FinPol Digest

 In a fresh effort to rein in high inflation, Egypt's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) agreed to increase the central bank's interest rates by 200 basis points. According to a statement released by the Central Bank of Egypt (CBE) on Thursday, the deposit and lending rates have been raised to 18.25 and 19.25 percent, respectively, while the primary operation and discount rates have been raised to 18.75 percent. Over the past few years, Egypt has struggled to control rising inflation in the midst of a foreign currency shortage brought on by the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict and the Covid-19 pandemic's effects on the world economy. In January and February 2023, respectively, Egypt's annual urban headline inflation rose to record highs of 25.8% and 31.90%. Similar to this, the annual core inflation reached a historic peak of 40.3% in February 2023 and 31.2% in January, according to the CBE. A week after the US Federal Reserve increased its benchmark interest rate by 0.25 ...

 The Republic of Iraq, which is located at the intersection of numerous trade routes in the Middle East , has joined the UN TIR Convention as the 78th nation. Iraq's ratification of the TIR Convention solidifies its position as a strategic transit center and advances its economic strategy to diversify its economy away from oil. The TIR system will encourage regional trade, economic growth, and stability in Iraq and the surrounding area. We are happy that Iraq has joined the TIR system, said IRU Secretary General Umberto de Pretto. "This achievement will let Iraq to fulfill its enormous potential as a regional economic hub, promoting east-west and north-south connectivity." He continued, "Iraq's membership to the TIR Convention is a golden chance to confirm the country's readiness to exploit the potential of global trade in fostering economic growth and advancing prosperity and development." The TIR system, which is well-known around the world for its h...

 Although it's probably not at the top of your list, Armenia ought to be. You're sure to find something you love about Armenia, no matter what kind of traveler you are: delicious food, incredible UNESCO World Heritage sites, renowned brandy, untainted nature, and better yet, you won't have to share your experience with a lot of other tourists nearby (at least not yet). Here are some reasons to travel to Armenia. 10 Motives to Travel to Armenia 1) UNESCO locations Armenia once served as the foundation for historical developments, so it should come as no surprise that there are many UNESCO World Heritage sites there. Make sure to include at least a few of these locations on your list of places to see if you're thinking about traveling to Armenia. • Haghpat: The monastery at Haghpat was founded in the tenth century. It is located on a plateau and has gorges all around it. One of the largest cultural centers of medieval Armenia, this complex produced numerous manuscripts, i...

 Despite attacks on American personnel there last week by Iran-backed militia, the United States will not withdraw from its almost eight-year-old deployment to Syria where it is combating the remains of Daesh, the White House said on Monday, according to Reuters. On March 23, a one-way attack drone that was flying overhead bombed a US base in Syria, killing one American contractor, injuring another, and wounding five US soldiers. A Syrian war monitoring organization reported that as a result of American retaliatory airstrikes and gunfights, three Syrian soldiers, 11 Syrian militiamen , and five foreign combatants who supported the regime were all killed. John Kirby, a spokesman for the White House National Security Council, stated that while he was not aware of any new attacks over the previous 36 hours, "We're going to keep cautious." Kirby also brought up President Joe Biden's Friday speech, in which he warned Iran that the US will use an action to save its citizens...

China's massive investments in international businesses and infrastructure initiatives seem to be paying off politically and economically. Having been one of the few countries to recognize Taiwan as a state, Honduras cut diplomatic ties with the island on Sunday (Mar 26). In addition to a coup for China, which considers Taiwan part of its jurisdiction, the change in allegiance would signal a decline in American power in Latin America, since Taiwan has long been supported by the United States. Days before Xi Jinping flew into Moscow to discuss the Ukraine war with Russian President Vladimir Putin, China brokered a deal between Iran and Saudi Arabia. It was aimed at de-escalating tensions and bringing more stability to the Middle East by re-establishing diplomatic, trade, and security relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. Through this agreement, China's involvement in the region moves away from purely commercial interests to security-related cooperation that can protect its g...

