First Independent Mena Newspaper
France would provide Tunisia with more than €227 million in new financing as the North African nation faces it worst economic crisis since the fall of its longtime strongman Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. According to Paris, the support, announced during a visit to Tunis by French President Emmanuel Macron, includes €177 million in loans for […]
France on Wednesday renewed its unwavering support for the Morocco-proposed initiative offering a large autonomy to the Sahara provinces in a bid to settle definitely the Western Sahara artificial conflict. The support was reiterated by French Foreign Affairs Minister, Jean-Yves le Drian, at a meeting with the new UN Secretary General’s Personal Envoy for the […]
The UK prepares to support French counterterrorism efforts in the Sahel region, through providing surveillance aircraft and helicopters, British government sources told different media outlets. Currently about 4,500 French troops are engaged in counter-insurgency operations in the Sahel where France has spearheaded efforts to create a joint-military force bringing together soldiers from five Sahel countries […]
Morocco has awarded French VINCI Construction company a €284 million contract for building a pumped storage hydroelectric plant (PSP), located 70 km from Agadir. The project is part of the North African Kingdom’s plan to develop and integrate renewable energies. The contract covers construction surveys, civil engineering works, supply of materials and pumping equipment, assembly, […]
Spain remained Morocco’s top trading partner in 2016 with trade turnover totaling $10.6 billion up from $9.3 billion in 2015, Morocco’s foreign exchange regulatory authority, L’Office des Changes said. Between 2015 and 2016, Morocco’s imports from Spain rose from $4.4 billion to $6.2 billion, while its exports to the country jumped from $4.2 billion to […]
France granted a 128 million euro loan to fund the locomotives that Morocco’s national railway operator (ONCF) plans to purchase as part of its development program. The loan will boost the ONCF shift to electric railway in line with Morocco’s environmental commitment. ONCF posted a net profit of 223 million Dirhams in 2016, up 31% […]
Morocco was ranked fifth largest customer of French arms industry and the third in the Arab world after Egypt and the UAE, a report of the French defense ministry said. The report, covering the 2007-2016 period, said that Morocco was placed fifth in the list of France’ largest customers after China, Singapore, Egypt and the […]
Morocco is evidencing at the highest level its firm attachment to achieving the global climate agenda. The participation of King Mohammed VI at the One Planet Summit in Paris is a reaffirmation of Morocco’s keen interest in protecting the environment and curbing climate change effects. The One Planet summit, co-hosted by the United Nations and […]
France and Qatar signed a slew of contracts worth €12 billion as President Emmanuel Macron visited the isolated Gulf country this week. Under the deal, Doha will acquire 12 Rafales fighter jets and 50 Airbus planes. “These contracts underline the closeness of our commercial ties,” Macron said during the signing ceremony in Doha Thursday. He […]
French President Emanuel Macron said in Algiers that Morocco and Algeria should work together to resolve the Sahara issue, a statement that implies Algeria’s role in perpetuating the over four-decade conflict. “France adopts an equidistant position regarding the Sahara issue concerning which we maintain our known position that has not been changed nor will it […]