First Independent Mena Newspaper
Abdellatif Loudiyi, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of National Defense Administration, presented the 2026 defense budget to the parliamentary committee, confirming an increase in the country’s defense spending. The increase keeps the strategic focus on modernization and building a domestic military industry, Moroccan media reported citing Loudiyi’s meeting with members of […]
An International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission is scheduled to arrive in Cairo in early December 2025 to conduct the fifth and sixth reviews of Egypt’s $8 billion Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and the first review under the $1.3 billion Resilience and Sustainability Facility (RSF), according to Julie Kozack, Head of the IMF’s Communications Department. Speaking […]
Morocco has taken a decisive step toward its energy future with the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water launching, earlier this month, Africa’s first Smart Grid platform at the Center for Electrical Sciences and Technology. This initiative, financed by the African Development Bank with over four million dirhams, positions the kingdom as a continental […]
Morocco exported 1,200 tons of lemons to the UK between November 2024 and August 2025. This volume exceeds Morocco’s overall lemon exports to the UK over the past decade, says East Fruit news platform. The United Kingdom has become among Morocco’s most important fruit export destinations, ranking just behind Spain and France in recent years. […]
Dutch low-cost airline company Transavia has launched a new route between Amsterdam and Rabat, marking another milestone in the airline’s steady growth across North Africa. The new service responds to growing demand for travel between the Netherlands and Morocco, especially for leisure and family travelers as well as business passengers. The Dutch airline company says […]
South Sudan has confirmed it requested $2.5 billion in oil-backed loans from two international firms, exceeding the country’s annual budget of less than $2 billion. The Petroleum ministry said on Thursday that the requests, sent in late October, were preliminary and intended solely for official Government purposes. The loans comprise $1 billion from ONGC Nile […]
Despite possessing nine million hectares of forest resources, Morocco finds itself trapped in an economic paradox. The nation imports nearly 70% of its timber needs while its forests face unsustainable exploitation, creating urgent challenges at the intersection of environmental protection and industrial development. National production of construction and industrial timber reaches 680,000 cubic meters annually, […]
Morocco’s administrative and commercial courts posted impressive efficiency gains in 2024, processing cases at unprecedented rates while managing surging workloads driven by national infrastructure projects, according to the annual report from the Supreme Council of the Judicial Power. Administrative tribunals demonstrated marked improvement, with first-instance courts achieving processing rates of 119.5% and appeals courts reaching […]
Tunisia’s trade deficit reached 18,435.8 million dinars (MD) by the end of October 2025, up from 15,716.4 MD over the same period in 2024, according to the National Institute of Statistics (INS). The coverage rate fell to 73.9% compared with 76.7% last year. The deficit was primarily driven by energy (-9,181.5 MD), raw materials and […]
Royal Air Maroc (RAM) is set to expand its transatlantic network with two new direct routes from Casablanca to Boston and Los Angeles starting May 2026, Moroccan media reported. This strategic move strengthens the Moroccan carrier’s footprint in North America and reinforces its ambition to become a leading connector between Africa and the United States. […]