Month: December 2015

24.12.2015

At the invitation of the Rector of the National University of Equatorial Guinea, the Director General of National Content, Mr Oscar Vicente García Berniko, attended the graduation ceremony and certificate delivery of the students in the English Programme at the UNGE on Monday, 14 December. The ceremony began with the reading of the technical report by the Programme Coordinator who highlighted that the UNGE’s English Programme, which began in 2013, is supported by the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy and the Marathon Oil Company and has the objective of providing the UNGE an English Programme with international standards.

Since 2014, the programme works in collaboration with the EAFIT University (Colombia) in regards to the training of Equatoguinean professors and in the development of the curriculum taught at the UNGE. This programme currently provides a total of 20 courses at the A1, A2, B1 and B2 levels to 58 students, of which five have graduated, after having completed all the aforementioned levels, and others received certificates for having completed some of them. This ceremony also included other speeches, like those of the representative from Marathon, the Director General of National Content, and the Dean of the Department of Arts and Social Sciences on behalf of the Rector.

In his speech, the representative from Marathon was happy with the ceremony and highlighted that the English programme is very important since it gives opportunities to Equatoguineans to work in the oil industry. Lastly, he thanked the Rector and other coordinators of the programme for the graduation of five students and the delivery of certificates to the other 53.

For his part, the Director General of National Content congratulated all those involved in the project and noted that he valued the support of Marathon in this initiative. Later, he thanked the UNGE and the EAFIT University for their work in the programme and recommended to the graduates that they improve their acquired knowledge and put it into practice in their professional development.

Finally, the Dean of the Department of Arts and Social Sciences, after congratulating the students, said that the UNGE is proud of having language programmes that contribute to the comprehensive development of its students who are capable of thriving in any context, through a global language like English. He asked the programme’s coordinators to work to extend such courses to the general public, especially professors, professionals and public and private institutions. He concluded his speech by thanking the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea for his constant support for the UNGE, the Minister of Mines, Industry and Energy for contributing to the development and financing of the training projects through the oil companies that operate in our country, the universities for their important mission of technology transfer to the English Programme of the UNGE, and the graduating students. He told the students to put their newly-acquired knowledge and skills into practice in order to be good ambassadors and messengers of the successes of the programme.

Translation from the original text here: http://mmie.gob.gq/?p=4576

Image: mmie.gob.gq

16.12.2015

Following a series of meetings with Ambassador Mari-Cruz Evuna Andeme, Native Eye Travel, a UK-based adventure tours travel company, will be taking its first tour to Equatorial Guinea in January 2016. Ambassador Evuna commented today: “Our government’s development programme, Horizon 2020, has tourism as one of its key pillars. We now have two UK tour operators introducing people to the unique and unspoilt delights of our country.”

Jim O’Brien of Native Eye commented: “Native Eye is not just a business – we live and breathe travel and love the destinations we offer. Equatorial Guinea fits perfectly with our ethos to offer travel at its most exiting, breath-taking, new intriguing and exhilarating. Our Equatorial Guinea tours take you to one of the most unlikely corners of Africa. A tiny nation split between various islands including Bioko and the mainland, tourism is virtually unknown here. The only country in Africa where Spain established a significant presence, it is fast modernising but the remains of Latin colonial architecture still exist in hidden corners, and scrape the surface of contemporary culture and you can find ancient traditional beliefs.”

Native Eye Travel specialises in offering small group tours of no more than twelve people to some of the most unusual and least visited countries in the world. They are not simply a “highlights” type of travel company. In many of the destinations that they operate in, traditional tourist sites are thin on the ground – this is part and parcel of getting off the beaten track. They believe that the best experiences are often to be had from the less-conventional sites where you are not simply one of a crowded and are discovering places and people that may not feature in any guide book. This could mean heading off on dirt tracks to visit a traditional village, exploring a forgotten temple in the jungle or being a guest at a voodoo ceremony deep in the bush. Their extensive personal experience and passion for the unusual means that they look beyond the common to find the truly authentic. Rather than use western guides, Native Eye usually uses local guides who are born in the country and have a deep involvement and knowledge of the cultures to be visited.

To learn more about how you can book a tour to Equatorial Guinea, visit Native Eye Travel’s website at the following link: http://nativeeyetravel.com/tours-holidays/equatorial-guinea/island-africa/#trip_content

15.12.2015

In the afternoon of the 14^th of this month, Minister Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, accompanied by Director General of Industry and of the EITI, Cesar Augusto Hinestrosa, and other officials from the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy, visited the plant of an industry that produces oxygen-nitrogen, Industrial Oxygen and Acetylene, which is based in Potao in the city of Malabo. The visit was conducted to view the project being undertaken by the company. The oxygen being produced by the company can be used in various ways including by hospitals for seriously-ill patients that we have in different hospitals in the country. This news impacted many because we all know how costly it is to import gas cylinders of oxygen for use in our hospitals—once this is manufactured in Equatorial Guinea, we realise that our country continues to develop and progress towards the Horizon 2020 which will transform us into an emerging country.

Given the current development situation in Equatorial Guinea, the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy sees importance in the following areas, among others: promoting national industrial entrepreneurship, fomenting the creation of microindustries and small national industries, facilitating national companies in the “Made in EG” certification, implementing normalisation infrastructures, metrology and industrial quality in the country, inviting businesses in the industrial sector to legalise their operations and provide them with the corresponding Authorisations of Industrial Installation, and implement and create special economic zones for industrial activity in order to encourage investment.

Translated from the original text here: http://mmie.gob.gq/?p=4506

Image: mmie.gob.gq

15.12.2015

On the morning of 14 December, a working meeting was held between H.E. Gabriel Mbaga Obiang Lima, Minister of Mines, Industry and Energy, with representatives from Civil Society. The meeting took place in the meeting room on the 6^th floor of the Ministry of Mines, Industry and Energy.

This meeting was held to clarify certain items with Civil Society following its absence at the last meeting of the National Commission. The Civil Society representatives explained that their absence was due to their not receiving answers to the concerns and complaints they submitted in a letter on 12 August 2015.

The Minister reiterated his support for trying to resolve the concerns presented by Civil Society, but pointed out that the solutions or conclusions do not only depend on the Ministry, but also other institutions, resulting in longer processes. He requested that this situation not be allowed to interrupt the evolution of the National EITI Commission’s work.

The representatives from Civil Society have offered their support to continue collaborating in the process towards Equatorial Guinea’s entry into the EITI, and to continue working according to the plans put forth by the Minister in relation to the claims in the 12 August letter.

The participants agreed that all possible efforts should be made to submit the application for candidacy at the upcoming Global Conference of the EITI which will take place on 24 February 2016 in Lima.

At the end of the meeting, the Minister proceeded to the submission of the credentials of the representatives of Civil Society in their capacity as members of the National EITI Commission.

Translated from the original text here: http://mmie.gob.gq/?p=4491

Image: mmie.gob.gq