The drought that occurred in Morocco last fall is causing the cereal harvest markedly lower than in the previous year. While in 2015, thanks to a favorable trend in precipitation, was reached a harvest of 110 million tonnes record, this year there will be a drastic decrease (- 70%), amounting to 33.5 million tons. In detail, the wheat represents more than half of the harvest (18.6 million tons), followed by wheat (8.7 million) and barley (6.2). The delay in rainfall has also resulted in the reduction of cultivated areas, increased from around 5.1 million hectares to 3.6 million hectares this year. The grain harvest expected in 2016 is the worst in years, followed by the one recorded in 2012 (50 million tons). The Moroccan Government has adopted the anti – drought measures (aimed primarily at livestock protection) which was followed by more heavy rains in early 2016. This ‘determines, according to the branched data from the Ministry of Agriculture, the positive trend of’ 87% of plant and animal, of course except for cereals. In particular, the production of fruit registered a growth estimated at + 15%, + 5% horticulture, livestock + 4%. The expected growth in the breeding performance is attributable to the conversion to feed a part of agricultural land previously allocated to cereals.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The revenue in the Albanian state coffers for the first 4 months of 2016 recorded an increase of 7.4% over the same period last year: it reveals the data released by the Ministry of Finance of Tirana. In April last year were collected 130.7 billion lek (about 934 million euro), equivalent to 9 billion lek more. The increase is related to the revenue of the tax authorities, with a positive trend of all taxes starting from VAT, tax on income and excise duties. On the other side, however, the government adopted a restrictive policy of expenditure, which at the end of the first four months, from the current year are reported to be 10.5 billion lek ( 75.7 million euro) less than in 2015 . The largest decrease was recorded in the investment item, about 26 percent less. This situation has led for the first time to a surplus in the balance of 16.5 billion lek (119 million euro).

(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews

Malta International Airport has entered into a strategic partnership with global air transport IT specialist SITA which is geared towards boosting the airport’s operational excellence and putting it at the forefront of technology in the aviation industry.

The partnership – which came into effect from May 10, 2016 – will allow Malta International Airport to focus on strategic investment and innovation as SITA takes over the airport’s day-to-day ICT operations. The partnership will help improve ICT service levels, optimize airport operations and enhance the overall passenger experience.

SITA’s experience in managing large-scale ICT transformation programs around the world will be extended to Malta International Airport, and support it in integrating ICT at the heart of its growth strategy over the long term.

Malta International Airport welcomed 4.62 million passengers in 2015 and is expected to grow by more than 2% this year. The company has also unveiled an ambitious investment program which includes a €28m terminal expansion. Work on Phase 1 of the project is scheduled to commence later on this year.

Alan Borg, CEO of Malta International Airport said: “We recognize that developing our ICT infrastructure is fundamental to our future growth. In light of this, we are delighted to be partnering with SITA, the market leader in this industry, and look forward to working together on a digital blueprint to meet our future demands.”

Dave Bakker, SITA President, Europe said: “As a global supplier of end-to-end solutions to the broader air transport industry, we are in the unique position of being able to support the full gamut of airport, airline, and government systems found in airports today. This allows us to take our service to the industry a step further, by managing the end-to-end ICT infrastructure for airports while guiding their future investment to ensure cost savings and improved service delivery”.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The Albanian Development Fund has started the project “Development of the Alps and Coastal Areas” which will be supported, financially and otherwise, by a 28.7 million euro loan provided by the European Bank for Development, and 6 million the euro provided by the Albanian leadership. 35 million Euros will be used for new jobs in these uninhabited areas and to intensify the existence of economic activities in the area. This was reported in an article “Albanian Daily News.” This project will allow the increase of tourism offerings through a longer stay and an increase in expenses for the visitors. The procedures of this proposed urban renewal for the city hall Dhermi, Vuno and Himara were opened recently; Also the process of regeneration of urban areas for the municipality of Vlora, Himara are part of it. The project aims at developing tourism and economic progress through the restoration, preservation and rehabilitation of traditional houses and the cultural heritage areas.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

During ArabNet conference, there was presented the French incubator “Esa Smart” program with a double meaning, accelerator and start-up incubator, mainly those operating in the digital economy. The program is aimed both at companies still in the planning phase (incubator), both companies have already begun, which will be accompanied by a period of nine months in order to facilitate their growth (accelerator). The exact date for the start of the project and details on the selection criteria are still being studied.

Smart Esa, which has the support of the Embassy of France, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Bank of Lebanon, involves an investment of approximately 5 million dollars over 5 years, which will be made available by various investors.

The program will be managed by ESA, Ecole Superieure des Affaires in Beirut. The ESA, is based on its statute that its experience in management education, is the ideal tool to support the new Lebanon policy in the field of new technologies. The project will act as a bridge between the two countries: on the one hand incubated Lebanese companies will benefit from easier access to the French and European markets; the other, the school will be a magnet for French companies and will help them develop their activities in Lebanon.

With this project, France wishes to build on the experience of the French Tech, an experiment launched by the French government in 2013 to encourage the development of an ecosystem conducive to business creation. The “French Tech”, which at birth consisted of a connection network between French cities, has subsequently internationalized, until you have in 2015 eleven hubs abroad, including New York, San Francisco, London, Cape Town, Barcelona, Abidjan and Montreal. ESA wants to make Beirut the twelfth hub of the network.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

At the plenary meeting, in Sharm El Sheik, the platform of the industry regulators for electronic communications in the Mediterranean (EMERG) unanimously designated AGCOM, chaired by Professor Angelo Marcello Cardani presidential the 2017 platform.

