First Independent Mena Newspaper
Morocco is on the cusp of securing a deal for 32 U.S. advanced fighter jets, becoming the first Arab and African nation to operate the fifth-generation stealth combat aircraft, says Military Africa news platform. The $17 billion deal, spanning over 45 years, covers maintenance and technical support and spare parts, says the report, noting that […]
The Portuguese government has publicly thanked Morocco for its swift assistance in battling severe wildfires, following the emergency deployment of two Canadair water-bombing aircraft on August 11. The planes were sent after several Portuguese firefighting aircraft were grounded, providing a critical boost to aerial operations at a time of heightened alert. The Moroccan aircraft, operating […]
France is set to end diplomatic indulgence with Algeria. This summer, Paris launched a sweeping crackdown on Algeria’s abuse of international norms. President Emmanuel Macron’s suspension of the 2013 visa exemption agreement for Algerian diplomatic and service passport holders, coupled with the activation of the visa-readmission mechanism, marks a turning point in Franco-Algerian relations. This […]
The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has announced on Thursday, August 14, that its envoy, Hanna Tetteh, met with members of the Joint Military Commission 5+5 (JMC) in Tunis to review the progress of the Ceasefire Agreement and explore measures to sustain it. Discussions centered on reinforcing stability in Libya through the agreement’s […]
Egypt has reaffirmed that safeguarding the nation’s water security remains a foremost national priority, while calling for collaboration and shared prosperity with all Nile Basin states. Egypt’s Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and Water Resources and Irrigation Minister Hani Sewilam underscored on August 14 that Egypt’s water interests and its neighbors’ development ambitions are compatible, provided […]
Senior officials from over 30 countries and international bodies have called for an immediate end to the siege of El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur, where hundreds of thousands of civilians remain trapped without essential supplies. In a joint statement issued on Thursday, August 14, signatories including the UK, Canada, Spain, Norway, Sweden, and the […]
Morocco’s ambitious free trade strategy has expanded market access and boosted key export sectors, but widening trade deficits with major partners raise questions about the agreements’ overall economic impact, according to new analysis. The kingdom’s imports under free trade agreements reached 207.8 billion dirhams ($20.4 billion) in 2022, climbing 20.9% from the previous year, with […]
Morocco has strengthened its export development strategy with “Power Export: One Shop Store Export,” a comprehensive program launched by the Ministry of Foreign Trade in partnership with Maroc PME under the 2025-2027 Foreign Trade Pact for Growth and Employment. Designed as a one-stop-shop, the program supports Moroccan companies—whether already operating internationally or preparing to enter […]
After a prolonged slump, Morocco’s potato export sector grew almost sixfold between July 2024 and May 2025 year-on-year, as the country exported 42,900 tons of table potatoes, generating $14.9 million in revenue, specialized fresh produce portal EastFruit said. This marks a dramatic turnaround: export volumes surged by a factor of 5.7 compared to the previous […]
Hundreds of Moroccan winners of the U.S. Diversity Visa lottery risk losing their chance for American residency as the State Department fails to schedule mandatory consular interviews ahead of the program’s September 30 deadline. Despite having case numbers marked “current” for months in official visa bulletins, DV-2025 lottery winners report being trapped in bureaucratic limbo […]