by admin | May 25, 2021 | Business, Large Enterprise, World
Brussels : The European Union (EU) vowed to further promote its tourism strategy on Wednesday, as the world’s first destination is faced with competition from other emerging destinations and may constantly lose its share of global tourists.
The EU hosted to more than half the world’s tourists in 1990s but the figure dropped to 42 per cent and is set to fall further to 30 per cent by 2030, Xinhua quoted the President of the European Parliament Antonio Tajani as saying.
EU data showed that tourism industry accounted for some 10 per cent of the EU’s gross domestic product (GDP).
For the EU, the labor-intensive tourism industry is expected to help address its almost double-digit jobless rate. According to the World Tourism and Travel Council, more than 5 million new jobs linked to tourism may be created in the EU over the next 10 years while 20 per cent of these jobs go to young people under age 25.
Tourism hence represents a main avenue to combat youth unemployment, especially in several southern regions where one out of two youths was unemployed, the president noted.
Tajani pledged to develop a strategy to prepare the bloc for competition from emerging rivals and challenges posted by a digital era in which new market players, such as Google, Airbnb and Uber, on course to shape tourism industry.
The EU as well pinned its hope on Asia to inject momentum in tourism. Data quoted by Tajani showed that the number of international tourists was set to double, from 1.1 billion to more than 2 billion, between now and 2030, while half of these tourists will come from Asia.
“A Chinese tourist visited 4 or 5 EU member states on average,” he said.
“The traveler first chooses the continent to go, so the competitors to be beaten are called America, Asia, Caribbean or Pacific.”
The year of 2018 marks the year of EU-China tourism, which would be launched in Venice on January 19. Tajani said that the EU needed good chefs, digital experts, cultural mediators and professional waiters for Chinese visitors.
As the world’s leading tourism market, 135 million Chinese visitors traveled abroad in 2016 and spent $261 billion experiencing tourist destinations. It is estimated, in the coming five years, China’s outbound visitors will reach 700 million providing even greater opportunities for shared development and prosperity, according to China’s Ambassador to the EU, Yang Yanyi.
Echoing Tajani, Yang said tourism is an enormous force for good in the world and plays a crucial role in fostering bonds of friendship between peoples.
“In China we believe that he or she who excels reads as many as ten thousand books and travels as far as ten thousand miles,” Yang told the audience.
“In its drive to achieve creative, coordinated, green, open and shared development, China has made tourism a strategic pillar and a major driver of economic transformation and upgrading,” the Ambassador said.
The China-EU Tourism Year promises to maximise the full potential of one of the most important relationships in the world, not only from a tourism perspective, but across the board, economically, socially and academically, Yang added.
—IANS
by admin | May 25, 2021 | Muslim World
Kabul : The European Union on Monday approved a €100 million package to support Afghanistan in carrying out reforms to improve its development policies, maintain macroeconomic stability, advance sound public financial management and strengthen state budget transparency.
This came in a joint statement by the Office of the EU Special Representative for Afghanistan and the Afghan Finance Ministry.
The EU’s decision follows a positive assessment of progress in these reform areas over the last 12 months against the background of a challenging security situation. It is part of a State Building Contract (SBC) signed with the government of Afghanistan during the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan on 4 October 2016.
This EU financial contribution for Afghanistan is meant to support the Afghan government in creating growth and jobs and to ensure service delivery during a time of uncertainty that includes significant risks to the economy.
EU Special Representative for Afghanistan Franz-Michael Mellbin said: “The allocation approved today is a very tangible demonstration of the EU’s long-standing commitment to Afghanistan and its people.” “Following an overall positive review of progress on key reform commitments, the EU’s State Building Contract makes a direct contribution to the National Budget and provides the government of Afghanistan with substantial financial resources and flexibility to allocate these where they are most needed. The purpose is to improve services to the population, boost economic growth and reduce poverty, at a time when Afghanistan continues to face major security, economic and political challenges,” he added.
For his part, Afghan Finance Minister Eklil Hakimi said: “The approval of this allocation means that Afghanistan has been making significant progress in crucial areas such as public policy, macroeconomic, financial management and budget transparency and oversight.”
“We welcome conditionality-based mechanism, such as the State-Building Contract, they give the government of Afghanistan flexibility and fiscal space to respond quickly to our countries evolving development priorities and reaffirm our mutual commitments to see a prosperous, stable and self-reliant Afghanistan. I thank the EU, its member states, and the people of Europe for their generous support to Afghanistan,” he said.
The SBC supports the Afghan government to implement the reform agenda presented at the Brussels Conference on Afghanistan held in October 2016, as set out in the Afghanistan National Peace and Development Framework and the associated National Priority Programs, to promote effective governance, women’s economic empowerment and basic service delivery (Citizens’ Charter).
—AB/IINA
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
London/Brussels:(IANS) Britain did the unthinkable as it voted to quit the European Union after 43 years of membership, throwing the world markets in a tailspin and leaving European leaders worried over how to stem a rising Eurosceptic tide. Prime Minister David Cameron, who had strongly backed the “Remain” vote, said he was quitting.
The European Union’s top leaders on Friday said they expect the UK to act on its momentous vote to leave the union “as soon as possible, however painful that process may be” and that there will be “no renegotiation”.
Britons voted 51.9 per cent for Brexit against 48.1 per cent of ‘Remain’ vote in a historic referendum on Thursday.
Britain joined the European Union on January 1 in 1973.
The pound sterling fell to its lowest level against the US dollar since 1985 — and the euro took a hit too.
