First Independent Mena Newspaper
Morocco is the only country on the African continent with a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States, eliminating tariffs on more than 95 percent of qualifying consumer and industrial goods, says the 2022 U.S. Investment Climate Statements issued by the State Department. The North African Kingdom is planning to phase out tariffs for […]
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Morocco on Monday for a working visit. During the visit, to last until March 30, Blinken will meet with several senior Moroccan officials, including the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, and Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to discuss means to further boost bilateral relations at all levels and […]
The five-year old Moroccan boy, who died last week after being trapped in a well in the northern region of the country, continues to draw worldwide sympathy with the bereaved family and generate gratitude to the search teams. Following this tragic incident, King Mohammed VI offered in a phone call his condolences and sympathy to […]
The UN Secretary General’s personal envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura, was in Rabat on Thursday, where he started his first tour of the region since taking office in November 2021. Reiterating its support for the UN envoy, the Biden administration, part of the continuity of the American recognition, in December 2020, of the […]
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has urged the U.S. Department of State to include Algeria on its Special Watch List for engaging and tolerating severe violations of religious freedom. In recent years, Algerian authorities have shown more hostility towards religious minorities, forcibly closing dozens of Protestant churches and prosecuting Ahmadiyya Muslims for gathering […]
The UK government has reaffirmed its strong support to the normalization of relations between Israel, Morocco, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Sudan within the frame of the Abraham accords. “These are historic steps which see the normalization of relations between friends of the UK”, Britain’s state minister for the MENA region James Cleverly said […]
In a flagrant intervention in Morocco’s domestic affairs and the judiciary, the US State Department issued a statement condemning the verdict against a Moroccan journalist sued on sexual assault charges against a member of the LGBTQ community in Morocco. “The United States is disappointed by reports that a court in Morocco has sentenced journalist Soulaiman […]
Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AUI) has received a $1.2 million award from the US Department of State through its Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI). According to the AUI, the award, entitled “Tomorrow’s Leaders”, rewards the “leadership of the University in Africa on the American educational model, which enjoys the institutional accreditation of the prestigious […]
The Department of State has warned Americans traveling to Algeria to “exercise increased caution” due to terror threats in this country, which is on the verge of implosion due to deep political crisis and growing social woes. “Terrorist groups continue plotting possible attacks in Algeria”, said the U.S. Department in its new travel warning issued […]
The US State Department Tuesday called on the armed men that occupied Libya’s Sharara oil field in the desert, south of the country, to hand over the oil facility to the National Oil Corporation (NOC), which has declared force majeure. “The United States continues to monitor the situation at the Sharara oil field and echoes […]