology to financial markets. Fatin Bundagji from the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry pointed out that his country’s priority would be to draw expertise beyond oil sector particularly about venture capital and business incubation in the US.

As per the figures provided by the National US-Arab Chamber of Commerce (NUSACC), the US exports to the MENA region are expected to rebound to nearly $75bn this year, up from $63bn in 2009, and out of the total about $17bn will be Saudi’s contribution. Saudi Arabia is the second largest export destination of the US in the region after the UAE.

The trade outlook indicates that US exports to the MENA region are likely to be more than double by the year 2015, an important boost to US President Barack Obama’s National Export Initiative. He had said early this year that exports were the key to job creation and the plans of doubling exports to $3 trillion over the next five years could create two million new jobs in the US. Besides, enhancing trade with Saudi Arabia is also seen as an initiative to deepen ties with the Muslim world which the US president reiterated this week after Cairo summit.

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Although the utterances by the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and the Cuban National Assembly President Ricardo Alarcon stand in the way of improving ties between both countries diplomatic developments in the region is likely to override those differences. Clinton told last month that Fidel Castro and his brother President Raul Castro “do not want to see an end to the embargo and do not want to see normalization with the United States, because they would then lose all their excuses for what hasn’t happened in Cuba in the last 50 years.” In retaliation, Alarcon challenged her to lift the embargo even for a year to see whether it was in his country’s interest or hers.

When President Barack Obama assumed office last year he called for better ties with Cuba if Castro executed democratic reforms and improved human rights status, an US policy widely criticized over its double standards in dealing with China and Saudi Arabia at the same time. However, the recent election in Cuba which saw almost 95 percent of the electorate exercising their franchise, technically helps Obama to put in effect one of his poll promises.

The legislation approved by the House does not lift the overall embargo, but prohibits advance payment for agricultural sales to Cuba. Likewise, this week’s election in which Cubans was able to choose between more than one candidate also cannot be termed as a major electoral reform as it does not interfere with the top leadership of the country.

The US rice sales to Cuba declined every year after the Bush administration’s cash-in-advance rules were imposed in 2005. The new provision if ratified is expected to make the US rice and other agro-commodities once again attractive to Cuba. The US Chamber of Commerce estimates the embargo costs the country about $1.2bn a year in lost business.

All trade with Cuba, with the exception of US exports of agricultural products and some essential medicines, has been prohibited since 1962. Under George W Bush, the Cuban-Americans were eligible to travel to Cuba only once every three years and were limited to sending only $300 to relatives every three months. On the contrary, the Obama administration relaxed travel and remittances restrictions that allowed Americans with relatives in Cuba to travel there more frequently with longer stay duration and to send as much money as they want to any Cuban who is not a senior government or Communist party official.

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In 2007, Bush administration began negotiations on ACTA particularly to contain several developing countries engaged in piracy acts, and to protect the interests of leading US firms which lost their price competitiveness on account of counterfeiting. Incidentally, the ACTA effect will not be restricted to internet activities alone but extends to counterfeit pharmaceuticals, designer merchandise, music, movies, etc.

Surprisingly, the final draft will not have the endorsement of China, one of the largest counterfeit producers. Hence, looking back to past events on taking action against China in regards to infringements, the trade pact is expected to encounter similar stalemate while implementing a likely ratified deal. Participants in the negotiations included Australia, Canada, the European Union, represented by the European Commission, the European Union Presidency (Spain) and EU Member States, Japan, Korea, Mexico, Morocco, New Zealand, Singapore, Switzerland and the US.

Many ACTA dissidents blame the secretive or undemocratic nature of reaching the agreement by not revealing the details for public discussion. On the other hand, WIPO provides scope for public scrutiny with an added advantage of the inclusion of major counterfeiting countries in negotiations.

Meanwhile, the tech firms are understood to be apprehensive about ACTA’s secondary liability clause, which recommends the responsibility of copyright infringement behaviour of the user on the online service provider. The clause will possibly affect social networking sites, video-sharing sites and several other user-generated content sites including the online encyclopaedia, Wikipedia.

Last month, a statement signed by senior trade-union officials from New Zealand, Australia, Singapore and the US raised the question of intellectual property rights becoming an element in the free-trade negotiations. However that fear is put to rest by officials at the eighth round of ACTA negotiations calling the deal as a ‘standalone’ one, and would not tinker with FTAs.

