THE newly appointed Senior Adviser to Delta State Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan on Foreign Relations (SAFRE), Mr. Oma Djebah, is poised to take the state to the world by projecting its rich potentials.Djebah, the immediate past commissioner for Information, believes the dynamics of today's global environment necessitates the establishment of the office, which aims to ensure that a better and enhanced foreign image of the state is built and sustained.He vowed to use and leverage all the positive linkages and network available to him to partner and impact on the development of Delta State and its people.The former commissioner told journalists in Lagos recently: 'The enormous possibility of using the international market place to bring about attention to the growing demand of a state like Delta to be a dominant player among foreign governments, international institutions and agencies for the positive development of the state will be engaged to its fullest possibility to maximise the potential of a government that is desirous of bringing Delta State to the world and the world to Delta State.'Djebah outlined the strategy towards achieving the mandate to include the reliance on the three critical pillars of international and inter-governmental framework to reposition Delta State as Africa's leading sub-national government in the world.He identified the pillars- the Delta State's Outreach/Partnership Unit, the Delta State Diaspora Direct Unit and the Delta State's Direct Global Programme Unit- as means to deliverables to the people and government of the state.He noted: 'Although each component is specially designed to work on its own and bring about progress to the state, each has inbuilt capacity for seamless integration in ensuring the overall success of the work we need to do.'The Delta State Outreach/Partnership Unit entails building good, credible and highly-placed friends, allies and contact for the Governor and the state, the Diaspora Direct Unit, which commenced in 2009, will build and sustain positive relations with Deltans in the Diaspora for the overall benefits and development of the state.'The Global Programme Unit will focus on ensuring the facilitation of the government's active participation in key global programmes across United States/Canada, Europe, Asia/Pacific, Africa, the Caribbean, China and the Middle East.'Djebah listed his achievement as Information commissioner to include the three 'R' ministerial initiative- Revamp, Re-organise and Reposition, noting that the creation of the True Face of Delta State, which was aimed at rebranding the state and project its people as peaceful, united, resourceful, overtly accommodating and developing was the holistic brand that launched the state from its traditional enclaves.He reminisced: 'My tenure as commissioner is a watershed of innovations, improvement and creation of an enabling environment that has provided an unprecedented leeway for whosoever shall be appointed Commissioner for Information in the state.'It gives me the confidence and assurance that having conquered at the local level, I am prepared and empowered to take Delta State to the world and bring the world to Delta State.'We are set to replicate those and other achievements at the international level,' he assured.The office of SAFRE, the first of its kind in the country at the state level, was established to promote Delta State's relations with the global environment by building, fostering and sustaining positive relations with other relevant bodies, persons, institutions, sub-national states, agencies and multinational corporations within the frontiers of the global environment.The office works towards attracting developments and investments to the state through Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) capital flow, global inputs and components, as well as build positive foreign image for the government.This can be achieved through regular and systematic interface between the government and relevant global institutions, foreign missions, international organisations, multinational corporations and other foreign companies and nationals in Delta State, the Diaspora Delta State indigenes and their resources.It is to ensure that the state's quest for development, investments and positive transformation is fostered and facilitated through productive foreign linkages.
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