First Independent Mena Newspaper
Foreign investment flows to Africa dropped by 3% in 2023 to $53 billion, despite an increase in investments in green energy projects, the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) said. While Egypt and South Africa drove the overall investment trend in the continent, countries such as Morocco and Mauritania are expected to benefit from […]
Morocco’s central bank cut its borrowing rate to 2.75% from 3% as inflation drops thanks to lowering food prices and easing external inflationary pressures, the bank said following its board meeting. “On the basis of all these considerations, the Board considered that the calibrated tightening of monetary policy, the regular monitoring of the transmission of […]
The World Bank has approved $600 million funding to Morocco to enable the North African Kingdom finance two projects destined to improve public service and performance. The first project, which gets a $350 million support, aims to improve the governance, restructuring, competitive neutrality, and performance monitoring of state-owned enterprises (SOEs). The 2nd project, entitled “Public […]
Chariot energy Company has signed an agreement with Vivo Energy Maroc firm on future natural gas offtake from the Loukos Onshore license in which the British company holds 75% stake, while Moroccan National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM) has 25 %. In a press release issued Monday, Chariot said the aim of the agreement […]
Worry grips Egyptian officials who fear a natural disaster as Ethiopia prepares to fill its giant Nile dam, the Great Renaissance Dam, for the fifth time, without any coordination with downstream countries, Egypt and Sudan. Egypt has for long expressed concern at the dam, while Ethiopia argues that the water-sharing deals signed under the colonial […]
Burkina Faso reaffirmed its full support for the initiative launched by King Mohammed VI aiming to help landlocked Sahel states access the Atlantic Ocean and global trade. Burkina Faso’s foreign minister Karamoko Jean-Marie Traoré said following talks in Rabat with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Boourita. Traore described the initiative as embodying south-south cooperation in line […]
Morocco’s government debt is sustainable as efforts are ongoing to cut it further below 70% of GDP, finance minister Nadia Fettah Alaoui said. The minister made the remark during an interview on le360, following criticism by opposition MPs who warned of the risk of debt unsustainability. Debt to GDP ratio was brought below 70% this […]
Morocco’s wheat imports are expected to grow to 7.5 million tons due to an adverse impact of rain deficit on domestic harvest, making the country the sixth largest importer globally, FAO reported. Morocco’s wheat imports were only exceeded by Egypt followed by Indonesia, Turkey, China and Algeria, the FAO said in its Food Outlook report […]
Zimbabwe eyes the membership of BRICS grouping, hoping this would enhance the country’s opportunities for free trade with other member states, with experts saying that the African continent would benefit from the BRICS expansion to include five new countries from Africa and the Middle East. Speaking at a recent BRICS international forum in Vladivostok, Zimbabwe’s […]
Botswana has ascended to the rank of the top diamond producer globally, unseating sanctions-hit Russia. Most of Botswana’s diamond found in the Orapa diamond deposit is operated by De Beers, a leading diamond company. Following the G7 sanctions on Russia, De Beers moved its auctions to Botswana to streamline its business operations and facilitate the […]