According to sources, the draft will leave out three-strikes provision that would require border agents to search the contents of electronic devices. Experts term three-strikes a preposterous idea as it would virtually bring every transit cell to a standstill.

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As per the latest updates on volcano, many of Europe’s busiest airline routes will remain closed until Saturday. Furthermore, if one goes by the volcanologists warnings, the eruptions could continue on-and-off for months, potentially meaning continued delays and closures. It is estimated just three days of air traffic closure alone will take months for the aviation industry to recover from the mammoth losses.

The Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation or CAPA figures show that some six million passengers could be affected world-wide if the closures continued for up to three days. The volcanic clouds spewed above 30,000 feet have forced air travel virtually impossible as the jet engines could be shut down if they sucked in volcanic debris.

High-flying volcanic ash consists of extremely fine silica particulates that could easily enter jet engines, which operate at temperatures of about 2,500 degrees Fahrenheit. Silica melts at about 2,000 degrees, and at that point it fuses to turbine blades, nozzles and other critical engine parts, causing the engine to clog, overheat and eventually shut down.

It is now evident that the losses to the aviation industry and auxiliary ones would run into billions of dollars. London’s Heathrow Airport, which is the worst affected due to the second Iceland’s volcanic eruption, itself clearly supports to that logic since one of the world’s busiest airport manages more than 1,200 flights and 180,000 travelers per day. And any delay to the resumption of air travel and cargo movement is bound to create grievous financial problems to the industry which is showing some signs of revival along with global trade after the meltdown.

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Along with changes in trade policies which would help exports from developing countries the Chinese manufacturers also will get incentives to maintain price competitiveness in the global markets. China’s exports, which experienced robust growth of more than 25 percent before 2008, dropped by 16 percent last year.

Chinese Commerce Minister Chen Deming at the sidelines of the meet stated all China’s financial policies, including its devalued status of yuan/renminbi, were part of China’s stimulus package comprehensively designed to counter global economic meltdown. He also defended the subsidies, claiming the stimulus incentives “abide by the rule of the World Trade Organisation and bear no protectionism.”

While announcing the policy statement, China admitted that it would “eliminate unreasonable restrictions” on the import front. A re-look at this policy comes after repeated complaints from India to its Chinese counterparts at every platform they met. The policy statement said “imports from developing countries will be expanded so as to satisfy domestic demand on the one hand, and promote mutual benefits and common development on the other.”

Zhang Zhigang, a member of the CPPCC said that if the country wanted to encourage consumption, exports were “vital”. Likewise, Chen said that export-related sectors provide at least 90mn jobs – about 7 percent of the national population – and therefore affect consumption.

Barring surprises, most members during the meet felt export was key to China’s economy indicating the most censured yuan’s low currency value that is tied to the Chinese export advantage would be moreover the same for the coming months until it gets even with its early 2008 export growth. Chen statement corroborates that fact as he said “although yuan faces appreciation pressure, China still plans to keep the exchange rate of yuan stable”.

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Head of the Crown Prince’s Court Shaikh Khalifa bin Duaij Al Khalifa and Dr Hassan Fakhro Industry and Commerce Minister attended the meeting at Riffa Palace. The Thai team exchanged views with Bahraini counterparts on the proposed investment projects in Bahrain in joint ventures.

The Prince told that his country was focussed on freedom of competition and commitment to transparency as key aspects to achieve success. He inquired about the Thai expertise in promoting pisciculture and ways to boost Bahrain’s fish reserves. He felt if Thailand could employ its fish farming techniques in Bahrain, the country would be able to become the best in the region.

During the meet, both parties are understood to have discussed the possibilities of promoting Bahrain as one of the food trade platforms of the Middle East. The Thai delegation which had representatives from aluminium and mining industries is believed to have worked out on the modalities of respective trade potentials.

While addressing the delegation, Salman also underscored the need for housing and development projects as they could meet the immediate demands of the citizens of Bahrain in the related segment. Both sides have expressed satisfaction over the meet which became a platform to further strengthen bilateral ties.

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Citing customs statistics, the DPP Legislator Pan Men-an said that 73,830 kg of dried day lily, purportedly from Vietnam, were imported into Taiwan in 2009, a 27 percent rise from the 58,108 kg that entered Taiwan’s market in 2008. Taiwan’s ban on the import of 830 Chinese agricultural products, including dried day lily is still in force though the FTA talks between both countries are at full swing.

Ho Quoc Phi, deputy head of the Vietnam Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (VECO), told the CNA that the allegations had formed a major barrier to the import of Vietnamese goods into Taiwan. He further added he had already clarified the situation to Taiwan’s top agricultural authority.

