Ministers from Europe, Africa meet to tackle migrant crisis

Interior ministers from 14 nations and the European Union agreed Monday to boost cooperation to tackle the migrant crisis along the deadly central Mediterranean route, promising to address why migrants leave home and to beef up actions against human traffickers. In a declaration at the meeting in the Tunisian capital of Tunis, the ministers also agreed to inform people about the risks of illegal migration and the possibility of voluntarily returning home. It was the second meeting of the group of European and African countries – and it included Libya,…

Trump budget slashes aid to Lebanon by 80 percent

The Trump administration is seeking to slash military aid to Lebanon by 82 percent next year, according to the State Department’s 2018 budget plan. Last year, the U.S. provided $103 million in military aid – weapons, equipment and training – to Beirut. The 2018 budget projects about $19 million in anticipated aid. According to the State Department, the cuts would include the cessation of the Foreign Military Financing (FMF) program, which amounted to about $86 million in 2016. The move signals a potentially stronger stance by the Trump administration against Lebanon, and a change…

ME hotel sector stays flat in Q2, Africa positive

The hotel industry in the Middle East reported nearly flat results during the second quarter of 2017, while hotels in Africa recorded growth across the three key performance metrics, according to data from STR. Occupancy levels in the Middle East slipped 0.1 per cent to 62.4 per cent and average daily rate (ADR) made a negligible increase of 0.8 per cent to $169.67. Revenue per available room (RevPAR) also increased 0.6 per cent to $105.84. In Oman, occupancy rates were recorded at 49.6 per cent in Q2, an increase on…

Morocco Leads Maghreban Countries in FDI Flows

Morocco topped the countries of the Maghreb region in terms of attracting foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2016, according to a report established by the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation. The North African kingdom attracted $2.3 billion worth of FDI in 2016, followed by Algeria with 1.5 billion, Tunisia with 958 million, and Libya with 493 million. At the Arab world’s level, Morocco came fifth preceded by the UAE, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. In total, Arab countries attracted some $30.8 billion worth of FDI in 2016, a…