Binu Merin Jacob

Kenya is set to become one of the key economic partners for the UK in Africa. Join BEI on Wednesday, 21 October to find out more about the opportunities and challenges for UK stakeholders investing in trade and business ventures with Kenya. Please ensure you are signed up or signed in to the BEI portal to register. Time: Wednesday, 21 October, 2020; 10am-11:30am BST Link to register: https://www.britishexpertise.org/product/kenya-a-land-of-many-business-opportunities-a-deep-dive-series

ISO and UNE will be hosting a joint webinar inviting all interested members and stakeholders for a discussion on the role of standards to help prevent the spread of the virus in the tourism sector and allowing the industry to operate under safe working conditions internationally. Time: 1pm BST on Wednesday, 21 October Link to register: https://www.iso.org/iso-une-tourism.html

The GDP of developing conutries in Asia is set to shrink by 0.7% in 2020, although it is expected to grow by 6.8% in 2021, however, still leaving the region's economy a lot smaller than forecasted before CV-19. With this view, the British Expertise International (BEI) will be collaborating with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to provide a macroeconomic update on the impact of CV-19 specifically for Asia. Please ensure you are signed up or signed in to the BEI portal to register. Time: Tuesday, 20 October, 9:30am - 11:30am BST Link to register: https://www.britishexpertise.org/produc

In light of the current risks posed by COVID-19, delivering essential services including health, education, and social protection are becoming more challenging. This event will focus on how to protect human capital, safeguard the vulnerable, and improve remote learning as part of a more inclusive and resilient recovery. Click on the following link for more information about the speakers and to tune in for the LIVE coverage and post event LIVE Q&A session from Washington D.C: https://live.worldbank.org/human-capital-covid-19

This seminar will focus on the World Bank report about The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA): Economic and Distributional Effects and the AfCFTA agreement. It will be live streamed via YouTube and will be held in English. Date/ Time: 8am-9am, Friday, 16 October (JST) Livestreaming link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hf5WKbz7TiI Further information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/events/2020/10/16/afcfta-economic-and-distributional-effects

Join global leaders and private sector innovators on Friday, 16 October at 2pm GMT as they discuss the need for digital technologies and explore new ways to accelerate digital access and connectivity in times of crisis. Keynote speakers include Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google & Alphabet. Time: Friday, 16 October, 2-3pm (10-11am ET) More information and link to LIVE coverage: https://live.worldbank.org/closing-the-digital-divide

Globally, the current focus is on reducing and containing the number of infections and the spread of the virus until a vaccine is widely available. Join the Centre for Middle East Policy at Brookings Institute on Friday, 16 October at 2pm GMT as they discuss views from the intelligence community about the pandemic. Time: Friday, 16 October at 2-3pm GMT (10-11am EDT) More information and link to register for webcast: https://www.brookings.edu/events/anticipating-covid-19-a-view-from-the-intelligence-community/

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17 October is observed as 'World Poverty Day' and this year, the event will highlight the urgency to fight global poverty in view of the current drawbacks posed by COVID-19. The rate of extreme poverty has gone up for the first time this year in 20 years, reversing the trend that has so far been lifting hundreds of millions of people out of poverty. The event will look at the various obstacles to poverty reduction including conflict and climate change and focus on initiating long-term recovery plans for developing countries moving forward. Time: Saturday, 17 October, 2-3pm GMT (10

The CSN annual meetings this year are being hosted as regional online sessions factoring in time zone differences across the Commonwealth. The Caribbean and Americas regional session will take place at 3pm (GMT +1) on Tuesday, 20 October [8am CST/ 9am EST/ 10am AST]. The meeting is an important opportunity for participants to receive updates on the CSN progress and future support for the programme in the current climate. The invitation, draft agenda and dial-in details can now be downloaded here. Time: Tuesday, 20 October, at at 3pm (GMT +1) [8am CST/ 9am EST/ 10am AST] Joinin

3pm London (GMT +1) on Tuesday 20th October (8am Central Standard time, 9am Eastern Standard time, 10am Atlantic standard time). Draft Agenda (1hr meeting) CSN General updates CSN Draft Terms of Reference CSN Regional updates with Technical Assistance presentations Potential CSN COVID-19 assistance (attendees invited to provide suggestions) ISO Good Standardization Practice audits AOB Please contact ben.hedley@bsigroup.com for dial-in details if you have not already been sent them.