The two-day online Asia-Pacific Regional Forum is scheduled to begin in Geneva on Tuesday with a focus on building stronger protection mechanisms for minorities in the region. The Forum marks the 30th anniversary of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities. UN Special Rapporteur on minority issues Fernand de Varennes is scheduled to convene the Regional Forum in collaboration with the Tom Lantos Institute. “Review-Rethink-Reform is the theme of this year’s Regional Forum. The time has come to reflect on the challenges facing minorities in Asia and the Pacific, the extent their situation has evolved in the last 30 years, and what is needed to build stronger rights protection mechanisms for minorities,” de Varennes said. Read: Hasina urges joint Asia-Pacific action to meet water-related challenges The Regional Forum will bring together 152 representatives from 25 countries, UN and regional organisations, academics, civil society groups specializing in minority issues and representatives of minorities from different parts of Asia and the Pacific. Speakers will include Shigeru Aoyagi, Director of the UNESCO Bangkok, Ambassador Nassima Baghli, Permanent Observer of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation to the United Nations Office and other international organizations in Geneva, Cynthia Veliko, Regional Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in South-East Asia, and Stefano Sensi, Deputy Regional Representative of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in the Pacific. The Regional Forum for Asia and the Pacific is the second of four regional fora convened by the UN expert in 2022. Discussions will inform the work and recommendations of the 15th session of the UN Forum on Minority Issues which will take place in Geneva in December 2022.

Global ICT solutions provider Huawei has said its Cloud has become the "fastest-growing" cloud provider in Asia-Pacific. In Bangladesh, the government, Robi, IFAD Autos, bdjobs.com, Rokomari.com, Daily Star, DBC News, Ekattor TV, Symphony Softech, New Zealand Dairy, Ajkerdeal.com, Perfee, deliveryTIGER, UNITEX, and FLORA TELECOM are using Huawei Cloud. Read: Vivo X80 5G to arrive in Bangladesh soon Also, Huawei provided cloud service for the launch of the virtual Amar Ekushey Boi Mela last February so that the visitors and interested people can access all information related to the fair through a website. In 2021, Huawei Cloud's key customers in Asia-Pacific increased by 156 percent, and the number of ecosystem partners grew by 90 percent. Read: Robi's Binge available in 120-plus countries Huawei Cloud will bring new cloud solutions and services to the region in 2022, namely global network acceleration service (GA), real-time audio and video service (SparkRTC), software development production line (DevCloud), and financial distributed database GaussDB (for openGauss), according to a media statement.

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Saturday urged the Asia-Pacific countries  to combine forces to share good practices, knowledge and technologies to help address their water related common challenges.  She made the call in a video statement that was played in the Fourth Asia-Pacific Water Summit held at Kumamoto in Japan. She also said that a basin-wise approach is needed to manage the waters of trans-boundary rivers.  “We attach importance to regional or sub-regional cooperation, including for hydro-power generation and transmission,” she said. Hasina said that the today's human beings are accountable to the future generations to deliver on their international commitments on water, including the water related SDGs.  “Our youths must be empowered so that they can become responsible actors for water inclusiveness, efficiency and sustainability,” she said. The PM said that water is vital for life and it is fundamental for sustainable development and for promoting a culture of peace.  “We need to ensure sound water management to ‘build back better’ from the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic,” she added. She recalled that in 2016, she was a member of the UN High-level Panel on Water that adopted a ‘Call to Action’. READ: PM Hasina lauds Dhaka-Delhi cooperation on Covid-19 pandemic "The mid-term review of the Water Action Decade next year will provide us a platform in implementing the action agenda," she said adding that the Kumamoto Declaration will be a useful contribution to that process. In Bangladesh, she said, the government has taken an inclusive, whole-of-society approach to water management where more than 85 per cent of its people have access to safe drinking water and improved sanitation facilities.  “We have almost ended open defecation. Our fight against water-borne diseases is a continuous effort. From next month, we shall administer 2.3 million cholera vaccines in the capital city,” she said. The premier also said that Bangladesh is considered a “role model” in water related disaster management.  She mentioned that the investments in flood embankments, cyclone shelters, coastal polders, green belts, floating agriculture, river dredging, urban storm water drainage systems have increased Bangladesh’s resilience.  “We have benefited from developing early warning systems and community-based interventions. Our floodplain management aims at managing the seasonal variations in water availability,” she said. The prime minister said that Bangladesh has drawn up a cross-sectoral Bangladesh Delta Plan 2100 to work towards a resilient and prosperous delta.  She said that the government is hosting an International Financing Conference next month for mobilizing resources for implementing projects under the Plan. “We look forward to using the sediment loads flowing into the Bay of Bengal for reclaiming and elevating lands in our coastal areas. Bangladesh also stands ready to harness the untapped potentials of Blue Economy,” she said. Talking about the climate change issue, Hasina said that Bangladesh is aware of the immense impacts of climate change on water.  “We see growing saline intrusion in our coastal areas. We also see a sharp decline in ground water level in some parts of the country. Our government is giving emphasis on nature-based solutions, including on rainwater harvesting,” she added. In this regard, she said that the scientists have been working on developing salinity and water-resistant, and drought-tolerant crops, and already invented a number of varieties.  “We are taking an eco-system based approach to protecting our wetlands. We recognize our rivers to be living entities,” she said. Kumamoto City of Japan and Asia-Pacific Water Forum (APWF) Jointly organised the Summit under tye theme ‘Water for Sustainable Development -Best Practices and the Next Generation’.