According to a recent analysis from Oslo-based Rystad Energy, spending in the Middle East's offshore oil and gas (O&G) sector is expected to rise for at least the next three years, from $33 billion in 2023 to $41 billion in 2025. Large-scale projects in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the UAE will propel offshore upstream spending in the region to a new high. According to the report, these nations are utilizing their extensive offshore resources to meet the expanding global oil demand , supported by the requisite infrastructure and financial resources to surpass other producers. Yet, with $214 billion in new projects planned, the global oil and gas (O&G) sector will experience its fastest growth in ten years over the course of the next two years. The annual greenfield capital expenditure (capex) level was breached last year and will be breached once more this year, marking the first two consecutive breaches since 2012 and 2013. In 2023 and 2024, offshore activities will probably a...

 Several attacks on American personnel in Syria that were allegedly carried out by organizations with support from Iran prompted President Joe Biden to declare Friday that the US will react "forcefully to protect our people." While visiting Canada, the US president stated, "Make no mistake, the United States does not seek conflict with Iran but is prepared to act aggressively to protect our people. The Pentagon reported that no US troops were killed or hurt in the attack on a US outpost in northeast Syria on Friday, which was the second such event in two days. Infrastructure was not damaged by the missile attack , which a US official called "an ineffectual attack." 10 rockets were fired at Coalition forces at the Green Village in northeast Syria on Friday morning, according to the United States Central Command (CENTCOM). There were no injuries to US or Coalition forces, and no facilities or equipment belonging to the US were harmed. According to CENTCOM, one o...

A non-binding Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Saudi Aramco and Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. outlines first ideas for a strategic partnership that would localize an industrial 5G technology ecosystem in Saudi Arabia , beginning with private networks. By utilizing cutting-edge 4G and 5G technologies that can provide secure, quick, and reliable communication, the proposed collaboration aims to support the digital transformation of various industrial sectors in the Kingdom, such as energy, petrochemical, and manufacturing. This will satisfy the vital business requirements of various industries. The businesses work to support the adoption of advanced industrial 5G for vital communications. The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) comes in the wake of Aramco Digital Company's recent launch, which aims to hasten the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region's and the Kingdom's digital transformation.

  The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has recently issued a warning that Lebanon is in a very dangerous situation, with reforms stalled and the country's economic crisis worsening. The IMF has been working with the Lebanese government to help them implement a series of economic reforms that are crucial to stabilizing the country's economy. Lebanon has been facing an economic crisis for several years now, with a plummeting currency, high inflation rates, and widespread poverty. The COVID-19 pandemic has only exacerbated these problems, leading to a deepening economic crisis and social unrest. The IMF has been pushing for reforms in Lebanon's economy, including reducing government spending, implementing a fair tax system, and improving the country's infrastructure. However, progress has been slow, and the reforms have been met with resistance from some politicians and factions. The IMF has warned that the lack of progress on these reforms is putting Lebanon in a very d...

 America will mark the 20th anniversary of the disastrous decision to invade Iraq for the following eight years. More than 80 Missourian service members were killed on March 20, 2003, but this was only the beginning of the killing and maiming of tens of thousands of Iraqis and American soldiers alike.  The fallout from that conflict, which the Bush administration falsely claimed was caused by Saddam Hussein's stockpile of WMD and his hosting of al-Qaida terrorists, is still being felt in both nations to this day. Iraq sways from crisis to crisis. For instance, there is a persistent shortage of medical professionals. That's because, at the time, doctors in Iraq were all trained by Hussein, tended to practice Sunni Islam, and were therefore viewed negatively when the Shiite majority took power. Despite hospitals being overrun with war casualties, doctors and other medical staff were threatened and told to leave. The initial weeks of the war were planned with an eye toward troop...

