ISLAMABAD (25-6-2020) – Consequent to the framework collaboration agreement signed between Ministry of IT and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) on 25 March 2020, to jointly work for the acceleration of development of agriculture sector of Pakistan, using technology. Agrisurge 2020 Innovation Challenge was virtually launched by Mr. Shoaib Ahmad Siddiqui, Federal Secretary IT and Ms. Minà Dowlatchahi, Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Representative. This is a particularly relevant action, at a time when Pakistan is confronting the COVID-19 pandemic and related socio economic impacts, as well as an unprecedented Desert Locust threat.

Under the Agrisurge 2020 Innovation Challenge, Ignite in collaboration with FAO, has called for innovative solutions that can revolutionize agriculture in Pakistan, and increase the resilience of food systems and help the rapid transformation of small holder agriculture systems,  through 4th Industrial Wave (4IW) tech. The competition is open for all with no age limit. There will be a special cash prize for women majority teams, conditional to the solution presented. The wining team will clinch a cash prize of PKR 500,000/- while first and second runner-up teams will receive PKR 300,000/- and PKR 200,000/- respectively. The proposal submission deadline is set for July 14, 2020.

Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui said that ever since the outbreak of COVID-19, Ministry of IT is consistently launching ICT centric initiatives in sectors that are critically devastated by the pandemic, may it be health, education or agriculture.

He said, “being the first causality of the pandemic, health and wellbeing of our people drew our attention, so we immediately announced funding for high impact and short time to market ideas that can tackle the most pressing challenges of the hour. Last week we launched National Education Challenge 2020 for provision of education and increment of literacy rate in the face of global educational and industrial shutdown, using technology.”

Talking about the current locusts attack, Mr. Siddiqui said that the farmers across Pakistan are suffering the worst plague in recent history, which has led to fears of food shortages. Hence this Agrisurge Challenge will definitely look for proposals that can bring innovative solutions to effectively thwart such catastrophic attacks to our crops.

BEIJING (DNA) -The Secretary-General of SCO Vladimir Norov has said that 26 June is the International Day against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking. The establishment of this remarkable date on 7 December 1987 by the decision of the 42^ndsession of the UN General Assembly was an important step in securing the world drug problem on the global agenda. This day is of special importance for the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

He said the problem of not medical consumption of drugs and psychotropic substances becomes increasingly relevant. According to the World report of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime for 2019, the number of persons using drugs was more than 270 million people at the age of 15-64 years (5.5% of the world population) that is 30% higher in comparison with 2009. The number of consumers of opioids alone grew up by 1.5 times between 2016-2017, reaching 53.4 million people. The income of the shadow market of drugs is estimated by about US $ 320 billion.

The threatening dynamics of drug trafficking and drug abuse in recent years have had a profound negative impact on virtually all spheres of society and the State, undermining the institutions, social foundations, and especially the gene pool of nations.

In the context of unprecedented openness of the modern world, when trade, economic and humanitarian ties between states, regions, enterprises and even individuals have been “streamed”, transnational criminal communities involved in the illegal production, smuggling and trade in drugs have also begun to take advantage of these opportunities.

Therefore, the way to a successful fight against drug trafficking lies not only in improving the efficiency of law enforcement structures but also in consolidating multilateral efforts of states through the exchange of experience, information, harmonization of legislation, national strategies, and approaches to solving this problem.

At present, it is safe to say that SCO is one of the authoritative regional associations involved in anti-drug issues. We have a common legal and regulatory framework and a flexible institutional framework for cooperation that covers all aspects of the anti-drug policy without exception, from joint operational and investigative activities to the implementation of a whole range of preventive, medical, and rehabilitation measures.

The three-tier mechanism of regular consultations of the competent bodies implements the updated SCO Anti-Drug Strategy and the Programme of Action for its implementation. Thanks to their joint work, up to 40% of the opium group drugs intercepted throughout Eurasia are withdrawn from the illegal trade.

At the same time, the interaction of the SCO member states on the anti-drug track is not standing still and is systematically adapting to new emerging challenges. This is especially noticeable against the background of the changes that are taking place in the illicit drug market under the conditions of the coronavirus pandemic. Above all, forced restrictive measures imposed by states have increased the already growing share of digital communication in society, which has consequently affected the channels for the sale and acquisition of drugs.

At the same time, practical responses to new risks are being developed. Particularly, more than 10 tons of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances have been detained as a result of the last two SCO “Web” anti-drug operations aimed, inter alia, at interrupting the supply of synthetic drugs and countering the use of virtual payment systems in the drug business.

The priority for SCO is to curb drug trafficking from Afghanistan. Our states are forming a single barrier to fighting the global drug aggression, which threatens not only them, but also much more distant countries in Europe, North America, Africa, Australia, and Oceania.

Interaction with our Afghan partners is carried conducted through the SCO-Afghanistan Contact Group. At the same time, within the implementation of corresponding “Roadmap”, we intend to pay attention not only to issues of accumulation of law-enforcement potential but also to developing coordinated positions in promoting alternative development in Afghanistan.

Our contribution to global anti-drug efforts has received due international recognition. We have been one of the main regional partners of UNODC for almost 10 years now. The latest meetings of the Paris Pact initiative on cross-border cooperation and preventing the diversion of precursor chemicals were held with the assistance of the SCO Secretariat.

