Morocco’s trade deficit rose 25 percent in 2011 to an all-time record 185.7 billion dirhams ($21.2 billion) as its agriculture-reliant economy struggled to counter the growing cost of energy and wheat imports, official data showed on Tuesday.
Tourism receipts rose 4.3 percent in 2011 to 58.8 billion dirhams while remittances by Moroccan expatriates, most of whom live in Western Europe, rose 7.3 percent to 58.4 billion dirhams, data from the foreign exchange regulator showed.
Private foreign loans and investment meanwhile fell 35 percent to 25.5 billion dirhams.
Politics
IFW (01/17) – Moroccan ferries impounded at Sète
Open Democracy (01/17) – Morocco’s silent revolution
Al Arabiya (01/16) – Algeria agrees to briefly re-open borders with Morocco: report
UPI.com (01/16) – Algeria agrees to briefly reopen border
Euro Politics (01/16) – EU-Morocco: States Still Divided Over Negotiated Brief
Barnacle (01/16) – GLOBAL COALITION URGES BAHRAIN AND MOROCCO TO JOIN THE INTERNATIONAL CRIMINAL COURT
Bahrain News Agency (01/16) – Tunisian President to Visit Algeria and Morocco
Demotix (01/16) – Sahrawi supporters protest against Nicolas Sarkozy’s visit to Madrid
Daralhayat (01/15) – Spain’s Interests and Relations with Morocco
Lonely Planet (01/14) – Morocco’s King Launches New Social Housing Project
WE News (01/14) – Morocco May Allow Abortion; Political Gap Persists
Afrique en ligne (01/14) – Libya: Moroccan Businessmen Urged to Participate in Rebuilding Libya
Press TV (01/14) – Moroccans stage anti-government rallies
Life Site News (01/13) – Morocco’s new prime minister endorses legalizing killing of unborn
The Sahara
Sahara News (01/16) – The Sahrawi dissidents denounce in Nouakchott the Polisario Mafioso face
Sahara Press Service (01/15) – Frente Polisario holds UN responsible for the human rights abuses in occupied Western Sahara
CORCAS (01/13) – Hillary Clinton: Washington urges Algeria to support negotiations for political solution to Sahara
Economy/Business
Reuters (01/17) – UPDATE 1-Morocco trade deficit surges to record in 2011
Business Live (01/17) – Morocco trade deficit surges to record in 2011
Afribiz (01/14) – News about Morocco: Business, Investment, and Trade Weekly – Issue January 14, 2012
Afribiz (01/13) – Morocco Stock Market Commentary – Week Ending January 13, 2012
ANSA Med (01/13) – Morocco: Intelcia call centre expands in France
Society/Culture
Iol Travel (01/17) – Sensual swirl
CBS News (01/17) – Confirmed: Martian rocks landed in Morocco
US Department of State (01/16) – U.S. – Maghreb Entrepreneurship Conference, January 16-18, 2012
Your Middle East (01/16) – Travel: Marrakech has not lost its magic
Women News Network (01/16) – Moroccan woman Fulbright says American media sells women and violence
World/MENA Region
Reuters (01/17) – INSIGHT-In Arab Spring, economic gain may trump pain
Bloomberg (01/17) – Qatar National Bank Signs Accord to Buy Stake in Marocaine
CBC (01/16) – Tunisia won’t rule out troops in Syria
The Jerusalem Post (01/16) – The Region: 2012- the year of living dangerously
Tribune (01/16) – Pakistan and the new Great Game
Gulf News (01/15) – UAE economy goes from strong to stronger
The Star (01/14) – Arab Spring passes Canada by
WSWS (01/14) – The US and its Middle East proxies
Bloomberg (01/13) – Year Later, U.S. Can Nurture Arab Spring’s Economic Roots: View
