The US elections and the monotonous presidential debates bear little to no substance on North Africa. In the much-anticipated third debate on foreign policy, there was scant mention of the countries of the Maghreb and their important strategic worth in US global fight against terrorism. Except for Libya (mentioned 12 times) in the context of […]
Tag: Algeria
Cultural Tourism and Sustainable Rural Development in Southern Morocco
By 18 October 2012, a report that Salafis destroyed an 8,000-year-old petroglyph in Yakour Plain not far from Marrakesh quickly spread on Facebook and Twitter. The rock-drawing depicting the animistic divinity of the sun is one of thousands of stone carvings in the High Atlas and Anti-Atlas Mountains. Print and online newspapers repeated these rumors, […]
Repsol Finds Gas in Algeria
Spain’s oil company Repsol has discovered lately gas in the Illizi basin, in the south east of Algeria. The discovery was made during an exploration campaign launched in 2011 at the Tihalatine South-1 well in the Sud-Est Illize block. A consortium led by Repsol won in 2010an exploration license to dig for oil and gas […]
Algeria: economy situation and the IMF mission
Discussions were held in Algeria by the international monetary fund mission. These discussions gathered the minister of Finance, the minister of agriculture and rural development, the minister of labor, employment and social security and the Governor of the Bank of Algeria. All of them reflected on short and medium term economic policies and the influence […]
A website dedicated to the thought of Islamologist Mohammed Arkoun Launched
A website dedicated to the work and thought of Mohammed Arkoun, the Algerian thinker, philosopher and renowned scholar of Islam, who died in 2010, was launched last week in Casablanca by the foundation bearing his name. The site of the “Mohammed Arkoun Foundation for Peace between Cultures” is a free online library of over 230 […]
Euro-Maghreb Counter-Terror Air Drill
The air forces of the five Maghreb countries (Algeria, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania &Tunisia) and their European partners France, Spain, Italy, Malta and Portugal have staged lately a joint aerial military drill destined to counter terror threats. The joint regional exercise, code-named “Circaete 2012”, seeks to enhance the combat capabilities of the air forces to prevent […]
The French-Algerian Relationship: Searching for a New Era
The coming state visit of François Hollande in Algeria by the end of the year is an opportunity to take stock of the political relationship between France and Algeria. For decades, this crucial relationship has been complex, ambiguous and systematically ridden by memories of the bloody and endless war that France imposed on its colony […]
North Africa Will No Longer Benefit from Europe Preferential Trade System in 2014
The EU has issued lately its revised import preference scheme – known as the Generalized Scheme of Preferences (GSP) – for developing countries most in need which will take effect from 1 January 2014. The new list of beneficiaries from GSP does not include North African countries: Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco & Tunisia. With […]
Unionist Calls for consuming Algeria-Made products to Reduce Imports Bill
Secrertary General of the main Algerian trade union, l’Union Générale des Travailleurs Algériens or General Union of Algerian Workers, has called on authorities to encourage the consumption of Algeria-made products to reduce the country’s imports bill that stands at some of $ 60 billion. The UGTA Secretary General, Abdelmajid Sidi Said, argued in remarks to […]
Tunisia Denies Existence of Jihadist Training Camps on its Soil
Tunisia has denied the news reported by French magazine “Marianne” alleging the existence of jihadist training camps on its soil. The Tunisian interior Ministry on Tuesday denied the news that was reproduced by some Tunisian media. “The internal security forces, in collaboration with the national army, closely monitor the border regions and are vigilant in […]









