Middle East & North Africa

17 May 2022; MEMO: About 300,000 tonnes of Ukrainian wheat booked by Egypt's state grains buyer for delivery in February and March is yet to be shipped, with one cargo stuck in port and four others still to be loaded, four traders said and Reuters reports.

Egypt's General Authority for Supply Commodities (GASC) has granted an extension to secure the cargoes but is not offering trading companies any force majeure release from contractual obligations, according to traders.

18 May 2022; MEMO: Iran yesterday inaugurated a factory in Tajikistan to manufacture military drones.

The opening of the factory to manufacture Ababil-2 drones was attended by the Iranian Chief of Staff, Mohammad Hossein Bagheri, and the Tajik Defence Minister, Sherali Mirzo, in the capital city of Dushanbe.

Bagheri said in a statement that the opening was part of his country's "plans to expand military and defence cooperation between the two Persian nations."

18 May 2022; MEMO: Algeria's president has confirmed his confidence that Turkish investments in his country will reach $10 billion and more within a short time, Anadolu has reported. Abdelmadjid Tebboune made his comment during a joint press conference with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Monday after their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.

18 May 2022; MEMO: Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is scheduled to meet his Saudi counterpart Faisal Bin Farhan in the Iraqi capital Baghdad, an Iranian lawmaker announced yesterday.

Javad Karimi-Ghodousi told the Fars News Agency that there was "no development" since the talks that began in April 2021 between Tehran and Riyadh.

He said that the upcoming meeting would discuss "bilateral relations, the opening of embassies, and regional issues, especially the Yemen war."

ADDIS ABABA, May 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Ethiopia and the World Bank have signed a pact for a grant of $300 million to assist reconstruction and recovery in conflict-hit areas, the finance ministry said.

Fighting that erupted in the northern region of Tigray in November 2020, and spilled over into neighboring Afar and Amhara last year, has eased since a unilateral ceasefire by the federal government in March.

“The resource will be used to finance the activities designed to support … basic services,” the ministry said in a statement late on Monday.

FNIDEQ (Morocco), May 17 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Morocco and Spain have reopened the land borders between the north African country and the Spanish enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla, two years after they were shut due to Covid restrictions and a major diplomatic row.

The enclaves on the Mediterranean coast in northern Morocco have the European Union’s only land borders with Africa.

The gates opened shortly after 11:00 pm local time on Monday night, letting dozens of cars and queues of pedestrians pass in both directions.

16 May 2022; MEMO: Egypt appears to have postponed carrying out death sentences on political opponents as pressure builds internally and the economy continues to spiral.

According to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed the consequences of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on the economy is one of the factors putting pressure on the government internally to clean up its image.

16 May 2022; MEMO: Turkey is preparing to manage security at November's 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, the Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu announced yesterday.

Soylu made the announcement during an online meeting with the chairman of Qatar's Security and Safety Operations Committee for the tournament, Abdulaziz Al-Ansari, Anadolu has reported.

16 May 2022; MEMO: Israel is boosting offshore natural gas output and aims to reach a supply agreement with Europe in the coming months as the continent looks to replace Russian supply, Reuters reports.

The country is on track in the next few years to double production to about 40 billion cubic metres (bcm) from about 20 bcm as it expands current projects and brings new fields online, industry officials say.

16 May 2022; MEMO: Turkey and Qatar are moving towards a strategic partnership while boosting their bilateral ties especially in economy, Presidential Communications Director, Fahrettin Altun said, and Anadolu News Agency reports.

According to the report, the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani's visit to Turkey on Friday is highly significant in consolidating the strong and strategic relations between the two countries, Altun said in an interview with Qatar News Agency (QNA).