The envoy informed that cases of smuggled Chinese farm produce being brought into Taiwan through Vietnam, including tea, cigarettes and garlic, in 1991, never got the Vietnamese certificates of origin. He claimed issuance of counterfeit certificates attracted severe punishments, and as a result of stringent actions against bootlegging by the end of 1994, no such cases were reported since then.

Pan had earlier alleged “A certificate of origin can be bought at the price of less than US$350.” However, according to Vietnamese authorities, the certificate of origin is not the only document required for the passage of goods but also importers’ transaction and transportation documents.

Ho urged the lawmakers to provide a copy of the counterfeit document to his office, so that its authenticity could be verified. He also agreed to run an investigation at his government’s cost provided the charge leveller involved was ready to meet the expenses of investigation if the allegations were found false.

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According to Emirates Business24/7, the companies such as Gemalto, Fundamo, mBlox and the Western Union are keen on tying up with the mobile service providers to cash in on the new market. The primary focus of these companies would be to extend services along with the GCC member states to countries including India, Pakistan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Yemen, Iran, Afghanistan and Syria, and some countries in Africa and Latin America.

Gemalto, one of the largest in the mobile payments solutions segment, is already working with du and etisalat. Pascal Oromi, VP for mobile financial services at Gemalto said currently, one third of Gemalto’s revenue came from the Middle East, and was expected to grow significantly in 2010.

Likewise, Fundamo, another player in this space who was unsuccessful at previous occasions for tenders in the UAE is understood to be positive on another shy. Richard Bailey, Product Manager at Fundamo pointed out that mobile money provided a ready access to migrants who still did not have access to traditional banking services by offering banks an opportunity to reach out to the unbanked.

As per latest reports, the Western Union has roped in Comviva Technologies, one of India’s largest providers of VAS to mobile operators to its Mobile Vendor Program for servicing mobile finance initiatives across the globe. Khalid Fellahi, Senior VP, Mobile Transaction Services of the Western Union, informed the technology had been a success in Kenya and Philippines, and an announcement on its mobile wallet plans in the Middle East was awaited soon.

Whereas, Andrew Bud, Executive Chairman at Sweden based mBlox said the high mobile penetration and also lack of banking infrastructure in some areas make it a top area for mBlox. The company plans to operate from Mumbai in India to cater the needs of the Middle East.

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Dr Charlotte Williams, head of the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) said the search for greener plastics, especially for single use items such as food packaging, was the subject of significant research worldwide. The EPSRC says about seven percent of fossil fuels are used to manufacture plastics; with global production pegged at more than 150mn tons annually, almost 99 percent of plastics are made out of them.

The latest invention will seize the place of hitherto indispensable polluting plastics with its disposability and application quotient. The sugar-based polymer known as lignocellulosic biomass could be composted at home along with organic waste.

It is expected to be used in a variety of medical applications such as tissue regeneration, stitches and drug delivery as the polymer is supposed to have non-toxic properties which decompose in the body creating harmless by-products. The EPSRC is jointly making efforts with its commercial partner BioCeramic Therapeutics to make this a reality.

Currently, the largely used bio-degradable plastic, polylactide production requires high energy and large quantity of water and degraded in a high-temperature industrial facility. While the new polymer is produced through non-food crops including fast-growing trees and grasses, or renewable biomass from agricultural or food waste and has natural molecules to get absorbed with other organic waste.

As the production of the new packaging plastic would not cause any harm to the food crop resources, it is regarded as a relief from polluting petro-chemical ones. “Our key breakthrough was in finding a way of using a non-food crop to form a polymer, as there are ethical issues around using food sources in this way,” said Williams.

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During the Soviet era, Russia was a gross grain importer and over the last few years the country has grown as the largest grain exporter. Through the new food policy Russia seemed to have set an achievable target as grain exports to other countries are expected to reach 38mn tons by 2015.

Russia during the World Grain Forum in June, 2009 had initiated a food security tie up with the largest wheat consuming states such as India, China and Turkey to build wheat reserve stocks as well as to cushion future price slides, which has been faced by Russian farmers today. Despite the second-best year for exports and increasing demand from livestock farmers, grain prices still remain low on account of high domestic grain inventory.

Viktor Zubkov, the first Deputy Prime Minister of Russia during the Forum had urged foreign investors to develop the 20mn hectares of unused arable land in Russia. The country’s wheat production has crossed 65mn tons, and has set eyes at producing 100mn tons this year despite sinking wheat prices.

