North Africa’s Economy
Sahel: Growing concern over impact of climate change on the Sahel
Niamey, Feb 25, 2019 - Leaders of 17 countries on the rim of the Sahel began talks on Monday on a nearly $400-billion plan to help the fragile region cope with climate change. The 2018-30 scheme, covering countries ranging from Mauritania to the Horn of Africa, aims...
European Parliamant adopts EU-Morocco fishing agreement, angering Polisario Front
Strasbourg, France, Feb 12, 2019 (AFP) - The European Parliament on Tuesday adopted a new fishing agreement with Morocco that covers the adjacent waters of the disputed Western Sahara, angering the Algerian-backed Polisario Front independence movement. The authors...
Libya: Haftar forces enter al-Sharara oil fiel
Libya, Feb 6, 2019 (AFP) - A force led by Libyan military strongman Khalifa Haftar, engaged in an offensive in southern Libya, said late Wednesday it had seized one of the country's biggest oil fields without a fight. Ahmad al-Mesmari, spokesman for the self-styled...
Sahel: Burkina Faso braces for more attacks on mines, asks industry to up security posture
Ouagadougou, Feb 1, 2019 - Authorities in Burkina Faso told mining companies on Friday to toughen up "anti-jihadist" security measures in the wake of the kidnapping and killing of a Canadian geologist last month. The body of Kirk Woodman was discovered with gunshot...
Trade: Concerns over the flooding of Turkish products into Morocco ($)
Turkish businesses are extremely competitive, with high-quality products and low prices. Despite efforts from the Moroccans to block direct entries of Turkish goods and products into its markets, Turkish exporters have been clever utilizing Arab free trade agreements...
Algeria: Energy officials signal willingness to reduce subsidies
Minister of Energy, Mustapha Guitouni, noted the desire of his department to target the subsidy of electricity prices, stating that “subsidy support electricity, must go only to the needy.” Echoing the Minister’s comment, Sonatrach's CEO, Abdelmoumen Ould Kaddour,...
Agriculture: Plague wreaks havoc on Algeria’s small ruminants ($)
Small ruminants breeders in Algeria are in distress, with the continued spread of the small ruminant plague, as the vaccine promised by the Ministry of Agriculture is slow to arrive. The Minister of Agriculture, Abdelkader Bouazghi, did promise to make the 21 million...
Tunisia’s unfinished revolution ($)
For most Tunisians, the proliferation of road closures, sit-ins and suicide attempts, are evidence of a jasmine revolution gone wrong. The poor performance of the economy, following the fall of the Ben Ali regime, has led to widespread dissatisfaction among the...
Energy: Algeria cuts oil production by 24K barrels a day
The North Africa Journal - 14 January 2019: Algeria has cut oil production between 24,000 and 25,000 barrels per day as of 1 January 2019 under the OPEC-non OPEC agreement signed last December, according to Sonatrach’s Vice President of Exploration and Production....
Eastern Mediterranean countries to boost energy ties
Cairo, Jan 14, 2019 - Eastern Mediterranean countries including Egypt and Israel agreed on Monday to boost energy ties through the creation of a body to strengthen the gas market. The decision came during a meeting bringing together seven energy ministers including...