The developing East Asia and Pacific countries is projected to grow by 5 percent in 2022 amid the resurgence of COVID-19 pandemic, tighter financial conditions and the Russia-Ukraine war, the World Bank said Monday. "Shocks emanating from the war in Ukraine and the sanctions on Russia are disrupting the supply of commodities, increasing financial stress, and dampening global growth," said the World Bank's newly released East Asia and Pacific Economic Update. Also Read: World Bank Recruitment 2022: Job opportunities at the World Bank, workplace Dhaka "Just as the economies of East Asia and the Pacific were recovering from the pandemic-induced shock, the war in Ukraine is weighing on growth momentum," said World Bank Vice President for East Asia and Pacific Manuela V. Ferro. "The region's largely strong fundamentals and sound policies should help it weather these storms." Surging U.S. inflation could provoke faster-than-anticipated financial tightening, perhaps timely in the United States but "too early" in many East Asia and Pacific countries where recovery is "incomplete," according to the report. The risk of capital outflows, which could put pressure on some countries' currencies, could induce "premature" financial tightening. Overall economic growth in developing East Asia and Pacific countries is projected to slow to 5 percent in 2022, 0.4 of a percentage point less than expected in October, the World Bank noted, adding that if global conditions worsen and national policy responses are weak, growth in the region could slow to 4 percent. Also Read: World Bank okays $358 million fund to improve road safety in Bangladesh To mitigate the risks and grasp the opportunities, the World Bank urged governments to enhance efficiency of fiscal policy for recovery and growth, and strengthen macroprudential policies to mitigate risks from global financial tightening. It also called on policymakers to reform trade-related policies in goods and, especially, in still-protected services sectors to take advantage of shifts in the global trade landscape, and encourage diffusion of technology.    

At an online media roundtable recently, Chinese telecom giant Huawei reiterated its commitment to empowering the green and sustainable future of the digital economy in Asia-Pacific (APAC). To create a greener and more sustainable digital world, Huawei will increase investment in sustainable green solutions, leveraging clean power generation, electric transportation, and smart energy storage, to support APAC's goals of cutting carbon emissions, promoting renewable energy, and contributing to a circular economy, according to Jay Chen, vice-president of Huawei APAC. Read: Huawei brings seven new devices for smart experience At that media session arranged during MWC 2022 Barcelona, he said: "At Huawei, we are working closely with carriers and partners from around the world to explore solutions that help make life better, businesses smarter, and society more inclusive. We'd also love to share how our ICT technology is helping make the world a greener, more sustainable place." In 2021, Huawei announced to support the digital ecosystem in APAC and shared that it would invest $50 million to develop 500,000 digital talents for the region in the next five years and would invest $100 million over three years to cultivate the startup ecosystem. Read Seeds for the Future winners visit Huawei Bangladesh headquarters