In a last week’s report by RIA Novosti, it stated meat production in Russia was also witnessing significant growth over the past few years. Agriculture Minister Elena Skrynnik while she met Medvedev informed domestic meat production grew 14 percent to 3.3mn tons last year, reducing imports by 20 percent.

Similarly, though Russia is short of poultry production, the recent ban on the US poultry is intended to stimulate domestic poultry production. Russia banned imports of the US chlorine-treated poultry as of 1 January on non-compliance to country’s safety standards, a decision likely to hike domestic poultry prices.

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Consequently, several Latin American and Asian countries will be importing more rice to offset the resulting shortage. The South American countries such as Brazil, Venezuela, Columbia and Panama and the Asian countries like India and the Philippines are understood to have increased their import quotas as El Nino effect is likely to last till June.

The US Rice Producers Association President Dwight Roberts told Bloomberg that Brazil may start buying this month, a total of 1mn metric tons throughout the year, direct fallout of El Nino. In another statement, the Agriculture Undersecretary of the Philippines Bernardo Fondevilla said his country, the world’s biggest rice buyer could lose more than 0.8mn tons of paddy rice, from a severe dry spell caused by El Nino triggering renewed rice imports.

Brazil would be importing from Vietnam, the largest rice exporter behind Thailand after the latter fulfills its November and December tenders from the Philippines. As per the Philippines National Food Authority figures, the delivery of four tender amounting to 2.25mn tons mostly from Vietnam would start from January to June.

The Filipino government has set aside about $37mn to mitigate the impact of El Nino on crop and fishery production this year. The phenomenon is expected to devastate 453,204 hectares of rice, 227,843 hectares of corn fields and 14,160 hectares of the fishery industry in the Philippines alone.

Robert on a rice update to Bloomberg informed that Iraq, the fifth largest rice importer, might buy at least 120,000 tons by next week. El Nino effect is likely to peak this month causing speculative buying in the global rice market.

Robert told that the apparent decline in Mercosur production and increased demand in the South American and other Central American countries, supplies will be tight and some markets could pay considerably higher prices for imported rice. The data on rice stockpiles and production trickling in from almost all regions across the globe indicate world rice market is in for severe price rice which in a worst case scenario could even reach the all time high of 2008.

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But a recent response to a health query in the CNN website had irked the salmon producing community as it claimed farmed salmon contained harmful elements like toxic PCB (dangerous environmental pollutants), excrements and antibiotics, and only wild salmon was safe to consume. Subsequently, the CNN came out with a reactionary article titled “Farmed or wild fish: Which is healthier?” calling farmed salmon have more omega-3 fatty acids than wild salmon and benefits of eating farmed fish outweighed associated risks.

Dr. Melina Jampolis who started the fire by replying to the health query has seemingly agreed to the other researches in the CNN reactionary article, which contradicted her claim. Earlier, she based her query reply on the findings of NGO Environmental Working Group (EWG).

On the contrary, the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) Health and Medicine Senior Executive Producer Gavin Gibbons responded through a letter that “EWG is not a public health organization and is not qualified to give nutrition guidance”. He also demanded the CNN to remove the article from its website.

Likewise, the British Columbia Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA) stated that the CNN’s information was “outdated and incorrect”. While Gibbons reminded of the Harward finding which states “seafood broadly, not just farmed salmon, makes up only 9 percent of the PCBs in the average American diet, while products like vegetables make up 20 percent.”

Nevertheless, this is not the first time CNN had come out with claims of health risks on farmed salmon consumption. During a 2002 interview between the CNN anchor Daryn Kagan and the CNN medical correspondent Dr. Sanjay Gupta evinced similar concerns on farmed salmon.

Then, Gupta argued pesticides, antibiotics and other toxic chemicals were used in all part of the farming process to keep the fish free from diseases. While Daryn remarked that farm-raised salmon were injected with red dye or pink dye to resemble with the wild ones.

The for and against arguments about the salmon consumption have put the consumers in a spot worrying which one to eat. Unfortunately, those in salmon businesses would be a more worried lot as they had to face one more obstacle of negative campaigning in an increasingly regulatory environment.

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Under the incentive package, the prime minister’s office (PMO) announced the proposal carried under-developed land to be made available to investors for about $114 per square meter. Nonetheless, according to some sources if one includes the development cost it would be just fractionally cheaper than the average land cost in nearby industrial parks.

