Wave of Patriotism as Egypt Raises $9 Billion for Suez Canal - NBC News.com - 0 views
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Despite the hardships Egyptian citizens have endured in the last 4 years they have poured a collective 8.5 billion dollars into an upgrade of the Suez Canal, a long time symbol of national pride. Al-Sisi is planning to build a waterway parallel to the Suez Canal. Egyptians had the option to invest in the waterway by purchasing certificates with a guaranteed return. 82% of investments were from individuals instead of institutions and the canal is expected to bring in $2 to $5 billion in revenue over the next two to three years.
Tunisia cuts 2012 growth forecast to 3.5 pct - Daily News Egypt - 0 views
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Tunisia cut its economic growth forecast for this year to 3.5 percent, down from a previous forecast of 4.5 percent due to declines in foreign investment and tourism. Tunisia's government said in December the economy would grow 4.5 percent in 2012, but ongoing strikes have put off foreign investment, forcing it to cut its forecast. In 2011 the leaving of Zine Al-Abidine Ben Ali sparked the "Arab Spring". This caused revolts, which shrank the economy to 1.8 percent in 2011. The supplementary budget also increased in spending of 1 billion dinars.
Wasta, Work and Corruption in Transnational Business | CONNECTED in CAIRO - 0 views
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Girgis worked for a company that insisted as part of their global corporate culture that there be no “corruption.” Six years after opening its office in Egypt, they continued to be plagued by behaviors they understood to be “corrupt.”
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I explained that wasta referred to a network of informal loans and favors traded by Arab men in order to move up in the world.
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Encouraged by my open, neutral tone, Girgis opened up further. “My father mortgaged family lands to pay for my college,” Girgis said. “I owe him everything. If he asks me to find a job for his brother’s son, how can I say no?”
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This article is from the point of view of an anthropologist who was brought in as a cultural consultant to mediate an issue of "watsa" for a corporation in the Middle East. The company prides itself on its lack of internal corruption, and in turn hired a man named Girgis who grew up in the Middle East but lived and received an education in the US. In Girgis's first year he hired one of his cousins, which the supervisors saw as corrupt hiring practice. The author, and hired consultant, explained to the company supervisors that watsa was an "investment and return" framework in Arab culture, and that there are economic parallels between Arab families and businesses, families existing as economic units. Girgis conveyed that anywhere else in the world he would run the office by the book, but in the Arab world he must also adhere to social norms. The result of watsa through Arab eyes leads to greater loyalty, and less likelihood for deception and theft. The article basically introduces the idea that while in the Western world this may be seen as corruption, it is an embedded part of culture in the Middle East.
Islamists Aren't the Obstacle | Foreign Affairs - 0 views
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A minority of the population -- 26 percent of Tunisians and 28 percent of Egyptians -- believes that Islam should play a large role in government.
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Both secularists and Islamists associate democracy with economic prosperity
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Islamist parties received considerable support in both countries' recent elections -- not only because there is a broad ideological affinity for Islamism among the population but also because of Islamist parties' effective campaigning.
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The Council on Foreign Relations published an article about democratization in the middle east and the major obstacles that are present in the process. While most assume Islamists and Islamic embedded institutions are the root of the delayed democratic transition, the problems are much bigger than that. While Islamist regimes do indeed stunt the growth of democratic progress in terms of creating a stable government, Arab countries struggle with economic and social factors as well. The Arab Spring Revolutions have caused economic and social degradation across the region, resulting in a road block of political leadership. Without a reliable and capable government structure, the states are unable to progress economically. However, in order to have a stable government, social and economic institutions must be in place to create this capitalist economy that they strive for. Because most wealth resides in oil, the revenue that the states bring in isn't distributed properly throughout society and is concentrated within few business elites. The article stresses that instead of foreign aid going into the hands of an unstable leader or regime, it should be invested in institutions in order to spur economic growth and eliminate corruption. Rather than focusing on the Islamist-secularist divide, the world should be working towards the strengthening of institutions to create a stable foundation for governance.
US Backs Tunisia's Efforts to Improve Investment Appeal - ABC News - 0 views
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Last month Tunisia installed a new government. The conference was a way of telling the world that Tunisia is back on track. The Prime Minister talked about how he promises for economic reform as well as hopes that the long delayed free trade agreement between the U.S. and Tunisia could be finally completed.