 On Sunday in Jeddah, the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix was won by Sergio Perez against Max Verstappen, the current world champion and Perez's Red Bull teammate.t  Nonetheless, a number of agreements were also inked at the international event to strengthen the fast-growing sports industry in the kingdom. According to the national news agency SPA, the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Investment (MISA) signed 14 investment agreements in the nation's sports, entertainment, and construction industries. The agreements were inked as a part of a wide-ranging sponsorship program run by Invest Saudi, the organization in charge of promoting foreign investment in the monarchy. The prices of the transactions weren't made public. Twelve of the agreements were made with sports organizations representing a variety of sports, in keeping with the Vision 2030 national development policy of the nation, which calls for expanding both community sports activities and the existence of thriving sports industr...

 Iran and Saudi Arabia reached a deal to resume diplomatic relations, overshadowing China's annual "Two Sessions". The Chinese government has two objectives in facilitating a breakthrough in the relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia. First, to reflect China's status as a great power and a responsible nation and to mark a major success for Xi Jinping's vision of "a community with a shared future of mankind." Second, to demonstrate China's capabilities to the United States and demonstrate that the United States is powerless to halt China's development. The diplomatic landscape in the Middle East is improving, according to China. At least five years ago, Xi attempted to mediate peace negotiations between Palestine and Israel. He put forth a four-point position statement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Beijing also hosted seminars at least four times with academics and politicians from Israel and Palestine. Iran, China, and the Arab world have...

 On March 10, 2023, a significant rapprochement between two distant powers—Iran and Saudi Arabia, who are historic rivals and two of the world's largest oil producers and who have taken opposing positions on a wide range of issues and are politically divided—took place. It was an unexpected development in a contentious relationship marked by ideological, spiritual, and sectarian disagreements that brought together a fragmented Islamic world with numerous divisions. There is now a fusion of interests. It has taken time to create the essence. Initial negotiations took place in Oman and Iraq in April 2020. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi facilitated five rounds before Iraqi politics got in the way. In October 2022, Kadhimi left office, and Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani had little interest in carrying on Iraq's mediation efforts. The Saudis did not trust him as much as they did his predecessor. When President Xi Jinping visited Riyadh in December 2022, Saudi Arabia requ...

  Iraq and Iran signed a border security agreement on Sunday, a move Iraqi officials said aimed primarily at tightening the frontier with Iraq's Kurdish region, where Tehran says armed Kurdish dissidents pose a threat to its security, Reuters reports. The joint security agreement includes coordination in "protecting the common borders between the two countries and consolidating cooperation in several security fields", a statement from the Iraqi prime minister's office said. Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary Ali Shamkhani signed the deal with Iraq's National Security Advisor Qasim al-Araji, in the presence of Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed al-Sudani, the prime minister's office said. "Under the signed security deal, Iraq pledges it would not allow armed groups to use its territory in the Iraqi Kurdish region to launch any border-crossing attacks on neighbour Iran," said an Iraqi security official who attended the signing. The fron...

In an effort to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the uprising, the US, the UK, France, and Germany have all called for the Assad administration to be held accountable for crimes against Syrians. The four nations declared that "unless there is a true and lasting movement towards a political settlement," they will neither normalize relations with Syrian President Bashar Al Assad's administration nor provide funding for its rehabilitation. Syria was engulfed in protests in 2011 as a result of the Arab upheavals in the area. Since then, some 500,000 Syrians have died. Over 10,000 individuals lost their lives in the 7.8-magnitude earthquake that occurred in early February, which also caused severe suffering and the displacement of millions of others. The four nations stated, "We are devoted to assisting Syrian civil society and eliminating the human rights abuses and atrocities the Syrian people have endured – from the Assad regime and others — long before the earthq...

 According to the General Security Directorate, 12.8 million pills of the illegal stimulant Captagon were destroyed by Jordanian authorities. It is the most recent example of government measures to stop the flow of drugs, which primarily originate from Syria. The directorate announced the destruction as the outcome of tenacious operations against traffickers "around the kingdom" and published a photo of security agents placing bags in a furnace. The statement, issued late on Wednesday, stated the police forces are working with the military and customs units to boost information and reconnaissance to stop "the introduction of these drugs and their movement through the kingdom". According to the statement, the Captagon was destroyed together with 2.6 tonnes of hashish and three kilograms of cocaine connected to 43 narcotics cases. The agency said that the seized materials were obliterated at 1,000oC in special furnaces. In the past, Jordan has served as both a market...

