North Africa News July 2023
Business
EGYPT – Emirati company Masdar signs an agreement to build a USD 10 bn wind farm in Egypt
The Abu Dhabi Future Energy Company (Masdar) has signed an agreement with the Egyptian Ministry of Electricity and Renewable Energy to build a 10 gigawatts wind farm in Egypt. The project is expected to cost USD 10 bn and save USD 5 bn in natural gas costs per year. Masdar will operate the wind farm within a consortium that includes French energy operator Infinity Power and Egyptian development group Hassan Allam Utilities.
June 7, 2023
EGYPT – EgyptAir to launch new flights to England and India
Egyptian national carrier EgyptAir is set to launch new flights from Cairo to Manchester, England, in July and to Delhi, India, in August. The flights to Manchester will be operated five times per week with a Boeing 737-800 NG aircraft. Meanwhile, the flights to Delhi are scheduled to depart four times per week with an Airbus A320neo.
June 11, 2023
EGYPT – Škoda signs a 15-year maintenance contract for train engines in Egypt
Czech automotive and railway company Škoda has signed a contract with the Egyptian Railway Authority to overhaul 280 train engines, carry out maintenance, and supply spare parts for 15 years. Two engines will be fully overhauled in Czechia in the presence of several Egyptian engineers and technicians to better transfer experience, while the remaining engines will be repaired in Egypt.
June 27, 2023
MOROCCO – German engineering company Bertrandt launches an R&D center in Morocco
German engineering company Bertrandt has inaugurated a new research and development site in Rabat. The project is Bertrandt’s first site in North Africa. The center will specialize in the engineering of electric and electronic systems, as well as industrial services. It will initially employ 100 to 150 engineers, before expanding to 500 employees.
June 5, 2023
MOROCCO – American plane engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney to open a factory in Casablanca
American aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney has announced its plan to build a factory in Casablanca. The production unit will specialize in manufacturing static and structural parts for plane engines. Construction works on the 12,075 square meters factory are set to begin in the fourth quarter of 2023, while its inauguration is planned for 2025. The project is expected to generate around 200 new direct jobs by 2030.
June 20, 2023
MOROCCO – Accor sells its shares in 23 Moroccan hotels to a local company
French hospitality company Accor has sold its shares in the leading Moroccan tourism operator Risma to the new Moroccan company Mutris. According to the deal, Risma and Mutris will become the exclusive proprietors of 23 hotels across Morocco. However, Accor will continue to manage the hotels through a management contract. The value of the deal was not disclosed.
June 26, 2023
TUNISIA – Chinese energy operators Trina Solar and Growatt expand into the Tunisian market
Tunisian energy company Star Solar has signed a distribution agreement with Chinese energy operators Trina Solar and Growatt. According to the agreement, Star Solar will be the exclusive distributor in Tunisia for Trina Solar’s photovoltaic modules and Growatt’s power inverters. The Tunisian company has a network of 62 stores across the country.
June 1, 2023
TUNISIA – Nouvelair launches the first flights between Tunisia and Bosnia-Herzegovina
Private Tunisian airline Nouvelair has launched the first regular air route between Tunisia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. The route will link Monastir, in northeastern Tunisia, to Banja Luka, in northern Bosnia-Herzegovina. Nouvelair will operate two weekly flights on the new route.
June 8, 2023
ALGERIA – IVECO looks for an Algerian partner to build a local utility van factory
Italian industrial vehicles manufacturer IVECO is searching for an Algerian private partner to build a factory for the assembly of utility vans in Algeria. The Italian company hopes that the project will allow the production of around 1,000 vans per year.
June 1, 2023
ALGERIA – Sonatrach partners up with Repsol and Pertamina to produce 150 million barrels of gas
Algerian national oil and gas company Sonatrach has signed an agreement with Spain’s Repsol and Indonesia’s Pertamina to jointly operate the Menzel Ledjmet gas field, in south-eastern Algeria, and share its production. The partnership will provide investments worth USD 800 mn to drill 12 new wells and build an LPG production unit. The project is expected to produce around 150 million barrels.
June 15, 2023
ALGERIA – Algerian-Chinese companies to exploit an iron mine in eastern Algeria
Algeria’s national iron and steel company (Feraal) and Chinese corporation CMH have launched two joint ventures. The first joint company will operate the iron mine of Gara Djebilet, in eastern Algeria. Meanwhile, the second will build an industrial unit in the same location to transform the iron extracted from the mine into semi-finished materials. The project aims to extract and transform 2 million tonnes of iron per year at the beginning, before gradually increasing its production capacity to 50 million tonnes by 2040.
