Follow the latest in economic news and developments about the the Arab transition countries.
US congressional delegation discourages aid cut to Egypt The US congressional delegation currently visiting Cairo said that the decision to reduce US aid to Egypt was not proper and sent a wrong message to the Egyptian people. The delegation pointed out that the US administration has not adopted a strategy to support a particular political movement in Egypt or the region. The delegation included Robert Karem, senior adviser to the Foreign Affairs Office of the US House, and Anne Marie Chotvacs, Foreign Operations Subcommittee Chief at the US House of Representatives, and Michael Casey, Congressional Liaison for the US Army’s Combined Arms Center. [Al-Masry Al-Youm]
Jordanian public debt forecast to reach JD 20 billion by year-end
Jordan’s public debt is expected to reach JD 20 billion by the end of this year, a 20 percent increase when compared to 2012 year-end figures, a government official said. At the end of last year, public debt, foreign and domestic, stood at JD 16.6 billion. This means, the ratio of public debt to the GDP would reach around 80 percent, a percentage he described as “too high”. [
Jordan Times]
Tunisia: 15.3 percent rise in FDI without reaching 2010 level
Foreign investments stood at 1,491.9 million dinars (MD) at the end of last September, which means a rise of 15. 3 percent compared with 2012 (9 months) and 20.5 percent compared with 2011, according to the latest statistics of the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA). [
TAP]
Yemen’s WTO accession close to completion
Decentralized economic decision-making is the key to economic recovery, according to Yemeni Minister of Industry and Trade Saadeddine bin Taleb. This type of governance accentuates the potential of each province or district and is especially salient in light of Yemen’s population growth coupled with its growing scarcity of resources, he said. Granting provinces the authority to manage their own resources would create a productive economy that generates employment and tackles the problems of poverty, he said. [
Al-Shorfa]
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