The Arab Spring's success story: what will it take for Tunisia to unlock its full ... - 0 views
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Tunisia kicked off investor meetings for a Eurobond without US guarantees. Tunisia's stock market has already shown political stability. Tunis index rose more than 16 percent in 2014 and trades 10 percent below record highs hit before the Arab Spring. Tunisia has potential to reform but it is in need of foreign direct investment to drive economic growth and job creation. Tunisia signed a two year deal with the international Monetary Fund in 2013, agreeing to follow certain economic policies; keeping its deficit under control, making the foreign exchange market more flexible and structural reforms.
Why Tunisians Are Protesting Again 5 Years After The Revolution - 0 views
Middle East investment in U.S. property rises as returns drag at home - 0 views
How long can Saudi Arabia afford Yemen war? - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 14 views
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long history of political animosity; this is a history that continues until our present day.
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Yemen's treasury was burdened by the costs of unification such as paying for southern civil servants to move to the new capital, Sanaa, and paying interest on its massive debt. On top of its other economic challenges, Yemen was to absorb the shock of 800,000 returnees and their pressure on the already weak job market. With their return, the estimated $350 million a month in remittances
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Civil war broke out in the summer of 1994 in what could be interpreted as a symptom of economic failure.
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Saudi Arabia's Tesla Roadmap - 0 views
Lessons from the Libyan War | The American Conservative - 0 views
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In the Libyan case, this involved attributing to anti-regime forces the “values” that Americans wanted to believe that they had, and it meant investing the conflict in Libya with far greater global significance than it actually possessed.
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The earlier assumption that the “Arab Spring” was something that the U.S. ought to be encouraging went unexamined, once again because our “values” dictated that Washington must do this.
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the idea that a Libyan intervention would allow the U.S. “to realign our interests and our values” was reportedly a significant factor in the decision to take military action. Thus one faulty assumption (that our “values” were at stake) led to another (we must “realign our values and our interests”) and that led to a terrible decision.
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This article basically condemns the intentions of US intervention in Libya. Larison conveys that the assumption that US intervention was crucial in Libya to oust Gaddafi was based on attributing "values" that Americans wanted to believe that they had, putting far more significance on the conflict than it truly possessed. US intervention was unpopular in the region because of distrust in the US and resentment to interference regardless of the side Washington chooses to take. The author says this tells us that the US is far too quick to take sides in foreign conflict, and far too eager to throw their weight behind their side to make sure it wins. The US ought to serve as a neutral mediator resolving conflict rather than initiating further bloodshed through their impulse to "do something" immediately.
Putin brings China into Middle East strategy - Al-Monitor: the Pulse of the Middle East - 0 views
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one of China’s main strategic regional projects was the economic region (or belt) of the 21st century Great Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road, which intends to create a wide area of Chinese economic presence from China’s western borders to Europe
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clearly comprises the countries of Western Asia (i.e., the Middle East)
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Oil and Terror: ISIS and Middle East Economies - 0 views
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ISIS's economic cost is significant not just for Iraq but also other Middle Eastern countries.
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Iraq has the fifth largest oil reserves in the world and third highest in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia and Iran.
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Part of ISIS's rise in Iraq can be attributed to sectarian politics.
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Egypt receives 300 recommendations in UN human rights review - Daily News Egypt - 0 views
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Egypt has been provide
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with 300 recommendations by the United Nations Human Rights Council
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recommendations relating to the controversial Protest and NGO Laws, media freedoms, freedom of association, the use of the death penalty, and women’s rights.
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The new economics of oil: Sheikhs v shale | The Economist - 0 views
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The contest between the shalemen and the sheikhs has tipped the world from a shortage of oil to a surplus.
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Big importing countries such as the euro area, India, Japan and Turkey are enjoying especially big windfalls. Since this money is likely to be spent rather than stashed in a sovereign-wealth fund, global GDP should rise.
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There will, of course, be losers (see article). Oil-producing countries whose budgets depend on high prices are in particular trouble. The rouble tumbled this week as Russia’s prospects darkened further. Nigeria has been forced to raise interest rates and devalue the naira. Venezuela looks ever closer to defaulting on its debt
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