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Morocco-Saudi Arabia joint maritime line to start operations soon

Published

1 year ago

April 23, 2022

The Chairman of the Moroccan-Saudi Arabian Business Council, Khalid Benjelloun, on Friday, announced that a maritime line which will connect Morocco and Saudi Arabia will be launched in the coming weeks.

Benjelloun said the initiative will give a new impetus to economic and trade cooperation between the two countries when it starts operations.

“The Federation of Saudi Chambers has signed an agreement with a shipping company to establish a direct line between Morocco and Saudi Arabia,” said Benjelloun in a statement at the end of the Moroccan-Saudi Business Forum held in Jeddah.

The integration, according to him, will provide opportunities for the “economy of both countries to establish fruitful industrial partnerships and investments and create joint value added and local jobs.”

Saudi Arabia which is Morocco’s largest trading partner in the Arab world, had a total value of bilateral trade with the north African country amounting to 17.2 billion dirhams in 2021 ($1.76 billion), according to data provided by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Riyad Mezzour, who led the Moroccan delegation at the forum.

Opening of a Maritime Line Between Morocco and Saudi Arabia https://t.co/36BbluTy8u via @TheMaghrebTimes

— The Maghreb Times 🇩🇿🇱🇾🇲🇦🇲🇷🇹🇳🇵🇸 (@TheMaghrebTimes) April 22, 2022

“With the agreement, there is the need to relax administrative restrictions on exports and imports and the establishment of a Moroccan-Saudi investment fund to facilitate market access for small and medium enterprises, encourage partnerships between companies in both countries, and help them obtain financing,” Benjelloun said.

“During the Forum’s proceedings, investment and partnership opportunities between Morocco and Saudi Arabia and the potential of the two countries’ markets were reviewed, as well as the obstacles facing investors and the solutions proposed to promote investment and double the volume of trade between the two countries.

“The Forum was also a platform to enhance partnership between the two countries’ private sectors,” he added.

Related Topics:Featured Maritime Morocco Saudi Arabia

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Kenya: Parliament approves appointment of Kamau Thugge as central bank governor

Published

18 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

Months after throwing open the position for the country’s top banker, Kenya’s parliament has approved the appointment of Kamau Thugge as the country’s central bank governor.

The National Assembly on Wednesday approved the
appointment of economist and senior civil servant who was nominated by President William Ruto as the next apex bank chief.

Thugge, who served as principal secretary in the finance ministry until mid-2018, was nominated after serving as one of the president’s senior economic advisers since late last year.

He shook off competition from others shortlisted candidates like Adan Mohamed, who served in the cabinet from 2013-2022, with four others also interviewed for the role.

The new central bank governor will be faced with the immediate pressure of stabilizing the country’s monetary policy as the East African giant currently faces a shortage of funds amidst rising public debt.

Despite the odds, the World Bank in a report earlier today expects growth to edge up to 5.0% in 2023, underpinned by a recovery in agriculture.

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Ghana presents ‘working proposal’ for debt restructuring— IMF sources

Published

19 hours ago

June 7, 2023

Ifeoluwa Dada

West African country, Ghana has made a major move at resolving its debt crisis as the country has presented debt restructuring proposal to its creditors.

According to sources quoted by Reuters, a “working proposal” has been submitted to help the country escape its worst economic crisis in a generation.

One of the sources revealed that the proposal was a first attempt to engage the official creditor committee after its formation in May. It should be recalled that the Paris Club last month announced that official sector of creditors of Ghana had formed a committee co-chaired by China and France for debt restructuring talks.

The plan is to end restructuring of domestic debt before turning to negotiations with its official bilateral creditors and international bondholders, a government official said.

Ghana is one of several cash-strapped countries facing unprecedented delays in getting bailouts as China, its biggest bilateral creditor with about $1.7 billion of debt and Western economies disagree over how debt relief should be structured.

The first formal review of the programme will hold in the coming months as an IMF team will visit Ghana between 8th and 15th of June.