First Independent Mena Newspaper
U.S.-Morocco Africa Working Group, part of U.S.-Morocco Strategic Dialogue, met on Monday in Washington to discuss mutual efforts across the African continent to promote regional stability and security. The meeting was co-chaired by Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Jonathan Pratt, Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs Joshua Harris, […]
US President Joe Biden announced the eligibility of Mauritania for benefits under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which affects market access, investment, and reduced or eliminated tariffs on U.S. imports, four years after his predecessor Donald Trump suspended the Western African country over its failure to make progress on human rights – namely, […]
US President Joe Biden announced on Monday (30 October) his intention to end the participation of Gabon, Niger, Uganda, and the Central African Republic (CAR) in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) trade program, citing their failure to comply with the eligibility criteria. Launched in 2000, AGOA grants exports from qualifying countries duty-free access […]
Several influential U.S. Senators and members of the House of Representatives have called on the U.S. Department of Commerce to reduce duty on imports of phosphate fertilizers from Morocco, saying the imposed tariffs have pushed global prices upward affecting U.S. farmers. The call comes after U.S. Court of International Trade (CIT) ruled lately that Commerce […]
U.S. Under-Secretary of State for political Affairs Victoria Nuland has “reiterated full U.S. support for intensified consultations to ensure a successful UN-led political process for the Sahara without further delay,” referring to the obstructions made by the Polisario with the support of the Algerian regime. The U.S. stand was expressed during a meeting held lately […]
The U.S. State Department announced the suspension of foreign assistance to Gabon in reaction to the military takeover which took place on August 30 with the removal of longtime leader Ali Bongo Ondimba, but reaffirmed commitment to support the central African country in conducting a timely and durable transition to democratic civilian governance. “The United […]
The American Department of the Treasury announced lately sanctions against ten key members of Hamas, operatives, and other financial facilitators. The sanctioned individuals are based in Gaza but also in Algeria, Qatar, Sudan, and Türkiye. “The United States is taking swift and decisive action to target Hamas’s financiers and facilitators,” Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen said. […]
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has joined other Western officials in warning that the risk of regional “spillover” from the Israel-Hamas war was “real” after US and other international forces in the region faced increasing threat of attacks. “We have seen the Arab streets fill with rage all across the region. So, the […]
The Moroccan police found 1.370 tonnes of cocaine in a fish distribution company in Casablanca, in one of the major catches in the country. The banned substance was found when a fish distribution company alerted the police to the existence of the white powder, the police said in a statement. The Moroccan police […]
King Mohammed VI has appointed at the Ministers’ Council he chaired Thursday in Rabat six ambassadors, namely to the United Arab Emirates, Jordan, Egypt, France, China, and the United States of America. This diplomatic movement, described by analysts of the news website Le360 as “qualitative”, concerned six strategic countries, with which Morocco maintains historical ties, […]