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President Uhuru Kenyatta has lauded the World Rally Championship (WRC), terming it a great motor sporting event that positively impacted the country’s economy.

President Kenyatta said since its return last year, the international motor sporting event has raised the country’s profile by attracting renowned motor sports giants.

The President spoke on Sunday afternoon when he awarded winners of this year’s Safari Rally in Naivasha, Nakuru County.

“Thank you very much for your partnership and your cooperation, and to the people of Kenya you will see this is an event that is in our blood. Let me also remind you that it is not only an event that is in our blood because of our history but it is also an event that impacts us economically and positions us globally,” President Kenyatta said.

At the same time, the President called on Kenyans to continue supporting the event not only as a sporting activity but also an economic one as well.

“An event like this is not just about the drivers and the crews, it’s also about every single person who is a participant from the hotels that are occupied, to the waiters who serve them, from those that do traffic management to those who are spectators, and those who are vendors for various items. It is an event that brings money to the pockets of wananchi.

“As we promote it, we promote not just the sport, we also promote our own economic wellbeing and that is how I would want Kenyans to view it. Don’t look at the event with small lens but rather see it in a bigger picture. Lets see it as an event which will help us prosper,” said the President.

The Head of State thanked all stakeholders who helped in bringing back the WRC to Kenya and congratulated the winners for demonstrating the true spirit of sportsmanship.

“We are here today to really celebrate the second year that we have hosted the return of the Safari Rally back on the WRC circuit. We are here to say how happy and proud we are to be together with all our partners and racing lovers across the globe as we celebrate our drivers, as we celebrate their cruise across the globe.

“Mine is to congratulate every single participant and as I said when we started, the prize is not in winning, the prize is in how you win. I want to believe that all our competitors for this year’s Safari Rally have shown us the need and the great desire for competing vigorously but acknowledging competition is not enmity and that is why we are here. To celebrate not just the winners but every single entrant, congratulations to each and everyone of you,” he said.

Movie star and ocean activist Jason Momoa was designated the UN Environment Programme’s (UNEP) Advocate for Life Below Water today at a major conference mobilizing global support for an ocean besieged by the triple planetary crisis of climate change, biodiversity loss and rampant pollution. 

The UN Ocean Conference, co-hosted by Portugal and Kenya and attended by thousands of ocean advocates from business, civil society and government – including several Heads of State – will advance progress on science-based solutions to ensure better management and conservation of the ocean and its resources. The conference, which is aligned to SDG 14, life below water,  stresses the critical need for scientific knowledge and marine technology to build ocean resilience, and is expected to culminate in a negotiated political declaration. 

The Aquaman actor, who has worked with Sustainable Coastlines Hawaii and rePurpose Global, described how humbled he felt to be entrusted with the responsibility to promote ocean health: “With this designation, I hope to continue my own journey to protect and conserve the ocean and all living things on our beautiful blue planet, for our generation and the generations to come.” 

The native Hawaiian with Polynesian roots, who has long championed the rights of people of island nations, described how growing up on one of the world’s most beautiful archipelagos ingrained in him a reverence for the ocean and nature that has only deepened over the years “For me, the ocean is an ancient teacher, a guide and a muse. It is also existential. Without a healthy ocean, life on our planet as we know it would not exist.” 

Momoa, who is the star of Aquaman and the upcoming sequel, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom, made remarks ahead of the Youth and Innovation Forum, where he arrived on a boat to receive the Nature Baton from the UN Special Envoy for the Ocean, Peter Thomson. Momoa then handed the baton to youth representatives before they, in turn, passed it to the UN Secretary-General. The Nature Baton, a global collaboration for the ocean’s wellbeing, has shone a spotlight on the need for action to save the world’s ocean, and is a metaphor for the journey ocean champions have taken this year from Brest to Nairobi for the UN Environment Assembly, to Palau for the Our Oceans Conference, and for World Environment Day in Stockholm, on the road to Lisbon. 

 United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, Amina Mohamed, and the African Union Commission Deputy Chairperson, H.E. Dr. Monique Nsanzabaganwa, on Thursday welcomed, as co-Chairs, the inaugural AU-UN Periodic Coordination Meeting.

This inaugural AU-UN Periodic Coordination Meeting provided a platform to gather momentum for the re-invigorated collaboration by the two organizations for the successful rollout of the agreed thematic priority areas for implementation in the current year 2022 and beyond to address the priorities of the African continent in light of the challenges posed by the COVID 19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine Conflict.  

The meeting reviewed the proposed matrix on the “AU-UN thematic priorities areas” drawing on the outcomes of the Africa RCP Annual Meeting held in Nairobi on 28 February and chaired by the United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, as well as the AU-wide Working Group on Africa RCP held on 24 June 2021 under the leadership of the AUC Deputy Chairperson, while fine-tuning the proposed joint work plan of the respective 8 Opportunity and Issue-Based Coalitions (O/IBCs) of the Africa Regional Collaborative Platform (RCP). 

The AU-UN Annual Meeting recommitted to redouble their efforts to move forward the AU-UN Framework on the Implementation of Agenda 2063 and 2030 Agenda, and AU-UN Framework for Enhanced Partnership on Peace and Security in Africa to support African countries in fast-tracking transitions from the socioeconomic response to the challenges of COVID-19 to the longer-term recovery efforts of the African continent. In this context, African Union Commissioners and their UN counterparts from the Economic Commission for Africa, the United Nations Development Program as well as the respective departments of the United Nations Secretariat agreed on enhanced coordination to achieve the common goals of the two agendas, 2063 and 2030.

The United Nations Deputy Secretary-General and the African Union Deputy Chairperson agreed to convene the African Union-United Nations Coordination Meetings periodically and before the end of the year.

Experts have said BRICS cooperation is injecting impetus into global development and helping build a community with a shared future for mankind.

BRICS, an emerging-market group which includes Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa, represents approximately 40 percent of the global population and accounts for about 25 percent of the global economy.