HAVE ANY QUESTIONS? CLICK HERE
Newsletter March 2021 - News
Page 6 of 10
News
EGYPT - Consortium DEME-PORT OF ANTWERP-FLUXYS
Egypt signed a cooperation agreement with a Belgian consortium composed of DEME GROUP, PORT OF ANTWERP, and FLUXYS, which kicks off studies on green hydrogen production. The agreement was signed by the Egyptian Ministers of Electricity & Renewable Energy and Petroleum & Mineral Resources, and with the Egyptian Navy. This comes as part of the implementation of the Egyptian agenda, which aims at increasing the contribution of renewable energy in the country’s electric energy mix.
Retrieved from : https://dailynewsegypt.com/2021/03/04/egypt-deme-sign-cooperation-agreement-to-start-green-hydrogen-production-studies/
KSA – Foreign companies will need a regional headquarter in the Kingdom as of 2024
Riyadh will no longer sign contracts with the foreign companies which do not have regional headquarters established in Saudi Arabia. The policy will come into effect on the 1st of January 2024 and is aimed at encouraging foreign firms to open a permanent presence in the Kingdom, which should contribute to the creation of local jobs. Over the years, there has been a trend among foreign companies, to manage their operations in the Gulf region, including in the Saudi Arabia, from neighbouring countries, especially the UAE.
The Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid AL-FALIH argued that this decision “will reflect positively in the form of creating thousands of jobs for citizens, transferring expertise, and localizing knowledge, as it will contribute to developing local content and attracting more investments to the kingdom”.
Retrieved from : https://www.reuters.com/article/saudi-company-int-idUSKBN2AF1PX
KUWAIT – Two new oil fields discovered
Kuwait announced that it recently discovered two new, major oil fields. According to the official news agency KUNA, which quoted the oil minister Mohammad AL-FARES, one of the discoveries is in the Houma oil field in north-western Kuwait, with a production capacity of 1,452 barrels per day (bpd) of light oil, and the second is in the Al-Qashaniya field in the north of the country, where light oil was discovered with a commercial quantity of 1,819 bpd and 2.78 million cubic feet of associated gas per day. The minister said the discoveries were of "great economic importance" to the country, adding that they were made in areas of Kuwait that had not been explored before. KUNA also reported that conventional oil had also been discovered in the north of the giant Burgan oil field, with a daily production rate exceeding 2,000 barrels, after drilling in 2020 to determine the extent of the field.
Retrieved from : https://www.arabianbusiness.com/energy/456750-kuwait-says-two-new-oil-fields-have-been-discovered
MOROCCO – Trade Exchange with the EU reached EUR 35B in 2020, the country is removed from Gray List
The EU delegation to Morocco announced that trade exchanges between Morocco and the EU reached a total of EUR 35 billion in 2020 (EUR 15 billion of Moroccan exports to the European Union and EUR 20 billion of EU exports to Morocco). The EU accounts for more than 60% of Moroccan foreign trade, and despite a decrease, when compared to the last three years, and which is mainly due to the pandemic, the EU remains the largest trading partner of Morocco in the southern Mediterranean region.
Following tax reforms in Morocco’s tax governance, the Country also shifted, in February 2021, from the EU’s Gray List to its Green List, “Morocco is no longer on the European Union (EU) gray list of non-cooperative jurisdiction for tax purposes” said the Moroccan Ministry of Economy and Finance. The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) has praised this decision, which acknowledges Morocco’s adoption of best practices and transparency in terms of tax management. CGEM added that this shift will contribute to the development of international investment in Morocco and strengthen partnerships between Moroccan companies and their partners in the EU.
Retrieved from : https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/02/335976/morocco-eu-trade-exchange-reached-e35-billion-in-2020/ and https://www.moroccoworldnews.com/2021/02/335760/tax-reforms-cgem-celebrates-eu-decision-to-remove-morocco-from-gray-list/
READ MORE (source 1) READ MORE (source 2)
QATAR – Regional rapprochement, trade and travels resumed
The year 2021 is a new page of the Gulf region as, in a context of regional rapprochement efforts, the AlUla Declaration, signed on 5 January 2021 at the conclusion of the 41st GCC Summit, resumed travels and trade links with Doha after a three-and-a-half-year embargo. A diplomatic meeting was held in Kuwait in late February to follow up, and the reconciliated States all agreed on the importance of regional unity, cooperation, and stability.
Despite Covid-19 restrictions, GCC resident may now move from one country to another easier, which should boost tourism, business, and investment in the near future. The resume of trade ties means Qatar-based companies may now work easier with partners based in other GCC countries, and European exporters may again use the port of Jebel Ali to access the rest of the Gulf market can, because the Saudi-Qatar border reopens for sea-land transport.
Nazar Musa, CCO of Pro Partner Group, remarks that “looking ahead, regional events coming up including the Expo in the UAE this year and the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar should allow regional and international trade to develop further and there’s every indication that by the time these events happen, vaccines will be distributed, and a level of normality achieved”.
Retrieved from : https://gulfbusiness.com/alula-agreement-what-does-resetting-ties-with-qatar-mean-for-the-gcc-region/