Besides, working contacts with CSTO, CIS, ASEAN, OSCE, and Interpol are being developed, including through mutual participation in relevant events.

At the same time, we are recording new trends in illegal drug smuggling. In particular, the suspension of international land and air traffic leads to a greater concentration of drug production within domestic markets, as well as to a shift of drug trafficking southwards towards shipping routes. In the first half of the year, Indian and Pakistani law enforcement agencies detained large quantities of drugs entering through ports. Also, drug trafficking from the Golden Triangle region, including India and China, continued. In this regard, we see prospects for expanding the horizons of our cooperation in the SCO-ASEAN-UNODC format.

I must stress that the SCO member states support the inviolability of the three UN anti-drug conventions, considering them as the cornerstone of the modern system of international drug control. We proceed from the imperative of strict compliance with their provisions, including regarding the use of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances solely for medical and scientific purposes. At the same time, we regret to note that the current trends towards the legalization of cannabis for recreational purposes contribute to the erosion of established international anti-drug law. We fundamentally oppose calls for the legalization of drugs in violation of existing international legal obligations and fundamental human rights, including the right to life and health care.

We recall the importance of implementing the SCO concept adopted in 2018 on the prevention of the abuse of narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances to reduce the scale of the consequences of their illicit trafficking on public health and the security of society and the State. We intend to improve medical and rehabilitation care for people suffering from drug addiction, to carry out joint research and development work in the field of narcology, to develop new methods of chemical and toxicological analysis, and to improve methods of treatment for people suffering from drug addiction.

BEIJING, , June 25 : China’s Shenzhen Sunwin Intelligent Co., Ltd. (Sunwin) donated five Industrial drones (UAVs) to Pakistan’s National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA).

On behalf of NDMA, Muhammad Irfan, Trade & Investment Counsellor of Consulate General of Pakistan in Guangzhou attended the donation ceremony held here, China Economic Net (CEN) reported on Thursday.

Addressing at the ceremony, Irfan said Pakistan and China are as close as brothers. No matter what challenges afront, the two sides have been always offering selfless help and support to each other at the earliest opportunity.

He expressed that the friendship between the two countries will be even stronger.

The donation of Sunwin, which occurred when Pakistan is fighting fiercely against both COVID-19 and the locust attack, is just a proof of the “iron-clan” friendship between Pakistan and China.

Zhou Yong, Chairman of the Board of Sunwin, said that China and Pakistan are All-Weather Strategic Cooperative Partners and the China-Pakistan friendship has always been unbreakable and rock-solid.

Zhou recalled that right after the breakout of the COVID-19, Pakistan mobilized the whole nation to support China.

He added, “You throw a peach to me, and I give you a white jade for friendship. Now, as Pakistan is in trouble, Sunwin, a Chinese sci-tech enterprise, should embrace our responsibility.

We would like to bring our good products in agricultural crops protection to Pakistan and share their experiences in the pandemic control and prevention with the local government and people.”

Sunwin told CEN that the five Industrial UAVs, with a total value of 200, 000 RMB (about $28,291), will depart from China’s Guangzhou and be sent to Pakistan soon. They will assist Pakistan’s fight against the pandemic and locust attack.

Saiying, a type of drone made by Sunwin, has been used to kill locusts in Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan and other places since February 2020, according to Zhou.

This drone has become a special instrument with super power to destroy locusts for its high efficiency of spraying and disinfecting, strong adaptation and remarkable effect.

With the COVID-19 pandemic spreading in Pakistan, unmanned aerial vehicles could also play an important role in disinfecting, monitoring and temperature measurement.

After knowing that Pakistan is still in need of drones, Sunwin contacted both of Chinese and Pakistani embassies and made production and donation plans.

Sunwin was established in 1997 and listed in Shenzhen Stock Exchange in January 2010. Sunwin is a leading enterprise in the field of smart city and also a leader in artificial intelligence in China.

Its main business covers four sectors, namely, smart city, big data, artificial intelligence, and culture and education.

South Africa’s finance minister Tito Mboweni on Wednesday tabled an emergency budget aimed at helping the country navigate an escalating economic crisis.

It is the first time since the end of apartheid that the country’s budget has been revised in the middle of a financial year.

The GDP is set to contract by 7.2% in 2020, the largest reduction in almost a hundred years, and up to 1.8 million jobs could be lost this year.

Mr Mboweni told parliament that the government will borrow about $7bn (£5.6bn) from multilateral lenders to support its response to the coronavirus pandemic.

The funds will help pay for the $30bn Covid-19 relief fund announced by President Cyril Ramaphosa in April.

Mr Mboweni’s emergency budget laid bare the perilous economic situation the country finds itself in. Total national debt is projected to reach nearly 82% of GDP this year, and tax revenues will be more than $17bn below target.

Nearly three months of lockdown has hampered tax collection and economic activity has been severely restricted.

Unemployment figures released on Tuesday showed that joblessness had risen to 30% and Mr Mboweni said the state will spend over $5bn to create jobs.

He also said government-led infrastructure programmes will be crucial in navigating the crisis.