First Independent Mena Newspaper
With the spectacular fall of Mosul to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al Sham (ISIS) and the humiliating retreat of the US-equipped Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), Iraq’s future as a unified state hangs in the balance. ISIS represents only a symptom in the current crisis facing Iraq, the deep causes lie in the grab […]
Narendra Modi’s landslide victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party against the incumbent National Congress in India’s national elections has bought a new political dynamic to south Asia’s key strategic actor. India hopes that Modi, a former tea seller and advert for the country’s social mobility, will begin an overdue purge of corruption and elitism. However […]
Twenty years ago the Bosnian Civil War was coming towards its slow conclusion and the 1995 Dayton Peace Accords instituted an internationally agreed settlement that ended the violence. This conclusion of conflict is probably unique because it was exactly that; there are no definitive incidents of recrimination after the fighting ceased. However whilst bloodshed was […]
King Mohammed VI of Morocco who is on a four-nation tour in Africa, the second in less than a year, launched on Monday a heartfelt call for boosting inter-African cooperation, rebuilding Africans’ trust in their own potentials, overcoming Afro-pessimism and unleashing the continent’s intellectual and material potential. “Africa should learn to trust Africa… and African […]
As changes continue to redesign the landscape in the Middle East-North Africa region and in Africa, Morocco’s longstanding, friendly relationships with these two regions open new avenues for U.S.-Morocco cooperation, all the more so as the two countries have a shared vision on a set of regional issues, ranging from economic development to stability, from […]
It was an excruciating experience for observers and journalists alike. Following the coup of 3 July 2013 and the quiet consolidation of power by army chief al-Sissi, the United States had to weigh its future policy vis-à-vis Egypt carefully. But nobody quite expected the diplomatic tussle that followed – an administration unwilling to recognise a […]
No one can deny that Arab dictatorships have protected religious minorities across the Middle East and North Africa region for decades as a result of tactical decisions meant to win the political backing of Western powers and the financial support of funding agencies. The nomination of Jewish and Christian leaders to cabinet posts in many […]
Simon Kuznets’ inverted U-shaped curve representing the hypothesis that with economic growth country’s inequality level initially increases and then decreases after reaching certain average income level has not yet found much support among the MENA economies. The MENA region has traditionally belonged to the most equal parts of the developing world as supported by the […]
In 2010, Chinese foreign direct investment (FDI) accounted for approximately 68 billion USD, as compared to 2001, when China invested only 911 million USD overseas. The rapid increase in FDI between 2001 and 2010 was also facilitated by China’s ‘going global policy’ of 2002 that promoted competition for the share in global markets and natural […]
The war in Syria is well into its third year, while the number of casualties has sky-rocketed, though, of course, nobody can say for sure how many lives the war has really claimed. Hezbollah, Iran and Russia have all heavily invested in the survival of the Syrian regime. Having thus turned the tide of the […]