June 24, 2023
Politics
EGYPT – Egypt and India elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership level
Egypt and India have decided to elevate their relationship to a strategic partnership level. The decision aims to facilitate boosting exchange between the two countries and expanding Indian investments in Egypt, as well as increasing the number of direct flights between Cairo and New Delhi. The agreement to upgrade the status of relations was signed during a two-day official visit of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Egypt.
June 25, 2023
EGYPT – Egypt and Turkey appoint ambassadors to Ankara and Cairo respectively
Egypt and Turkey have decided to upgrade their diplomatic relations to the ambassadorial level in order to further normalize relations between the two countries. Egypt has appointed Amr El-Hammami as its ambassador to Ankara, while Turkey has appointed Salih Mutlu Şen as its ambassador to Cairo.
July 4, 2023
TUNISIA – Tensions between locals and migrants mount in Sfax after the murder of a Tunisian man
The city of Sfax, in central Tunisia, is living immense tensions between locals and sub-Saharan African migrants after the death of a Tunisian man during a clash between locals and migrants in Sfax. The man was stabbed by three suspects, reportedly from Cameroon. The murder launched a wave of discriminatory attacks by some locals against migrants in the city, including acts of physical violence and kicking them out of their homes. According to local media, around 21,000 migrants were kicked out of their homes in Sfax over the past week. Sfax, due to its proximity to the southern Italian shores, is a favorite destination among people wishing to migrate to Europe.
July 5, 2023
ALGERIA – Algeria obtains a UN Security Council seat for the term 2024-2025
Algeria was among the five countries that obtained non-permanent membership in the UN Security Council for the 2024-2025 term. This is the fourth time that Algeria obtains a non-permanent membership in the Security Council, after 1968-1969, 1988-1989, and 2004-2005.
June 6, 2023
ALGERIA – Algeria and Russia become ‘Strategic Partners’
Algeria and Russia have signed a Declaration of Strategic Partnership, along with a series of cooperation agreements. The agreements were signed during the official visit of Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune to Moscow. The signed agreements covered the fields of justice, telecommunications, agriculture, culture, water, and business.
June 15, 2023
ALGERIA – Algerian President dismisses the Minister of Communication
Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune has decided to dismiss the Minister of Communication from his mission. The decision occurred after a private local media shared an allegedly leaked document about the expulsion of the Emirati ambassador in Algiers due to spying allegations. The rumors relayed in the document were quickly denied by Algerian authorities.
June 21, 2023
Economy
EGYPT – Egypt records a 33.7% inflation rate in May 2023
Egypt’s annual inflation rate has decreased from 38.6% in April 2023 to 33.7% in May. Between May 2022 and 2023, the prices of meat and poultry increased by 82.1%, followed by fish and seafood (82.1%), dairy products and eggs (67.7%), cereals and bread (65.2%), and cooking oils (32.6%).
June 11, 2023
MOROCCO – Morocco’s inflation rate declines to 7.1% in May 2023
The annual inflation rate in Morocco has maintained its downward trend to reach 7.1% in May 2023, down from 7.8% in April, 8.2% in March, and 10.1% in February. The prices of food products, however, remain 15.6% higher than the prices recorded in May 2022. Meanwhile, the prices of non-food products increased by only 1.4% over the year, varying between -2.2% for transportation to +6.9% for catering and accommodation.
June 20, 2023
TUNISIA – Inflation in Tunisia decreases to 9.6% in May 2023
Tunisia’s annual inflation rate has declined from 10.1% in April 2023 to 9.6% in May. While the prices of food products remain significantly higher than they were 12 months earlier, the prices of some services recorded a much lower increase, notably transportation (0.3%), accommodation, water, gas, and electricity (0.4%), and household items (0.5%).
June 5, 2023
ALGERIA – Algeria’s inflation rate slightly increases to 9.8% in May 2023
The annual inflation rate in Algeria has slightly increased from 9.7% in April 2023 to 9.8% in May. The increase is mainly attributed to the rise in the prices of food products, which stood at 13.8% between May 2022 and 2023, as well as education, culture, and entertainment services (14.8%), health services (8.0%), clothing items (6.5%), and household items (6.4%). Meanwhile, the prices of transportation and communication services only increased by 1.3% over the year.
July 2, 2023
Key Economic Indicators