Commissioner Antonio Preto, who represented the Authority in the Sharm meeting, thanked the assembly for the important assignment and confirmed the maximum Authority’s commitment to foster the further development of the platform and the achievement of objectives of approximation and exchange of good practice which it proposes, particularly at a time when relations between the two shores of the Mediterranean are put to the test by the difficult international situation. Also for this purpose, the Commissioner Preto welcomed the approval of the report on data collection and inspection powers of the regulators of the Mediterranean drawn up by the work of coordination of AGCOM and presented at the plenary meeting.

President Cardani said: “The task of dell’EMERG Presidency conferred AGCOM is both a recognition of the enormous efforts by the Authority’s commitment to the promotion of regulatory cooperation instruments in the Mediterranean and an incentive to strengthen these ties in a historical period in which the competitive and non- discriminatory access to electronic communications services takes on a new significance that transcends mere logic of the market”.

During the plenary meeting, the EMERG also approved the annual report for 2015 and the work program for 2016, focused on the issues certificates of permission, the regulation of voice services, net neutrality and the Internet of things.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

Eni, following the start of production of the Nidoco North 1X exploration well and the Nidoco North West 4 development well, brought the production of Nooros field, located in Abu Madi West concession, to around 65,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day (around 33,000 net to Eni). This new milestone, achieved in just 10 months after discovery took place in July 2015, further confirms Eni’s near field exploration strategy oriented on high-value activities, which, thanks to the existing infrastructures, allows the fast development of the findings.

Nooros’ daily production, consisting in approximately 10 million cubic meters of gas and 5,000 barrels of condensates, will provide an important contribution to reduce Egypt gas imports as well as for supplying low cost energy for the country’s development.

The next target for Eni is to increase production up to 140,000 boe per day by the end of 2016, through the drilling of additional wells and facility optimization. In addition, Eni will continue its exploration activities within the license area, where more potential was identified.

Eni, through its subsidiary IEOC, holds a 75% stake in the concession of Abu Madi West, located in the Nile Delta, while BP holds a 25% stake. In the license, operations are being conducted by Petrobel, which is a joint venture between IEOC and the State partner Egyptian General Petroleum Corporation (EGPC).

Eni has been present in Egypt since 1954 where it operates through IEOC. The equity production in the country was in 2015 about 200 thousand barrels of oil equivalent per day.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

According to sources close to the matter, the World Bank and the European Investment Bank are ready to invest, respectively, 1 billion dollars and 1 billion euro in the project of the Trans-Anatolian gas pipeline (TANAP). The TANAP project envisages transporting gas from the Shah Deniz II field in Arzebaijan to the border with Europe, via Turkey, SOCAR, State Oil Company of dell’Arzebaijan, holds 58% of the shares of TANAP, the Botas, the Turkish gas distribution company, holds 30% and British Petroleum 12%. While the estimated cost at first was around 11.7 billion dollars, this projection is gradually dropped to 9.2 following a revision. The vice president of the European Investment Bank, Pim Van Ballekom said that the bank has planned to allocate 1 billion euro for the project. It is expected that the initial capacity of TANAP will be around 16 billion cubic meters per year, which gradually will reach 31 billion cubic meters. Turkey will receive six billion cubic meters, while the remaining volume will be shipped to Europe. The gas will reach Turkey in 2018 and, after the construction of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP), will arrive in Europe in 2020. SaltukDüzyol, General Manager of TANAP, on the occasion of a meeting held on April 20, said: “The consortium of TANAP project has already scheduled a joint venture to build the section of 459 km, from the province of Eski?ehir on the border with Greece. Are all contracts, except for the submarine segment already been signed. Our goal is to complete the project by June 2018, but we will work hard to complete it in advance”.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The European Union is interested in the exploitation of natural gas on fields located in the eastern region of the Mediterranean Sea. And for this purpose which has granted 2 million Euros to Cyprus for a feasibility plan for the construction of a pipeline from Cyprus to continental Europe. This was reported by the business newspaper Globes according to the Cypriot media reports.

According to a spokesman for the European Union, the natural gas fields in the eastern Mediterranean are a contribution to the Europe, established in the region and energy security of the countries in addition to the opportunity, to diversify its providers gas.

Israel and Cyprus, the countries in whose economic zones are important natural gas fields, are particularly interested in this project, which should fall under the category of PCI – Projects of Common Interest.

The European contribution will serve to finance the necessary preliminary feasibility test technique in addition to calculating the cost-effectiveness of the project in general. Only after this test, the European The Union will decide whether to contribute to the financing of the construction of the pipeline.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The Slovenian Minister of Economic Development, Zdravko Pocivalšek, received on  Tuesday the Minister of Economy and Tourism of Qatar, Ahmed Bin Jassim Al Thani, on a visit along with a business delegation. Particular attention was dedicated to investment, especially in tourism, health care and education. Guest attended later the first session of the joint commission for economic and technical cooperation between Slovenia and Qatar which presided together with the Slovenian Foreign Minister, Karl Erjavec. Al Thani was also received separately by the Slovenian President Borut Pahor.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews