During the meeting, they reviewed relations of common interest between the two sides, and ways of enhancing and developing them. Photo via Gulf Times

HE the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of State for Defence Affairs Dr Khalid bin Mohamed al-Attiyah met with Rwandan Defence Minister Major General Albert Murasira. During the meeting, they reviewed relations of common interest between the two sides, and ways of enhancing and developing them. On this occasion, HE al-Attiyah hosted a luncheon banquet in honour of the Rwandan defence minister and the delegation accompanying him. (QNA) - Gulf Times

Trade education is vital to further grow exports between the UK and Africa

The Institute of Export & International Trade (IOE&IT) announced a new investment in Africa with the opening of its first international office in Nairobi, Kenya. Building on the Kenya-UK Economic Partnership Agreement the IOE&IT is developing training, education and consultancy offerings for the entire African continent – unique and specific to Africa-world trade and intra-African trade.

The opening of the office builds on a successful 2021 in Africa where the IOE&IT delivered qualifications in Kenya, Ghana and Nigeria. The Institute has worked with the International Trade Centres, along with the Ghana Export Promotion Authority and Nigerian Export Promotion Council, as well as developing a Trade and Information Pipeline (TLIP) with TradeMark East Africa.

UK exports to Kenya in 2021 were worth £530 million and imports from Kenya totalled £579 million. The TLIP project aims to increase trade for both sides and will help create greater visibility within supply chains and simplify the facilitation of trade between the UK and Kenya. The overall aim of the TLIP initiative is to reduce logistical time constraints for businesses by around 40%, reduce the cost of compliance by 20% - potentially worth an initial saving of up to £36m to UK Exporters.

Marco Forgione, director general of the Institute of Export & International Trade “We are delighted to be opening our first office outside the UK in Kenya. It is a sign of how important we believe our work in Africa is and how much more important we believe it can be. Of course, the Institute has always worked to support our members right around the globe but in opening up this new chapter we are sending a strong signal that we are there for members on the African continent and that we can help traders there to upskill their teams to trade in support of the AfCFTA as well as growing their trade globally. This investment in growing our presence in Africa especially our new base in the Kenya is central to this ambition.”

Police officers who guard No 10 have reportedly been interviewed as part of Sue Gray’s inquiry into parties held at Downing Street during Covid restrictions.

A source told The Telegraph their statements to the civil servant in charge of the probe were “extremely damning”.

Ms Gray is looking into allegations of a number of parties held at Downing Street while the country was under Covid restrictions. She is expected to publish her findings in the next week.

Officers who were on duty outside No 10 at the time of alleged rule-breaking parties have now reportedly been spoken to for the inquiry. 

Access to Downing Street is controlled by the Metropolitan Police’s parliamentary and diplomatic protection command. According to The Telegraph, members of this branch have given detailed testimonies about what they saw to Ms Gray.

Asked how significant their information was, a source told the newspaper: “Put it this way, if Boris Johnson is still prime minister by the end of the week, I’d be very surprised.”

Downing Street refused to comment on the ongoing investigation.

On Sunday, Dominic Raab, the deputy prime minister, said Tory MPs were rallying behind the prime minister ahead of the Partygate inquiry’s expected publication this week.

The Met has previously faced questions over how officers could have been unaware of a “bring your own booze” garden gathering as they stood guard outside Downing Street.

Ms Gray is also looking into reports of other gatherings alleged to have happened at No 10 - including two events on the eve of Prince Philip’s funeral.

Officials working in No 10 claim they have held back information from the investigation into the partygate scandal due to “culture of fear” surrounding the probe. Three sources told The Independent they had not divulged messages and pictures on their phones after a senior member of staff told them to remove anything that could fuel speculation in the wake of the first party revelations. The Met has been approached for comment. By Zoe Tidman, Yahoo News