Firms relocating from Seoul metropolitan area will get extra benefits such as government subsidies for investment, employment and training, it said. The enterprises will also be exempted from income tax and corporate tax for the first three years, and receive 50 percent tax cuts for the next two years.

Besides, their acquisition, registration and property taxes will be exempted for the first 15 years. Whereas, Foreign-invested firms will be allowed to choose from the subsidies, rent cuts and cash rewards.

Top players from the corporate and education spaces have already lined up to open shop in the new city project. Samsung Group and Woongjin Group are reportedly among the businesses seeking to operate in Sejong city. Korea University and the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology also plan to open new campuses here.

Within months after Chung Un-chan assumed office as the premier of South Korea, he pledged the administrative town project, approved by the National Assembly in 2005 during Roh Moo-hyun administration would be scrapped. It is learned that Grand National Party, the governing party’s second-largest faction was opposed to the revised plan. However, the Chung Un-chan administration believes creating two capital cities can achieve faster economic growth.

On the flipside, Korea’s free economic zones (FEZs) are concerned over the government’s plan to provide a wide variety of incentives to Sejong city. The plan to run the city like an FEZ is expected to deal a death blow to the already struggling zones. It should be noted that Incheon, home to the country’s largest FEZ, has attracted only 1 percent of its total investment from foreigners.

It is feared Sejong project would grab prospective foreign investors away from Incheon and other FEZs. Even committed funds may flow out to the new township if the incentives and business potential are found to be more attractive.

A spokesman from the PMO’s office admitted that they planned to designate Sejong city as an international science business belt and build industrial, medical and educational infrastructure to make it almost like a free economic zone. The government is scheduled to announce the final master plan of the project by next Monday.

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Though no one guarantees there would not be any flare up once again in the future, but today’s Rwanda definitely depict a picture of living harmoniously by burying the emptiness of violence. Furthermore with a hope of restarting their lives all over again though they had to live among the same people who killed or maimed their loved ones. The people of Rwanda have come to terms to discern that the conflict had left behind only a trail of destruction and despair which they themselves had to rebuild with limited resources.

Today Rwanda is all set to re-write history as the economy is growing at a faster a pace despite not having diamond mines, oil reserves or minerals as compared to its neighbors. Tourism is the vital industry, and Rwandan government is inclined on pursuing eco-friendly projects to power the economy.

Paul Kagame, Rwanda’s president understands there is a lot of work to do to reboot the economy, with the per capita income being less than $550 and daily wages hovering around $1.25. Towards this goal, he has ordered everyone to begin work at 7 AM and to come in for a half-day on Saturdays. Besides, all adults are asked to do community service on one Saturday of every month, often president joining them in work.

It has been estimated close to 1mn people or 20 percent of the population was killed fifteen years ago when the Hutu majority perpetrated genocide against the Tutsi minority. Mostly women bore the brunt by falling victims to rape, revenge and HIV/AIDS; and the genocide orphaned about 100,000 children.

Ironically, the country has now a higher female representation among legislative bodies of 2008 elections to become the only legislature in the world where women are in the majority. On gender issues, Rwanda now ranks first in the global gender parity ratings, followed only by Sweden and Finland.

Though the country faces a host of issues such as poverty, poor infrastructure and low power generation, the government has set ambitious goals to overcome these soon with the support of international organizations including the UN, the Commonwealth and various other non-profit ones. One of the notable achievements is that Rwandan education system has recovered remarkably well, at least quantitatively to register rapid growth of enrollments at all levels.

Moreover, Rwanda has drawn investments from companies as diverse as Costco, Microsoft and Starbucks, which opened an office in Kigali to train farmers to grow high-end coffee more efficiently. Korea Telecom’s $7.66mn project to provide broadband wireless service in the capital town of Kigali is another example to the increased presence of several companies vying to utilize business opportunities in the country.

Rwanda is looking to export dairy products, software, computer services, fruit and juices, silk and fresh-cut flowers in addition to the shipments of coffee and tea. However, the resolve of 10mn population to palliate the feeling of vendetta within the old enemies of Hutu and Tutsi ethnic groups will decide as to how this East-Central African state will rise from the ashes of its own people.

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According to Gartner, the most affected by the onslaught of knock-offs is Nokia but others such as, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and Samsung are also hit. The largest origin of counterfeits is from China, and absence of stringent laws created an environment for these illegal businesses to thrive in these countries.