 Michael Alan Ratney, an American diplomat who currently serves in the United States Department of State, has been confirmed as the United States ambassador to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA). The US Senate confirmed the news in a voice vote on Tuesday, filling one of the vacant diplomatic posts in the region. The US did not have an ambassador in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia for two years. When former US President Donald Trump took office, he picked John Abizaid, a retired United States Army general, to be the envoy in Saudi Arabia. The former US Central Command commander served as the US Ambassador to Saudi Arabia from 2019 to 2021. The post became vacant since he left his post in January 2021. When Joe Biden took office, US-Saudi relations began to dip. The US froze arms sales to the Kingdom and lifted the terror designation of the Iran-backed Houthi militia. In 2022, US President Joe Biden confronted Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over The Washington Post jou...

Oman Cables Industry (OCI), a Prysmian Group firm that leads the Omani cables and systems market, is taking part in Oman's Sustainability Week, which runs through March 16th, 2023. A decarbonized future energy system will be supported by the company's latest innovations in solar, wind, and hydrogen products and services, as well as its ongoing focus on grid hardening, in accordance with Oman Vision 2040. The company's involvement in the event this year will allow it to display its cutting-edge and eco-friendly goods at Stand 1445. The display will highlight Oman Cables' initiatives to establish a Middle Eastern Renewable Excellence Center. After their debut at Middle East Energy last week in Dubai, the new PRYSOLAR cables will also be on display by the company. Prysmian Group's substantial R&D efforts to address the most unanticipated issues posed by the market for solar applications, which is rapidly expanding, have resulted in Prysmian PRYSOLAR.  Prysmian PRY...

The Iranian authorities announced on Saturday that they have arrested more than 100 people as part of the investigation into the poisoning of hundreds of schoolgirls and sparked outrage in the country, the official IRNA has reported. The interior ministry gave no details about the people who were arrested in several governorates, including Tehran and Qom, East and West Azerbaijan, and the provinces of Kurdistan and Hamadan. However, it pointed out that "among those arrested" were people who had "hostile motives and the intention of instilling terror in the people and students and to close schools." Earlier this month, Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, demanded "severe punishments" for those found to be involved in the poisonings. The ministry has mentioned the possibility of associating the detainees with an exiled Iranian opposition group based in Albania that Tehran has listed as a terrorist organization, the People's Mujahedin of Ir...

Demonstrators in Morocco have branded their government as traitorous over Rabat's ongoing normalization with Israel and its refusal to condemn the Israeli military over its act of aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip on Friday, which lead to the death of 44 Palestinians including 15 children. Carrying banners, Palestinian flags, and wearing keffiyehs, protesters chanted "Oh, traitor rulers" yesterday in Casablanca's Sraghna Square. One activist was quoted by the New Arab as saying: "As we condemn the Zionist entity's war crimes in Gaza, we also call on the Moroccan state to cancel the normalization accord that emboldens the occupation to continue its crimes." "[Morocco's] foreign ministry statement does not honor Moroccans or Morocco as it supports the Israeli narrative," the protestor added. Following Israel's widely condemned offensive, Morocco's foreign ministry issued an official statement stating: "[Rabat] follows wi...

 Iraq's government, which has only been in power for a few months, is abruptly enforcing long-dormant legislation barring the import of alcohol and detaining people for posting morally objectionable content on social media. Rights campaigners and religious minorities are alarmed by the crackdown. Some believe that the restrictions are an effort by Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani to divert attention away from the country's economic problems—such as rising prices and erratic currency fluctuations. Although the prohibition on the production, sale, and import of alcohol was adopted in 2016, it wasn't until last month that it was made enforceable by publication in the official gazette. The prohibition was mandated at all border crossings on Saturday by the customs department of Iraq. With the exception of the northern, semi-autonomous Kurdish area, which has not implemented the prohibition, border crossings went dry overnight, despite the fact that many liquor stores thr...

