Prof. John Kiema, Director, Technical Services Directorate attended the Information Session on the Guidelines for GMES & Africa Support Programme that had invited Grant

potential applicants from the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) region including Indian Ocean Commission (IOC) region, from 18 – 19 February, 2017, in Kigali, Rwanda. The objective of the information session was to expose to potential institutions the critical information on the Guidelines. It also provided a suitable forum to stimulate possibilities of institutions coming together and forming strong consortia to develop concrete proposals. Subsequently, Prof Kiema represented RCMRD in a policy workshop held between 20 – 21 February, 2017 in Kigali, Rwanda that received, improved and adopted two reports on the “Assessment on Earth Observation for Environmental Monitoring in the IGAD Region” and the “Draft IGAD Policy for Environmental Monitoring”.