Politics
and Diplomacy
U.S.-Libyan Relations in a Honeymoon Period?
The reconciliation between America and Libya is now official
and the North African country plans to leverage its new
relationship with the worldˇ¦s superpower to advance its
own regional agenda. But it will not be a free ride. Libya
will have to endorse a number of initiatives undertaken
by the Americans to win the trust of its former enemy, starting
with Libya denouncing some of Americaˇ¦s opponents. A few
days before the U.S. administration announced the resumption
of diplomatic relations with Libya, its foreign minister
Abderrahmane Chalgam said his country will not ink any kind
of cooperation agreement with Venezuela, a country that
has been vocal in its opposition of the Bush administration.
Chalgam added that Hugo Chavez anti-American stance is only
a Venezuelan affair that does not concern Libya. The Libyan
official ruled out any cooperation with Venezuela even within
OPEC. These statements are indicative of a definite pro-American
choice the Libyans have made as their rapprochement is sealed.
[read
here]
Politics and Diplomacy
Algeria’s
Premiership:
The Reasons of a Sacking
In
a rather stunning move, the Algerian president, Abdelaziz
Bouteflika recently appointed the nationalist and religious
conservative figure Abdelaziz Belkhadem to replace Ahmed Ouyahia
as Prime Minister. The appointment came after two weeks of
rumors that Ouyahia was preparing to resign, as he ended up
doing, but all bets were on Abdelmalek Sellal, the water resources
minister as the likely replacement. The highly energetic Chekib
Khalil was also well positioned as a replacement, but at the
end, the controversial Belkhadem won.
[read
here]
Energy
and Mining
Morocco to Go Ahead with Nuclear Power Plant, Looks for Renewable
Energy Sources
In
its quest for energy independence, Morocco announced it will
build a nuclear plant for civilian purposes. The project was
announced by Younes Maamar, the newly appointed CEO of the
state-owned electricity company ONE. The announcement was
in sharp contrast to statements made more recently when Moroccan
officials ruled out the construction of such plants to ease
the burden of higher imported crude oil on state finances.
[read
here]
Corporate
Affairs
Tunisia's
Alkimia Expands in Algeria, Eyes Investment in Saudi Arabia
The
Tunisian chemical company Alkimia, a manufacturer of sodium
tripolyphosphate is expanding its presence in neighboring
Algeria. The company acquired a majority stake of 55% in the
Algerian state-owned Kimial.
[read
here]
Company
Profile:
Tunisia’s Karthago Airlines
Set
up in March 2001, Karthago Airlines (KA), a private Tunisian
airline carrier specializing in charter services, launched
its first flight amid an extremely unfavorable environment
due to the events which were to take place in September 11th
and their aftermath. Still, the company managed to benefit
from dropping aircraft leasing prices. KA leased its planes
through dry-lease contracts with 5 years maturity. This year,
its fleet amounted to six Boeing 737-300 jets. Having the
same kind of planes enables the company to better control
its costs. During peak seasons the company makes short term
leasing to fulfill demand and capture additional revenue.
[read
here]
