Belarus in NATO’s Airspace & more– 8th Aug 2023

Saluton from Tibidabo! This is Rorshok Multilateral Update from the 8th of August twenty twenty-three A summary of what's going down in the world's major multilateral institutions

Poland accused Belarus of violating its airspace on Tuesday the 1st of August, leading to increased tensions between the two countries.

Warsaw said that two Belarusian helicopters entered its airspace during training exercises, while Belarus denied the allegations, dismissing them as "far-fetched."

This incident comes amid heightened activity near the Suwalki gap, a strategic area between Poland and Lithuania.

Troops from the Russian mercenary group Wagner have reportedly been moving toward the region, raising concerns about increased pressure on NATO and EU members.

The situation has led to Poland deploying more troops and combat helicopters along its border with Belarus.

The incident further adds to the already volatile security landscape in Europe.

Two days after the incident, Matthew Miller, spokesperson for the US Department of State, stated that the alliance is not at a stage to activate Article 5 of its charter.

NATO's Article 5 says an attack against one ally is considered as an attack against all members of the Alliance.

In other news, China Greater Bay Area and ASEAN countries signed Seven economic cooperation agreements worth 1.7 billion U.S. dollars on Sunday the 30th of July in Shenzhen, China.

The signing took place during the twenty twenty-three ASEAN-China Greater Bay Area Economic Cooperation Forum that ran from Saturday the 29th to Sunday the 30th of July and covered topics such as industrial park construction, digital economy, and agricultural cooperation.

Measures include supporting the China-ASEAN Center, the joint organization between China and ASEAN, to set up a representative office in Shenzhen. The purpose of the project is to establish a Greater Bay Area-ASEAN Industrial Development Investment Fund, holding the "Greater Bay Area-ASEAN Youth Innovation and Entrepreneurship Competition," and to set up a network for cooperation among universities, think tanks, and research institutions from both sides.

Now, let’s move on to Russia-Africa Summit. Mali and Burkina Faso have jointly declared Azali Assoumani of Comoros, the African Union (or AU) Chairperson, persona non grata.

The reason is that he refused to appear in a photo with leaders of the military-led governments of both countries during the Russia-Africa Summit in Saint Petersburg on Thursday the 27th of July.

Unsurprisingly Assoumani's planned visit to Mali and Burkina Faso on the 14th of August was canceled.

During the summit, some other African leaders also boycotted the picture in protest against being photographed with leaders who came to power through coups.

The leaders who refused to appear in the photos included the President of Senegal, Guinea-Bissau, the Chairperson of the AU Commission, and the President of the Republic of the Congo.

Slovak diplomat Marcel Pesko has been appointed as the new chairman of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (or OSCE) for Ukraine.

As the OSCE special representative, Pesko will focus on enhancing cooperation between the OSCE, Ukraine, and other international organizations operating in the country.

His main priorities include assisting Ukraine in coping with the consequences of the Russian invasion, supporting reforms for future EU and NATO membership, coordinating projects in various areas such as mine clearance, combating human trafficking, addressing environmental effects of the war, judicial reform, media freedom, and cyber attack resistance.

Moving on, the UN's cultural agency, UNESCO, warns that Venice is at risk of "irreversible" damage due to over-tourism and rising sea levels.

The iconic Italian city, comprising 120 islands, and its surrounding lagoon have been recommended for UNESCO's World Heritage Danger list.

UNESCO accused Italy of not having properly protected Venice from climate change and mass tourism, leading to "long-standing but urgent issues" left unresolved.

Rising sea levels, caused by global warming, might permanently flood much of the city by the end of the century, and Venice's sinking buildings exacerbate the problem.

In addition to climate-related challenges, over-tourism puts significant strain on the city's historic center, and Venice has been preparing to introduce a fee for day-trippers to control visitor numbers.

On that note about the UN, Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights announced the closure of the UN Human Rights office in Uganda after the country decided not to renew their agreement, which allowed the UN’s office to operate.

Türk expressed concern about the human rights situation in Uganda ahead of the twenty twenty-six elections, urging the government to uphold its commitments under international human rights treaties.

He specifically highlighted the chronic underfunding and under-staffing of the Uganda Human Rights Commission, a long-standing partner in promoting human rights in the country.

Pakistan has received the first disbursement of $1.2 billion from a $3 billion dollar bailout package approved by the International Monetary Fund (or IMF).

The package was designed to support Pakistan's economic stabilization program and reduce the risk of debt default.

Prior to the bailout, Pakistan faced deep-rooted economic challenges, including weak tax collection, widespread tax evasion, corruption, excessive government spending, rising public debt, and a falling currency value.

The country's economic turmoil has been exacerbated by political instability, including the imprisonment of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, who sold state gifts for 150,000 dollars. He says people are lying so that he can’t participate in the next election.

The IMF urged Pakistan to implement timely reforms in the power sector to address its energy shortage, but this may further burden the population already grappling with inflation.

The bailout aims to stabilize Pakistan's economy and provide space for social and development spending.

Talking about money, The World Bank has halted disbursements for all operations in Niger since Wednesday the 2nd of August, after the country's military seized power from democratically elected President Mohamed Bazoum.

The bank expressed concern about the political situation and the military coup's potential consequences for democratic progress and the fight against jihadist militants in West Africa.

Niger has a significant World Bank portfolio amounting to $4.5 billion dollars, and it has also received direct budget support of $600 million dollars from the bank between twenty twenty-two and twenty twenty-three.

While private sector partnerships will continue with caution, the bank will closely monitor the situation.

Foreign nationals have been evacuating from Niger following the coup.

Let’s travel to South America. Mercosur officials from the four South American nations are working on a counterproposal to the European Union’s addition to a long-awaited trade deal.

The goal is to finalize the trade agreement by the end of the year. Brazil has taken time to respond to the "side letter" the EU added to the twenty nineteen deal, which requires environmental guarantees from signatories.

The side letter was drafted in response to Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's previous president, who weakened environmental protections.

Now, Brazil, under President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, seeks to address concerns and seek compensation for the side letter. On the one hand, there can be increased quotas for exports to the EU, which means that there is a high minimum number of South American products that will have to be exported to the EU, resulting in business income. On the other hand, there can be reduced quotas for European products sold to Mercosur, meaning fewer European imports, which makes European products more expensive, protecting the domestic industry.

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The EU hopes to resume talks in August with the Mercosur counter proposal on the table.

And to close this edition, Iraq wants to issue an Interpol alert for an ex-finance minister and an ex-intelligence chief.

Allegedly, they stole 2.5 billion dollars from the country's Tax Commission.

The scandal involves cash withdrawals from the Commission's bank account between twenty twenty-one and twenty twenty-two.

Judge Haider Hanoun, Iraq's top anti-corruption official, wants to issue an Interpol Red Notice for those involved, including a private secretary and a political adviser to former Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi.

The government is working on extraditing individuals from different countries involved in the theft.

Aaaaand that’s it for this week! Thanks for joining us!

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