Almost all the models of leading firms are available in the market within days of the launch either in same or similar names. Interestingly, most of them came with an extra feature of dual SIMs or Triple SIMs combined with GSM and CDMA options.

Although these knock-offs shared all the functions of the originals, the camera and music system distinctively lacked quality. Nevertheless, a quarter or below the price of the originals attracted customers from within China, the largest cell phone market, and from places including India, the Middle East, Africa, Russia and even the US.

The entry of the Taiwanese semiconductor design firm, Mediatek in 2005 became a game-changer to the industry as they manufactured circuit boards those mimicked the branded ones’ functions at a very low cost. Gartner analyst Carolina Milanesi said Between 80 and 90 percent of Mediatek’s products were used in the grey market. The timeline corroborates Milanesi’s statement as the fakes from around 37mn units in 2005, quadrupled growth by 2009.

Contrary to Gartner estimate, Richard Windsor, a tech expert at Nomura Investment Bank observed that this year Mediatek would sell about 350mn mobile phone chips, and 250mn of these would go into the illegal market. Major factors that helped businesses in China to venture into this grey area seemed to be the availability of raw materials, low cost of setting up a factory, manpower below 10, laws which allow running unlicensed and Mediatek chips.

Even Chinese mobile phone producers are losing market share to these illegal enterprises which have a built-in cost advantage because they evade taxes, regulatory fees and safety checks. The legitimate cell phone makers in China should shell out about 17 percent of their revenue as value added tax.

The only hope now for the cell phone powerhouses to counter the growth of grey market falls on the enforcement of laws from governments by discouraging practices including illegal manufacturing, sales and tabs on usage. Though recent India government’s decision to bar calls from phones without the IMEI code is for internal security, it is expected to contain the menace of illegal phones to a certain extent in this emerging cell phone market.

The IMEI or International Mobile Equipment Identity code allows identifying the device in the mobile phone network. The counterfeits either do not have an IMEI code, or it has been forged.

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Wadhwa stated that India’s trade and investments in the Gulf bloc were set to rise sharply as the fast economic growth had boosted energy demand in the country. She said India offered a “secure and predictable” market for oil and gas from the GCC, but should not be confined to these sectors alone.

It has been observed that India’s geographical proximity and historical trade links make the country a prospective parking place for the Gulf bloc’s investments, and guaranteed higher returns. India’s total trade with the six-member bloc increased from $19.58bn in 2005-2006 to $86.9bn in 2008-09, and is well ahead of the EU’s $80.6bn and the ASEAN’s $44.6bn.

Despite having extended and strong ties with the GCC, India just has been able to attract investments from the UAE. The cumulative investments from the UAE were just over $1bn during April-July this year, but the two-way trade between both countries stood at $44.5bn in 2008-09.

Although GCC is the largest trading bloc, the investments to India from the region did not keep pace with the growth. Currently GCC member states’ share is less than 1 percent of the FDI in India.

According to a recent United Conference for Trade and Development study, India’s FDI inflows jumped 85 percent in 2008 against a 14.5 percent decline in overall global FDI inflows. With the likely conclusion of FTA between India and the GCC by next year the country is expecting investments to pour in from the region.

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At a joint press conference with Hu, Najib said that China had become one of Malaysia’s largest trading partners and hoped that trade and investment would increase with the most powerful economy of the region. In 2008, bilateral trade between the two countries amounted to nearly $40bn and the bulk of it was covered by electrical and electronic products, and commodities.

Hu is visiting Malaysia with a dual-purpose of strengthening economic ties with the host nation and to check the progress on the first World Chinese Economic Forum (WCEF) which will be held in Malaysia between November 16 and 17. The two-day forum offers business opportunities for the entrepreneurs of the Chinese diaspora from countries including the US, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Indonesia and nations across Europe.

This was Hu’s second visit to the country, having visited Malaysia as vice-president in May 2002. While speaking at the joint press meet, the Malaysian premier said the signing of an agreement between Bank Negara Malaysia and the Banking Regulatory Commission of China heralded a new era of cooperation between the two countries in the area of finance.

Najib informed that the second Penang Bridge, linking the mainland and the island would be completed on schedule as both countries had agreed to it. He also informed that there was consensus between both sides on engaging in more areas including energy, agriculture, fisheries, education and science, and defence and security cooperation.

