Last month, members of Congress called on the Biden administration to address the eight-year-long humanitarian crisis at Rukban, a desolate informal displacement camp in the eastern Syria desert, just miles from the U.S.-led coalition base at the al-Tanf garrison (ATG). Since 2015, Syria, Jordan, Russia, and the United States have refrained from claiming responsibility for the camp, resulting in a protracted period of inaction with severe humanitarian consequences.
What would an Arab-Israeli military alliance mean for Iran?
In recent remarks, the Israel Defense Forces’ (IDF) Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi announced preparations for a potential upcoming military operation, foreshadowing a possible move against Iran. Kochavi’s announcement came shortly after Israel and the foreign ministers of four Arab nations — Morocco, Egypt, the UAE, and Bahrain — along with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken, met at the Negev Summit in the Israeli desert to lay the foundation for a strategic military alliance to deter “Iran and its associated militias,” as Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid put it.
Jordan is walking a diplomatic tightrope on Russia’s invasion of Ukraine
In spite of Jordan’s close ties to the United States and Europe, Amman has found itself walking a diplomatic tightrope in the wake of Russia’s invasion of neighboring Ukraine in late February.
Amid efforts to normalize Assad’s regime, the need for a new US Syria policy is clear
The decision by the UAE to host Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad in Dubai on March 18 has drawn deep consternation across the U.S. government and Congress, as well as in allied capitals in Europe and some in the Middle East.
على مدى العقد الماضي، أحرز المغرب تقدمًا كبيرًا على مستوى مؤشر ممارسة الأعمال العالمي (دوين بيزنس)، حيث قفز من المرتبة 130 في عام 2009 إلى المرتبة 53 في عام 2020. رغم تلك الإصلاحات، لم يؤدي تحسن ترتيب المغرب على مستوى مؤشر مناخ الأعمال إلى تحسن اقتصادي كبير.
The Moroccan economy through the Doing Business Index
Over the past decade, Morocco made great progress in climbing up the global Doing Business Index (DBI), jumping from the rank of 130 in 2009 to 53 in 2020. Yet, Morocco’s improved DBI ranking did not correlate with significant economic improvement.
War in Ukraine and drought at home: A perfect storm in the Maghreb
This year was already expected to pose challenges for Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. Inflationary pressures have been driving up the price of goods since the fourth quarter of 2021. Persistent unemployment, worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, aggravated social discontent. Now, as winter turns to spring, socio-economic stability in the Maghreb is being imperiled by the conflict in Ukraine and insufficient rainfall at home.
The "Mediterranean Worlds Forum”: France’s continued pursuit of leadership in the Mediterranean
On Feb. 7 and 8, France hosted the “Mediterranean Worlds Forum” in Marseille, following on the heels of the 2019 “Summit of the Two Shores, Mediterranean Forum.” These meetings have the stated goal of “giving new momentum” to relations in the western Mediterranean and illustrate Paris’s push to renew its leadership role in the region.
Women’s labor force participation and COVID-19 in Jordan
Jordan has the lowest rate of women’s economic participation of any country not at war. According to the ILO, the kingdom’s female labor force participation rate is below 15%, while that of men is about 60%. This is lower than rates of female labor force participation in neighboring Lebanon (23%), Saudi Arabia (22%), and the West Bank and Gaza (18%). As the COVID-19 pandemic stretches on, the government of Jordan should take the opportunity to expand the accessibility of remote work and corresponding opportunities for Jordanian women who aim to play a role in their nation’s economy.
On Dec. 23, Jordanian Minister of Industry, Trade, and Supply Yousef Shamali and Russia’s Ambassador to Jordan Gleb Desyatnikov attended a ceremony to finalize a bilateral cooperation agreement on science, culture, and education. This agreement highlights Jordan’s delicate foreign policy balancing act. The government, led by King Abdullah II, will continue to work with a diverse group of countries, even those with tense relations with the West, to bolster its security and economic opportunities. Mitigating security threats and increasing business opportunities is key to political stability and the continuation of the king’s rule amid Jordan’s persistent socio-economic problems. However, the king will need to be careful not to undermine his closest allies by working with their adversaries.
Morocco’s New Challenges as a Gatekeeper of the World’s Food Supply: The Geopolitics, Economics, and Sustainability of OCP’s Global Fertilizer Exports
Morocco’s phosphorus fertilizer industry, with its massive production capacity and international reach, has transformed the kingdom into a gatekeeper of global food supply chains. Morocco’s centrality to global food security rests with the fact that all food crops, indeed all plant life, require the element phosphorus to grow and Morocco possesses over 70% of the world’s phosphate rock reserves, from which the phosphorus used in fertilizers is derived. By becoming one of the world’s leading fertilizer exporters, instead of continuing to just export the raw material, Morocco has enriched its economy and elevated its international standing. In Sub-Saharan Africa in particular, the kingdom’s combination of joint venture partnerships in local fertilizer production and deft direct outreach to farmers has resulted in a remarkable boost in African agricultural yields and the notable expansion of Morocco’s soft power influence across the continent.
وضعت الحكومة المغربية الجديدة أولويات الميزانية، لكن هل يمكنها توفير مواردها؟
بعد شهرين في السلطة، أعطت الحكومة المغربية الجديدة إشارات إلى أنها تريد إعطاء الأولوية للتنمية الاجتماعية والتعافي من الآثار المطولة لكوفيد 19 على البلاد. ومع ذلك، فإن استقرار الاقتصاد الكلي، والموارد المالية المحدودة، وزيادة الإنفاق الدفاعي تحد من مدى قدرة الدولة على متابعة وتمويل خطط التنمية الاجتماعية التي تشتد الحاجة إليها.