England and Wales voted strongly to exit while London, Scotland and Northern Ireland backed the “Remain” vote. UK Independence Party leader Nigel Farage, who had been campaigning for 20 long years to dump the EU, called Friday result UK’s “Independence Day”.
A grim looking Cameron admitted he had lost the battle and would step down by October.
“The British people have decided to follow another path. So they need a new prime minister,” he said in a televised statement outside 10 Downing Street, the prime minister’s official residence.
Farage told cheering supporters that “this will be a victory for ordinary people, for decent people”.
Britain will be the first country to leave the 28-member EU. The process could take as long as two years after effecting article 50 of the Lisbon treaty, which is effectively Britain’s formal letter of resignation.
The presidents of the European council, commission and parliament — Donald Tusk, Jean-Claude Juncker and Martin Schulz, respectively — and Mark Rutte, the prime minister of the Netherlands which holds the EU’s rotating presidency, said any delay in Britain’s exit would “unnecessarily prolong uncertainty”.
After emergency talks in Brussels, the four said they regretted, but respected Britain’s decision.
“This is an unprecedented situation, but we are united in our response,” they said in a joint statement.
German chancellor Angela Merkel expressed “great regret” at Britain’s decision, but said the EU should not draw “quick and simple conclusions” that might create new and deeper divisions. The union’s foundation was “the idea of peace”, she said.
French president François Hollande in Paris said he “profoundly regrets” the Brexit vote but that the EU now had to make changes.
Hollande said the vote would put Europe to the test: “To move forward, Europe cannot act as before.”
Martin Schulz said he would speak to Merkel about “how to avoid a chain reaction” of other EU states following Britain.
“The chain reaction being celebrated everywhere now by Eurosceptics won’t happen,” he said.
The EU was the world’s biggest single market and “Britain has just cut its ties with that market. That’ll have consequences, and I don’t believe other countries will be encouraged to follow that dangerous path,” he said.
Tusk said the EU’s 27 remaining members would meet next week to assess their future without Britain,
US President Barack Obama said he respected the decision of Britons and reassured them that their special relationship with the US will remain.
“The people of the United Kingdom have spoken, and we respect their decision,” he said.
Thursday’s turnout in the referendum was 71.8 percent — the highest in a UK-wide vote since 1992. Over 30 million people voted.
he pound dropped 11 per cent to its lowest level in over three decades on Friday, wiping out earlier confidence from exit polls that suggested the ‘Remain’ camp would prevail.
The euro, seen to be vulnerable if Britain voted to leave the EU, was also down 3.2 per cent against the US dollar, which rose strongly against emerging market currencies.
A stunning slide in sterling at 3.40 a.m. saw the currency plummet below $1.40, and 20 minutes later it had breached $1.35 to levels last seen in 1985. An hour later, the pound touched a new low at $1.3224.
The UK vote spurred similar calls to exit the EU.
Dutch Freedom Party leader Geert Wilders said it was the time for a referendum in the Netherlands. “Hurrah for the British! Time for a Dutch referendum!” he tweeted.
Marine Le Pen, the leader of France’s far-right Front National Party, also sought a similar referendum in France. “From #Brexit to #Frexit: It’s now time to import democracy to our country. The French must have the right to choose!” she tweeted.
The Brexit vote has ushered in uncertainty for the 1.3 million Britons living in other European U countries and also the estimated three million non-British EU citizens living in the UK.
The vote rattled Indian financial markets too, shaving over 1,000 points, or 4 per cent, off a key equities index, while pulling the rupee just below the 68 mark to the dollar.
Both Finance Minister Arun Jaitley and Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan sought to calm the markets and said there was no cause for panic as India’s economic fundamentals remained strong and along with other macro indicators.
“We are well prepared to deal with the short and medium term Brexit consequence — strongly committed to our macro-economic framework with focus on stability,” Jaitley tweeted from Beijing.
Rajan said investors need not panic over the rupee. “We are comfortable on foreign exchange reserves. We can use it when necessary.”
by admin | May 25, 2021 | World
Beijing:(IANS) China’s foreign trade dropped 7.3 percent year-on-year to 13.63 trillion yuan ($2.23 trillion) in the first seven months of 2015, official data showed on Saturday.
Exports edged down by 0.9 percent from a year ago to 7.75 trillion yuan, while imports slumped by 14.6 percent to 5.88 trillion yuan, Xinhua cited data by the General Administration of Customs.
The trade surplus doubled to hit 1.87 trillion yuan in the January-July period.
In July, foreign trade decreased by 8.8 percent from the same period last year to 2.12 trillion yuan, with exports declining by 8.9 percent to 1.19 trillion yuan and imports falling by 8.6 percent to 930.2 billion yuan.
The trade surplus in July dropped by 10 percent to 263 billion yuan.
Qu Hongbin, chief China economist at HSBC, attributed the slump in export growth mainly to sluggish external demand, especially exports to the European Union (EU) and Japan.
Trade with the EU, China’s largest trade partner, slipped 7.6 percent year on year in the first seven months to 1.98 trillion yuan, with exports dropping by 4.4 percent to 1.22 trillion yuan and imports plunging by 12.4 percent to 757.32 billion yuan.
Trade with Japan fell 11.1 percent to 976.7 billion yuan, with exports and imports both dropping by 11.1 percent to 471.06 billion yuan and 505.64 billion yuan respectively.
However, trade with the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations managed to climbed by 2.7 percent and 1.3 percent to reach 1.92 trillion yuan and 1.62 trillion yuan respectively, driven by increased exports to those countries.