The 36th Regional Conference for Asia and the Pacific (APRC) of the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), hosted by Bangladesh  for the first time, will begin on Tuesday. The 4-day conference will be held in a hybrid format, said Agriculture Minister Dr. Mohammad Abdur Razzaque at a press conference at the Secretariat on Monday. He said the conference will continue till Friday. According to the Agriculture Ministry, the main session of the conference will be held at the InterContinental Dhaka while the opening ceremony and country showcasing at the Bangabandhu International Conference Center. Also read: Covid-19 pandemic swells number of hungry by more than 50 mn in Asia-Pacific: FAO-UNICEF Report The meetings of senior government officials, agriculture secretaries and senior government officials will be held on Tuesday and Wednesday and minister-level meetings will be held on Thursday and Friday. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina will inaugurate the minister-level meeting on Thursday. The Agriculture Minister said, “It is a glorious moment for us. We want to showcase our capabilities to the world by organising this conference successfully, so that other international organizations become interested in hosting conferences in Bangladesh in future," he said. The current state of food and agriculture in Asia and the Pacific, what need to be done to develop climate-tolerant agriculture and food system in the region, accelerating  the digitisation of agriculture value chain, prioritizing one-health approach, and economic cooperation and joint investment during Covid pandemic- will come up for discussion at the conference, said the minister at the briefing. Apart from agriculture ministers and secretaries from 46 countries in Asia and the Pacific, top officials of government and non-government organizations will also take part in it. Representatives of 43 member states, the Director General of the FAO, representatives of various UN bodies, development partners, NGOs and civil society have already registered to take part in it, said Dr Razzaque. Also read: FAO launches training for nutrition master trainers The first FAO Asia-Pacific regional conference was held in Bangalore of India in 1953. Bangladesh joined the organization in 1973.

Chinese President Xi Jinping warned Thursday against letting tensions in the Asian-Pacific region cause a relapse into a Cold War mentality. His remarks on the sidelines of the annual summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum came weeks after the U.S., Britain and Australia announced a new security alliance in the region which would see Australia build nuclear submarines. China has harshly criticized the deal. Xi spoke in a pre-recorded video to a CEO Summit at APEC, which is being hosted by New Zealand in a virtual format. Xi is scheduled to participate in an online meeting with other Pacific Rim leaders including U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday. In his speech, Xi said attempts to draw boundaries in the region along ideological or geopolitical lines would fail. “The Asia-Pacific region cannot and should not relapse into the confrontation and division of the Cold War era,” Xi said. Xi also said the region should make sure to keep supply lines functioning and to continue liberalizing trade and investment. Read: At least 46 killed in Taiwanese apartment building inferno “China will remain firm in advancing reform and opening up so as to add impetus to economic development,” he said. The most pressing task in the region is to make an all-out effort to fight the pandemic and to emerge from its shadow as soon as possible, he said. Human rights lawyer Amal Clooney also spoke at the CEO summit, saying she believed that liberal democracies could improve global human rights by pressuring autocratic nations. She said businesses also needed to play a role. In all, APEC members account for nearly 3 billion people and about 60% of the world’s GDP. But deep tensions run through the unlikely group of 21 nations and territories that include the U.S., China, Taiwan, Russia, and Australia. Many of the countries in Asia endeavor to balance Chinese and U.S. influences on the economic and geopolitical fronts. Also read: China's advice to stockpile sparks speculation of Taiwan war China claims vast parts of the South China Sea and other areas and has moved to establish a military presence, building islands in some disputed areas as it asserts its historic claims. Both Taiwan and China have applied to join a Pacific Rim trade pact, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, with Beijing saying it will block Taiwan’s bid on the basis that the democratically governed island refuses to accept that it’s part of communist-ruled China. And it remains unclear whether all APEC members will support a bid by the U.S. to host the 2023 round of APEC meetings. New Zealand’s Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta said Wednesday that APEC was founded on consensus and that there was not yet a confirmed host for 2023. Officials say they have made significant progress during some 340 preliminary meetings leading up to this week’s leaders’ meeting. APEC members have agreed to reduce or eliminate many tariffs and border holdups on vaccines, masks and other medical products important to fighting the pandemic.

Huawei will invest $50 million in the next five years to develop 500,000 digital talents in the Asia-Pacific. Jeffery Liu, president of Huawei Asia-Pacific, recently announced this while delivering his keynote speech at the Asia Pacific Innovation Day – Digital Talent Summit 2021. "Cultivating an innovative ICT talent ecosystem is fundamental to the digital transformation. Leveraging shared innovations with win-win outcomes, we can harness the power of ICT skills to fly us into a digital future," Jeffery said. Read Huawei recognised 2022 Gartner Peer Insights Customers' Choice for 3rd straight year "Together with our partners, Huawei will invest $50 million in the next 5 years to develop 500,000 digital talents in the Asia-Pacific." The online summit brought together policymakers, researchers, and industry experts to share solutions and best practices in building a sustainable ecosystem that will help foster digital talents in the Asia-Pacific. "The Digital Talent Summit 2021 aims to discuss and address the needs of ASEAN ICT youth talent, and is very relevant, especially amid the global pandemic which forced us to significantly rely more on the digital platform," said the Deputy Secretary-General of ASEAN for ASEAN Political-Security Community Robert Matheus Michael Tene. Read Huawei Technologies willing to support RMG sector in renewable energy: BGMEA To bridge the digital talent gap in this region, Huawei also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the ASEAN Foundation at the summit. "Innovation and development rely on a talent ecosystem. Huawei is prepared to work with its partners to build a talent development ecosystem conducive to innovation," Huawei Senior Vice-President and Board Member Catherine Chen said.

