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Egypt's limited actions on human rights will pay off

Location:

EGYPT

Efforts to impress external donors are yielding results, allied with an uptick in regional instability that has afforded Cairo more room for manoeuvre. However, repressive…

Risks are high despite Turkey’s policy 'normalisation'

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TURKEY

With the lira at a record low, the Central Bank continued to tighten monetary policy this week, funding the market through competitive one-month repo tenders at rates of around…

Turkey plans for competitive industries, lower imports

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TURKEY

Development plans define what constitutes mainstream social and economic policy in Ankara. This plan lays out the intentions of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and…

Mideast states will show mixed progress on renewables

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MIDDLE EAST

The project aims to generate up to 200 gigawatts by 2030, creating 100,000 jobs in Saudi Arabia. Renewable energy was also a key focus in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at its…

North Africa's water scarcity may reduce food exports

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NORTH AFRICA

Since 2015, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia have increased their agricultural exports, due in large part to greater EU trade harmonisation. Despite the importance of farming to their…

Financing shortfall will push Oman to uneasy austerity

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OMAN

A fiscal crunch exacerbated by the pandemic and associated oil-price crash has forced the authorities to step up long-term ‘Omanisation’ efforts, ultimately taking pressure off…

Iran president vote heralds full conservative control

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IRAN

Two-thirds of legislators in the conservative-dominated parliament today called on four of the five conservative candidates to withdraw in favour of frontrunner Ibrahim Raisi, now…

United Arab Emirates’ visa changes will draw criticism

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UNITED ARAB EMIRATES

The amendments aim to attract highly skilled workers and entrepreneurs with significant assets. These are part of a wider set of changes introduced over the past two years in an…

The Gulf will take on the energy transition challenge

Location:

GULF STATES

The zero-carbon fuel, promoted as a way to assist a global energy transition away from oil and gas, is the focus of major planned projects in Oman and Saudi Arabia. Meanwhile…

Saudi and wider Gulf renewables push will face hurdles

Location:

SAUDI ARABIA/ GULF STATES

Energy subsidies are a major blockage to wider adoption of renewable energy in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), where pricing bids have recently broken world records. The low…