Maghreb

Articles

• Morocco Emerges as Maghreb’s Economic Leader as Algeria Faces Investment Exodus
  3 September 2021, by Sylvanus

  While Algeria is indulging in verbal attacks and accusations against its national security, wallowing in political instability, breaking its diplomatic relations with its western neighbor, Morocco is striving to attract foreign investors, becoming the economic leader of the Maghreb.
  At a time when foreign investors (the German Volkswagen and the South Korean Hyundai...) are leaving Algeria, Morocco is pursuing a policy of attractiveness and it is working rather well for them. In addition, (…)

• Algeria Appoints New Envoy for Western Sahara Amid Diplomatic Tensions with Morocco
  5 September 2021, by Sylvanus

  During the Council of Ministers meeting on August 30, 2021 chaired by the Algerian Head of State, Abdelmadjid Tebboune, several appointments were made at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Diplomat Amar Belani will be in charge of the Sahara issue and the Maghreb countries. An appointment that comes in a context of the breakdown of diplomatic relations between Algeria and Morocco.
  The Sahara issue is more than ever at the heart of Algerian diplomacy. On Monday, the government adopted in the (…)

• Algeria Halts Gas Pipeline to Spain Amid Diplomatic Tensions with Morocco
  8 September 2021, by Sylvanus

  For Algeria, the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline through which Spain is supplied with natural gas would be "definitively closed," says a reliable source to the newspaper Liberté. According to the same source, Algiers will not renew the contract that expires on October 31. There is "nothing more to negotiate on this file," it adds.
  The end of the Maghreb-Europe (GME) gas pipeline comes in a context marked by the rupture by Algiers of its diplomatic relations with Rabat. Before the Algerian (…)

• Tensions Between Morocco and Algeria Threaten Maghreb Unity, Expert Warns
  27 September 2021, by Sylvanus

  The tensions between Morocco and Algeria continue to elicit comments. Pierre Vermeren, professor of contemporary history of the Maghreb at the University of Paris I, believes that the Maghreb is the big loser in this crisis.
  "The Maghreb is the big loser in this story: it is gradually becoming an empty shell," said Pierre Vermeren in an interview with France 24. He notes that Algeria is pushing Morocco more and more to give up on the Maghreb and find solutions further afield: in Africa, (…)

• Spain Awaits Decision on Crucial Algeria-Europe Gas Pipeline as Deadline Looms
  13 October 2021, by Sylvanus

  José Manuel Albares, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, says that Algeria did not reassure him about the renewal of the contract on the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline during his official visit to Algeria at the end of September.
  "The GME contract remains in force until October 31. No final decision has yet been made... When I was in Algiers, nothing specific was indicated to me in this regard. [...] There is nothing official for the moment," said the head of Spanish diplomacy in an (…)

• Morocco Builds LNG Terminal Amid Gas Pipeline Uncertainty
  16 October 2021, by Sylvanus

  Faced with the uncertainty surrounding the renewal of the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline (GME) contract, Morocco is active in the construction of a station to transform liquefied gas into natural gas. In this sense, the Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development has extended the duration of the call for tenders launched on March 23, 2021.
  In a press release, the ministry says it has noted that the importance of this project and the conditions of the national and regional (…)

• Algeria Poised to Cut Gas Supply to Morocco, Impacting Spain’s Energy Imports
  22 October 2021, by Sylvanus

  While Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune recently assured that his country has not yet decided on the renewal of the Maghreb-Europe (GME) gas pipeline crossing Morocco and linking Algeria to Spain, signs show that this decision will be effective in November. Spanish buyers have recorded zero imports of Algerian gas via this pipeline for the month of November, reports the S&P Global agency, based on recent data published by the gas network operator Enagas.
  "As of November 1, 2021, (…)

• UN Security Council Urged to Address Western Sahara Conflict as Tensions Rise
  23 October 2021, by Sylvanus

  Amar Belani, special envoy for the Maghreb and the Sahara, warns that "the risks of escalation" between Morocco and the Polisario, protected by Algeria "are serious". He therefore calls on the UN Security Council to address the Sahara issue with "lucidity and responsibility".
  "With the brutal ceasefire violation by the [...] Moroccan forces and the [...] annexation of the buffer zone in Guerguerat in flagrant violation of the military agreements, we are facing a war situation and we must (…)

• Algeria Cuts Gas Supply to Morocco, Shifts Pipeline Route to Spain
  26 October 2021, by Sylvanus

  Algeria has just ended the suspense. It has decided not to renew the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline crossing Morocco, whose contract expires on October 31, thus closing the tap on its western neighbor.
  Algeria, which has broken off diplomatic relations with Morocco, will cease to supply natural gas to the country via the Maghreb-Europe gas pipeline from November 1, three Algerian sources with direct knowledge of the matter (two government and one within Sonatrach) told the Reuters agency, (…)

• Moroccan Passport Ranks 79th Globally, Allows Visa-Free Travel to 64 Countries
  14 January 2022, by Sylvanus

  The Moroccan passport ranks 79th in the annual ranking of the world’s most powerful passports, maintaining its position as the second most powerful passport in the Maghreb.
  According to this ranking by the British firm Henley & Partners, the Moroccan passport ranks 79th out of 199 countries, and thus offers Moroccans the possibility of traveling to 64 destinations without a visa. In the Maghreb, it ranks second behind the Tunisian passport (72nd worldwide with 71 destinations) and (…)