Malaysia would be granting the Chinese firms to undertake the construction of the Mengkuang Dam, the biggest dam in Pulau Pinang and an aluminium smelting plant. Likewise, a pulp and paper project and the double tracking rail project linking Gemas to Johor Baharu also would be granted to the Chinese companies, Najib added.

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The UN Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) enacted a law in 1989 to ban the trade of elephant tusks after finding the pachyderms being killed at an alarming rate. James Isiche of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), Kenya in response to a Washington Post article stated that the ban was followed after ivory poaching slashed Africa’s elephant population from more than 1.2mn to about 450,000 in 10 years’ time.

Several conservationists feel that the intense poaching is occurring owing to several factors including high demand for ivory from the cash-rich Chinese consumers and poor enforcement of law by many backward countries of the African continent. The recent ivory auction, a special permission reserved to those countries which manage their elephant population well, bear witness to the fact that major chunk of the auctioned ivory is bought by China.

John Frederick Walker, an expert on ivory trade practises in a Washington Post article opined that a tightly controlled but steady stream of legal ivory from countries with protected herds, coupled with strict policing of domestic African ivory markets, may sound like an unholy coupling of conservation policies — but it just might work. But in a response letter to this article Isiche said the only way to save the world’s remaining elephants was to eliminate the global ivory trade, legal and illegal.

However, the growing concern over the survival of elephants has prompted eBay, the largest internet auction site to ban the sale of ivory; it will take effect from 1 Jan of 2010. The IFAW tracked more than 7,000 wildlife product listings on 183 web sites in 11 countries and discovered elephant ivory accounted for 73 percent of the trade.

The IFAW findings are a wakeup call to all trade portals to respect and participate in the process of stopping illegal ivory trade. Robbie Marsland of IFAW, UK, in an interview to the Telegraph, urged there was no doubt left that all internet dealers needed to take responsibility for their impact on endangered species by enacting and enforcing a ban on all online wildlife trade.

IFAW has now appealed to the CITES and the trade portals to evolve a comprehensive strategy to counter the killings of elephants across the world. Action such as, enacting robust domestic legislation on internet wildlife trade, implementing and empowering effective enforcement, public awareness campaigns and devising new ways to monitor and curtail the online trade in endangered wildlife were recommended. The CITES conference in Doha, Qatar, in March is expected to take these proposals seriously to give a logical effect.

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The AFP has reported that the draft has given nod to impose prison sentences ranging from three to seven years and monetary penalty of about $27,000 to anyone who deals with Israel. The proposed new law bans all form of relations with Israel or its people at all levels.

Besides, the businessmen will lose their licenses for a period of 10 years if they are caught for trade exchanges with Israel. Any Bahraini travelling to or through Israel will also have to face prosecution under the new bill if implemented. It even forbids the establishment of diplomatic or consular representation between the two countries.

Many officials felt that such a law was not needed since the Bahrainis had vowed solidarity with the Palestinian people to clinch peace deal with Israel. The ban is seen as an obvious demonstration of discontent with Israel and its allies for continuous breach in peace process of the region.

The Deputy Foreign Secretary Hamad al-Amer said there was no need for the law as ‘Bahrain opposes any normalization with Israel before Palestinians regain their rights’. Currently, Egypt, Jordan and Mauritania are the only Arab League states with formal ties with Israel.

The bill is unlikely to be shaped into law as the upper house which has to give the final clearance is against such legislation. Notwithstanding, Nasser al-Fadhallah, a conservative lawmaker described that it would be an embarrassment for the government if it postponed or blocked the bill as it would resist the will of the Bahraini people.

The predominantly Shiite Persian Gulf state has a very small Jewish population, and Houda Ezra Ebrahim Nonoo, a woman of Jewish origin is the country’s current ambassador to the US and Canada. In 2005, Bahrain closed its office in compliance with the Arab League-boycott of Israeli goods, as demanded by the FTA with the US.

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The new procedure, to be effective from November 01, 2009 will allow Indian industries with necessary credentials to absorb technology and undertake indigenous manufacture under a new category ‘Buy and Make’. It will be similar to the existing ‘Make Procedure’ clause with a vital difference that the production and development by Indian industry will be through transfer of technology but not by Research and Development.

However, under the present procedure, the issuance of Request for Proposal (RfP) is only to overseas companies but the new one is extended to domestic firms too. While providing RfP to Indian firms it will allow the domestic players to directly participate in the defence manufacturing process of the country.

