ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, has made Forbes magazine’s annual list of The World’s Most Powerful People for the first time, ranked 68th.
Placement on the 75-strong chart is based on four factors: the number of people the person has power over; the financial resources they control; their influence in multiple spheres; and how actively they wield their power to change the world.
“Javed Bajwa joins the world’s most powerful at a time when the rift between India and Pakistan is improving, partly thanks to his efforts,” Forbes wrote. “Although the president is his boss on paper, Pakistan’s Chief of Army Staff is de facto the most powerful person in the nuclear-armed state.
“Two years into his tenure as the head of the world’s sixth-largest army, Bajwa has established himself as a mediator and proponent of democracy.”
Chinese President Xi Jinping tops the list, while Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are ranked second and third, respectively.
Bajwa is one of 17 new entrants on the list. Of these, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, the Kingdom’s de facto leader, is the only one who made the top 10, at number eight. Indian President Narendra Modi is ninth on the list and French President Emmanuel Macron is 12th. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, the only woman in the top 10, was ranked fourth.
Forbes’ annual ranking identifies one person out of every 100 million “whose actions mean the most”.
“There are nearly 7.5 billion humans on planet Earth, but these 75 men and women make the world turn,” the magazine said.
Pakistani army chief ranked 68th-most powerful person in world by Forbes magazine
Pakistani army chief ranked 68th-most powerful person in world by Forbes magazine
- General Qamar Javed Bajwa is one of 17 new entrants on the annual list
- “Javed Bajwa joins the world’s most powerful at a time when the rift between India and Pakistan is improving, partly thanks to his efforts,” Forbes wrote
US signs $228m deal with Rwanda for health under new aid model
- Under the health deal, the US will provide up to $158 million to Rwanda to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases, the State Department said
- The health funding agreement comes a day after Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Democratic Republic of the Congo counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, affirmed their commitment to a deal to end the conflict in eastern Congo
KIGALI: The US and Rwanda have signed a deal providing $228 million for the health sector in the East African nation, the State Department said, the second such pact under the US administration’s new approach to overseas aid.
Kenya became the first country this week to strike a deal with Washington under the “America First Global Health Strategy,” unveiled in September by the administration and aimed at improving target countries’ self-reliance in managing their health sectors.
The $228 million will be provided by both governments.
The Rwanda deal lays out “a comprehensive vision to save lives, strengthen Rwanda’s health system,” the State Department said, while helping to make America “safer.”
The health funding agreement comes a day after Rwanda’s President Paul Kagame and his Democratic Republic of the Congo counterpart, Felix Tshisekedi, affirmed their commitment to a deal to end the conflict in eastern Congo.
Under the health deal, the US will provide up to $158 million to Rwanda to fight HIV/AIDS, malaria, and other infectious diseases, the State Department said.
The cash will also strengthen disease surveillance and outbreak response.
“In turn, the government of Rwanda plans to increase its own domestic health investment by $70 million, taking on greater financial responsibility as US support is gradually reduced over the years,” the department said.
The agreement will also build on an initiative that sees drone-delivery startup Zipline taking lifesaving medical products where they are needed, in co-operation with Rwanda, the department said.
“The agreement underscores Rwanda’s ambition to build a self-reliant, adaptive, and technology-enabled health system,” said Oliver Nduhungirehe, Rwanda’s foreign minister, after he signed the deal with US officials in Washington.
