Middle East & North Africa

17 May 2022; MEMO: The global reaction against Russia over its invasion of Ukraine has led to fresh concerns about Turkiye's first nuclear power plant, which is being built by Moscow's state-owned nuclear company, Al Jazeera reports.

According to the report, the first reactor of the Akkuyu Nuclear Power Plant in Turkiye, located on the Mediterranean coast near Mersin, was planned to start next year. Yet, the sanctions have threatened to delay the $20bn project.

17 May 2022; MEMO: Saudi Arabia has assured its citizens that there is no shortage of wheat supplies in the country, amid global shortages exacerbated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the ongoing war.

Speaking in a programme called 'In the open' on a Saudi television channel, the Deputy Governor of the Saudi Grains Organisation (SAGO), Zaid Al Shabanat, made the assurance by clarifying that his organisation's strategy is to source grain from multiple countries and continents instead of relying on a single source.

17 May 2022; MEMO: Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) Executive Committee member Hussein Al-Sheikh arrived in the Russian capital Moscow for talks yesterday.

Fatah leader, Abdullah Abdullah, told Al-Watan Voice that the talks would focus on the "Palestinian reconciliation file, especially after Hamas officials' recent visit to Russia."

17 May 2022; MEMO: Iran's state television, on Tuesday, showed what it described as details of the arrest of two French citizens earlier this month, saying they were spies who had sought to stir up unrest, Reuters reports.

Iran's Intelligence Ministry had said on 11 May that it had arrested two Europeans for allegedly fomenting "insecurity" in Iran, but had not revealed their nationalities.

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.