 Hossein Amirabdollahian, the foreign minister of Iran, visited Turkey's earthquake-affected regions and expressed optimism that the Turkish government and people will quickly move past the catastrophe. On Wednesday, Amirabdollahian traveled to Adiyaman, a city in southeast Turkey. He went to a camp the Iranian Red Crescent Society (IRCS) had established to aid individuals impacted by the most recent disasters. Speaking to reporters, the top diplomat emphasized the Islamic Republic's continued support for those impacted by the tragic event by highlighting the quick and efficient contributions made by the IRCS, the Iranian Army, and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) in relief and rescue operations and providing medical services. He expressed the hope that the Turkish people and administration will quickly move past the current issue. The Iranian foreign minister traveled to Turkey's neighbor earlier today "to express sorrow with the Turkish government and peo...

 UN Special Envoy for Syria, Geir Pedersen, said Wednesday he will meet a cease-fire task force to discuss the need for calm after two earthquakes devastated the region, Anadolu News Agency reports. "We need calm on the ground. Something that I will be stressing when I'm meeting tomorrow with the ceasefire task force here in Geneva," Pedersen said at a news conference. The earthquakes that struck the region last month have also acted as a wake-up call to the world that the Syrian tragedy is "far from over", he said, noting that, after 12 years of war and conflict, Syrians have been struck by a terrible natural disaster. He said the attention on Syria renewed regionally and internationally following the earthquakes. "We need to take this attention and see if it can help us unlock progress on the way forward," he said. "Without the political solution, Syrian suffering will endure," he said. "All the challenges that existed pre- earthquake...

 After receiving approval from the Authority for Public Services Regulation (APSR), the Oman Power and Water Procurement Company (OPWP) is prepared to award international investors solar energy projects totaling $777 million, according to the Times of Oman. The Governorate of A'Dakhiliyah will soon see the construction of the Manah 1 and 2 projects, which together will generate a total of 1,000MW. The largest solar panel project for Oman will consist of installing about 2 million solar panels in these two stations. According to the report, these two stations are the second project that OPWP has put out for bids to purchase capacity produced by renewable energy. The construction of these two stations will start in the third quarter of this year, and they should be operational for commercial purposes by the middle of 2025.

  The Interior Ministry reported that four militant inmates managed to escape on Sunday night in Nouakchott, the capital of Mauritania, following a shooting incident at the country's main jail that claimed the lives of two national guards. A statement from the ministry was sent by the official news agency early Monday. "The National Guard has reinforced its control over the prison and promptly started tracking down the fugitives in order to arrest them as quickly as possible," the statement read. It also claimed that two guards were hurt. The names of the inmates who escaped were kept a secret. The ministry requested citizens to report any information that would help in apprehending the fugitives after their escape, which it claimed occurred at 9:00 p.m. (2100 GMT) on Sunday. A military officer who spoke on the record under the condition of anonymity said that two of the convicts had received death sentences, while the other two were still in the process of being tried f...

 Haider Hanoun, the head of the Federal Commission of Integrity (COI), confirmed the investigation into the inflation and ill-gotten gains of funds made by Iraqi officials , noting that this action helps bring the accused to justice in addition to returning the value of the inflation of their funds to the state treasury. According to a COI statement, "His assistants, directors, and the heads of the investigation in Baghdad, Najaf, Karbala, and Babylon urged the department's staff to step up their efforts to investigate the information received by the department in accordance with the laws in force and to expedite the completion of cases in a way that achieves sufficient deterrence for anyone during his visit to the COI's headquarters and his meeting with the head of the investigation department in the COI. These initiatives may help to rebuild public trust in the government and its institutions, particularly the regulatory ones." Furthermore, it stated that "Citi...