Climate-related hazards are intensifying in the Asia-Pacific, disproportionately affecting vulnerable rural communities, says a new global report. Policymakers must prioritise climate resilience and adaptation measures to protect rural communities from losing economic advancements, according to a new report released Monday by the UN's International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). READ: 'Turn pledges into action': Hasina's clarion call to combat climate change The Building Climate Resilience in the Asia Pacific Region report reviews the key results and lessons learned from the IFAD-supported Adaptation for Smallholder Agricultural Programme (ASAP) which ran from 2012 to 2017 and invested $305 million in targeted rural development projects that needed support in adapting and mitigating the effects of climate change on rural communities. The ASAP programme made significant progress in the region, supporting more than 510,000 small-scale farming households to adapt to climate change in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, Laos, Nepal and Vietnam. The report highlights the diverse, effective, and innovative approaches that IFAD has developed in cooperation with rural communities to adapt to and mitigate the detrimental effects of climate change on rural people's lives and livelihoods. It analyses approaches and actions that were successful and can be "scaled up" in the region, providing a solid foundation for the new phase of the programme called the Enhanced Adaptation for Smallholder Agricultural Programme (ASAP+), potentially channelling an additional $500 million in climate finance to support the climate resilience of 10 million vulnerable people, particularly women and youth. "Small-scale producers often know what they need to be more resilient to the effects of climate change, we can support them by helping them to access the appropriate finance and technology," said Kisa Mfalila, IFAD's regional climate and environment specialist for Asia-Pacific. READ: Extinct dinosaur lectures world leaders about climate change "The report confirms that farmers have developed many successful adaptation techniques over time. We need to act fast to draw upon local knowledge," she added. There will also be a live event at the IFAD Pavilion at COP26 Wednesday that includes a virtual field trip to Bangladesh to discover what steps small-scale farmers are taking to adapt to climate change. Accompanied by documentary filmmaker Qasa Alom, the audience will virtually travel to the country to meet and interact with farmers who are participants of IFAD-supported projects, to discuss their climate challenges and how they and their rural communities are adapting. The report suggests acting fast, using technology to speed assessment of climate change risks and impacts, and drawing upon the experience, knowledge, and creativity of local people. Smallholder farmers have developed many successful adaptation techniques – these must be identified, refined, rolled out and financed adequately and quickly, it says. Also, the IFAD report calls for using public-private partnerships to add value to and speed up the uptake of solutions created by local people. Public sector initiatives should be combined with efforts from private sector players, providing inputs and machinery, advisory services, technology solutions and market access to be able to market more profitable products, it says. Successful adaptations will be spontaneously adopted in rural communities as long as constraints are removed and finance is available. Smallholder farmers quickly adopt production enhancing innovations if supportive policy frameworks are in place and if public institutions and the private sector provide adequate finance and advisory services. Information and communication technology platforms introduced to support climate-resilient initiatives also protect against other adverse events, including pandemic disruption: technology platforms can help bring together suppliers, producers, buyers, and other stakeholders to facilitate their exchanges and to make farmers and food chains less exposed to external shocks like the Covid-19 pandemic, the IFAD report says. Technology platforms help attract young people to enter the food and farming sector, enhancing the rural economy, it adds.

Global technology company vivo topped 5G smartphone shipments for Asia-Pacific in the second quarter of 2021, according to Strategy Analytics. This is the first time that the company has earned the top spot in Asia-Pacific 5G shipments during a single quarter. Read Vivo V21e review with price in Bangladesh: Is it worth it? Vivo captured one in five 5G shipments in Asia-Pacific, with annual shipment growth of 215%, according to a media statement. Earlier this year, Strategy Analytics noted that vivo had become the second-fastest-growing 5G smartphone vendor in the world, and maintained its strong momentum through the first quarter of 2021. Read 'Walton adds new dimension to technology research, innovation'