Erik PrinceErik Dean Prince (born June 6, 1969) is an American businessman, who is the founder of private military contractor Blackwater. He was Blackwater's CEO until 2009 and its chairman until its sale to a group of investors in 2010. Prince founded the private equity firm Frontier Resource Group in 2012 and was chairman of the Hong Kong-listed Frontier Services Group until 2021.
South SudanCountry in East AfricaSouth Sudan (), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, Kenya to the southeast, Uganda to the south, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, and the Central African Republic to the west. South Sudan's diverse landscape includes vast plains and plateaus, dry and tropical savannahs, inland floodplains, and forested mountains.
Blackwater (company)American private military contractorAcademi, formerly Blackwater, was an American private military contractor founded on December 26, 1996, by former Navy SEAL officer Erik Prince. It was renamed Xe Services in 2009, and was again renamed to Academi in 2011, after it was acquired by a group of private investors. In 2014, Academi and Triple Canopy were consolidated into Constellis Group, under the Constellis Holdings umbrella alongside several other private security firms.
Belt and Road InitiativeChinese global infrastructure projectOne Belt, One Road (OBOR)Simplified Chinese一带一路Traditional Chinese一帶一路The Belt and Road Initiative (BRI or B&R), also known as the One Belt One Road (Chinese: 一带一路; pinyin: Yīdài Yīlù) and sometimes called the New Silk Road, is a global infrastructure and economic development strategy of the government of China since 2013.
State-owned enterpriseA state-owned enterprise (SOE) or government-owned enterprise is a business entity created or owned by a central or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goods at lower prices, implement government policies, or serve remote areas where private businesses are scarce. The government typically holds full or majority ownership and oversees operations.
KunmingCapital city of Yunnan, ChinaPrefecture-level city in Yunnan, ChinaKunming is the capital and largest city of the province of Yunnan in China. The political, economic, communications and cultural centre of the province, Kunming is also a major tourism centre in China. It is nicknamed the "City of Eternal Spring" for its year-round mild climate.
DubaiDubai is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai. It is on a creek on the southeastern coast of the Persian Gulf. As of 2025, its population stands at 4 million, 92% of whom are expatriates. The wider urban area includes Sharjah and has a population of 5 million people as of 2023, while the Dubai–Sharjah–Ajman metropolitan area has a population of 6 million people.
NairobiCapital and largest city of KenyaConsolidated city-county in Nairobi City, KenyaNairobi ( ) (Jiji kuu la Nairobi, in Swahili), is the capital and largest city of Kenya, located in the south-central part of the country. As of 2026, it has a population of 5.6 million and a metropolitan population of 15.95 million, making it the 8th most populous city in Africa and the 4th most populous metropolitan area.
BeijingBeijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 21.8 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city, as well as China's second-largest city by urban area, after Shanghai. It is located in Northern China and is governed as a provincial-level direct-administered municipality with 16 municipal districts.
MaltaMalta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country located in the central Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago which is 80 km (50 mi) south of Italy, 284 km (176 mi) east of Tunisia, and 333 km (207 mi) north of Libya. The two official languages are Maltese and English; Maltese is recognised as the national language. The country's capital is Valletta, which is the smallest capital city in the European Union by both area and population.
ShanghaiMunicipality and largest city in ChinaMunicipality in ChinaShanghai is a provincial-level direct-administered municipality in China. It has a population of 30,050,000 in the urban area as of 2026, thus making it China's most populous city and more broadly the fifth-largest city in the world by population. The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River bisecting the city.
Salva KiirSalva Kiir Mayardit (born 13 September 1951) is a South Sudanese politician who has served as the President of South Sudan since its independence on 9 July 2011. Prior to independence, he was the President of the Government of Southern Sudan, as well as First Vice President of Sudan, from 2005 to 2011. He was named Commander-in-Chief of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 2005, following the death of John Garang.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.