According to a Ministry of Defence (MOD) of India release, the Defence Minister AK Antony said the move was primarily aimed at encouraging pro-active participation by the Indian industry who could establish JV/Production arrangements with any foreign manufacturer. Through this procedure the MOD aims to indigenize its defence needs while having plans to spend $100bn as defence outlay in the next 10 years.

The declaration by the defence minister gave emphasis to matters including the 15-year armed forces acquisition plan to be made public through Request for Information on its official website in all such cases. Antony said the twin objectives of DPP 2009 intend at promoting and facilitating wide participation of defence Industry, while enabling transparency and integrity in all acquisitions.

Antony expressed hope that these changes would bring in greater degree of probity in the procedure, and also encourage domestic defence industry to develop. He asked defence personnel to keep an eye on the ‘quality’ with the ‘end users’ in mind, and to allow widest range of competition to ensure value for money. He also urged them to guarantee the completion of the whole cycle to be within a stipulated time frame to avoid undue delays, often experienced.

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However, the Australian premier Kevin Rudd’s call for a broader Asia-Pacific region that includes the US was a dampener to the proposal of single currency as the US cannot approve another party spoiler to its currency besides the euro. The US always maintained and expressed that it desired to be part of the bloc which would become the largest group above the EU especially since the Asian economies are tipped as economic recovery agents by the WTO and other financial institutions.

A new EU-styled common currency community which likely to include Australia and New Zealand is an ambitious project though the bloc face far more problems than the EU in respect to border issues among members, political instability, human rights violations and so on. The ASEAN bloc is already committed in establishing a single market and manufacturing base by 2015, but Japan and China are keen to increase the size of the market to include the EAS countries including Australia and New Zealand.

Japan’s new Prime Minister, Yukio Hatoyama, has reportedly initiated the call for the single currency, which experts felt would change the global balance of power, if it ever happened. Hatoyama’s proposal immediately received support from China, which said it was ready for discussions.

On the contrary, the New Zealand Prime Minister John Key deflected the idea by saying currency union was normally the last step for any community of countries, and a lot of progress had to be made on regulation and trade barriers before moving on to currency union. However, he admitted there was no question about a growing appetite for a broader consensus on this issue, and his country was committed on the progress of a pan-Asia free-trade area.

Kavi Chongkittavorn, former assistant to the ASEAN secretary-general, said the group was divided along “ideological and generational lines” that had left it polarized on issues like human rights, political intervention and territorial disputes. The Thai Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, the host and current chair of the ASEAN presidency, urged ASEAN countries to get closer to become more influential in the international community.

The resurfacing of the need for a common trading unit indicates that the countries have realized the need to initiate a feasibility study on this matter. Three years later, thus the summit clears the air on working on a plan to evolve a common currency unit.

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The political instability of the country has already reflected on its exports by showing drastic decline post coup d’état. Mauricio Diaz Burdett, the co-ordinator of an NGO focuses on economic policy, poverty alleviation and corruption eradication, projected that the Honduran economy would shrink by 4.5 percent in 2009, while exports would diminish by $1bn – roughly a 15 percent drop from previous year. According to World Bank, Honduras is the third poorest country in the region behind Haiti and Nicaragua.

The country witnessed a huge slide in tourist traffic at major tourist destinations including Copan Ruins Archaeological Site, the famous Mayan site and the diving hot spots off the Bay Islands. In light of the crisis, the Copan Ruins Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Tourism has published under ‘Important Information’ in its official website that “All tourist services are working normally. And the large cities curfews are NOT affecting the Municipality (county) of Copan”.

Honduras, a predominant catholic state largely depends on its tourism industry, but the repeated listing it as unsafe through advisories by its potential countries of Honduran tourists have seriously impacted the industry as well as its subsidiaries. A local priest, Father Daniel Correa told Catholic News Service that the living standards had improved over the past decade due to increased tourism that provided employment in one of Honduras’ most impoverished regions. However, he added that the current lack of visitors was creating economic hardships for many of his parishioners.

The Tegucigalpa-based Chamber of Commerce and Industry estimated that more than 100,000 jobs were lost nationwide from mid-July to mid-October. An editorial by the Tegucigalpa newspaper Diario Tiempo termed the situation “worse than Mitch,” a reference to the 1998 hurricane that stormed through Central America which Honduras has yet to fully recover.

After the coup, for the past 4 months businesses suffered huge losses particularly due to curfews being clamped as protest erupted often in support and against the ousted leader. Analysts say the forthcoming elections in November are expected to bring political stability provided neutral observers from the international community are involved in the hustings to ensure free and fair elections.

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