First Independent Mena Newspaper
Egypt finance minister Muntaz al-Said announced on Wednesday that a new 10% tax on major transactions have been approved by a special cabinet that was formed for this purpose. Although no time limit has been precisely set, according to him this tax will mainly be on gains acquired on Initial Public Offerings (IPOs) and also […]
In February 2012, the European Parliament approved proposals to reduce restrictions on agricultural and fisheries exports from Morocco into the EU, and to allow Morocco to participate in EU single market programs (on competitiveness and innovation, customs, transport). A few days later, on 1 March 2012, a free trade area (FTA) in industrial goods was […]
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 […]
Interview with Sadi Shanaah, an influential Czech-Palestinian political analyst and director of INSAAN – ‘Czech-Arab Centre for Cultural Dialogue’, about the roots of the Egyptian revolution, potential failure of Western media and U.S. support to the region. Mr. Shanaah, a special advisor for the Middle East to Mitt Romney‘s presidential campaign, Walid Pharees, says that […]
In May 2012, leaders of the G8 countries met in France in order to discuss an eventual support of the ongoing revolutionary processes of the Arab Spring. Although a number of countries have already helped financially or otherwise, the current amounts of aid implicitly suggest that another Marshall Plan in not going to take place. […]
The revolt that brought an end to Hosni Mubarak’s presidency also prorogued the departure of investors and tourists in Egypt. To regain the 14.5 million visitors that generated 12.5 billion dollars, the actual tourism minister announced that lands will be auctioned for tourist developments. According to him “28 million sq meters will be put on […]
Vienna plays host November 6 through 8 to the seventh annual North Africa oil and gas summit that will provide attendees with the opportunity to share insights on the region’s recent development prospects and a concrete understanding of the available blocks, evolving fiscal and legal frameworks and contractual terms from strategy leaders in the region. […]
The Egyptian government is reportedly seeking financial assistance from Algeria in the form of a $2 billion deposit. Egyptian government sources were quoted by the media as saying that the matter would be discussed at the talks Egyptian Prime Minister Hisham Kandil is holding this week in Algeria with Algerian officials, including with Premier AbdelMalek […]
Egypt and Malaysia look forward to setting up a free trade zone to boost the weak trade exchanges between the countries having great economic potentials and huge consumer markets. The two countries trade ministers have agreed to start negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA) expected to lead to a progressive liberalization of trade between […]
Tunisia will get EUR 4 million in the framework of the Micromed Program, an initiative launched by the European Investment Bank (EIB) to help promote the microfinance sector in Mediterranean partner countries. The MicroMED Tunisia program was established in response to a call for assistance from the Tunisian Administration in its endeavor to develop the […]