The Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture has announced that total cereal production for the 2016-2017 agricultural season amounts to 96 million quintals, almost three times more than the previous year (35.5 million quintals). This is a very positive result, favored by the trend of atmospheric precipitations, which had instead penalized the 2015-2016 campaign. The production of this year is distributed on three main cereals: wheat (49 million tonnes), barley (25 million), hard wheat (22 million). The Moroccan regions that have contributed the most to this good performance are those of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra and Grand-Casablanca-Settat. The Ministry of Agriculture pointed out that atmospheric precipitation this year was 327 mm, 51 percent more than the previous year. The irregular pattern of rainfall in Morocco strongly affects cereal crops: for example, the 2014-2015 campaign saw a record 114.6 million quintals, while the previous one produced 68.5 million quintals.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

 Some 7.5 million tourists visited the Mediterranean resort of Antalya in the first eight months of the year despite a steady decrease in arrivals from 10 key European markets. Just 6.4 million tourists visited Antalya over the whole of 2016, which was a tough year for the resort’s tourism amid a diplomatic crisis with Russia. 

In August, nearly 1.8 million tourists visited Antalya, with a 75 percent year-on-year increase. With normalization in bilateral ties between Turkey and Russia, the number of arrivals from Russia to Antalya has seen a sharp rise, as more than 2.6 million Russians visited the resort in the January-August period  taking a 33 percent share in total. Germany was the second largest market for Antalya’s tourism sector. More than 1 million Germans visited Antalya with the loss of 236,000 Germantourists compared to the same period of 2016. Germany took a 15.5 percent share in total foreign arrivals into Antalya in the mentioned period. 

Ukraine was the third top market for Antalya with 545,278 Ukrainian tourists and the  United Kingdom was the fourth top market for Antalya, with 251,714 Brits visiting the resort. 

The number of arrivals in the province from many key European markets continued to decline, including the Netherlands, Scandinavian countries, Austria and Switzerland, data showed.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The construction of the Trans-Adriatic pipeline, which is now completed for more than 50 per cent, after 16 months since the beginning of the works, is proceeding to Greece, Albania and Italy. Construction in Albania and Greece, as announced by the company responsible for construction, is already complete for 70%, saying that in the two countries more than 539 kilometers of the 765 foreseen by the route have already been made, with the installation of more than 45 % of welded steel tubes. Over 5,500 people (85% local) work for the project in the three countries, which are also recipients of a large social and environmental investment (SEI) program for a total value of over 55 million.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The Italian President, Sergio Mattarella, has concluded his two-day state visit to Malta. It is evident through the high-level meetings held that that two countries enjoy an excellent relationship and share the same values and aspirations.

During the last hours of his stay, Mattarella received a courtesy visit by the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Malta, Angelo Farrugia.

Speaker Farrugia and President Mattarella highlighted the excellent and cordial bilateral relations that exist between Malta and Italy, which relations have been consolidated over the years through various agreements, including, in particular the five Financial Protocols and the fifteen Cultural and Educational Agreements.

The discussion also focused on the international situation, mainly the Mediterranean and the problem of migration. They agreed that migration has to be managed properly and that the Members States of the European Union should show active and not passive solidarity.

The importance of the parliamentary diplomacy as well as the role of national Parliaments and parliamentary cooperation in international organisations featured in the talks. In this regard, the close cooperation between the Maltese House of Representatives and the Italian Senate and Chamber of Deputies was highlighted.

The programme proceeded with a cultural visit to the old Maltese capital city of Mdina where the local Mayor Peter Sant Manduca welcomed him.

Late on Wednesday evening, a state dinner was held in honour of the Italian President hosted by the President of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca. She reaffirmed the outstanding cooperation in many areas between Malta and Italy that include trade, tourism, energy, immigration and culture.

During this event the Maltese President pointed out that next year, the capital city Valletta will be the European Cultural City for 2018, and augured that this would present a unique opportunity to strengthen the two nations’ collaboration in the field of art.

She also thanked the Italian Ambassador to Malta Giovanni Umberto De Vito for his continuous effort to strengthen bilateral relations between the two countries, as his tenure will expire in the upcoming days.

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

 

Source: medNews

Sergio Mattarella’s two day state visit in Malta, initiated with a meeting between him and the President of Malta, Marie-Louise Coleiro Preca, during which the Italian President highlighted the special relationship between the two countries that is reflected in various fields.

The issue of immigration in the Mediterranean region was high on the agenda. With Italy facing the biggest burden of immigrants, the President of Malta stressed the need to share the load between all member states of the European Union. 

The Maltese President said “Malta stands in full solidarity with Italy to help deal with the current migratory pressure from the central Mediterranean route. Malta believes that relocation remains a key measure in order to alleviate the pressure on front line EU members by sharing the responsibility in dealing with applicants”. President Mattarella stated that Italy and Malta retain the same position on peace and international collaboration demonstrated through the issue of immigration and solidarity with African countries. He praised Malta for respecting the immigration quota as established by the European Union.

However Mattarella warned that although there are other countries that have taken immigrants as decided by the European Union, there are still member states that are not collaborating. 

This means that the European Union still has to undertake a lot of work to put solidarity into practice and to truly apportion commitment on all fronts particularly with regards to immigration.

Reference was also made to the situation in Libya. The Italian president said that Italy is appealing to the European Union and the United Nations so that together they work towards reinstating stability in the country and improving the conditions in the refugee camps. During the bilateral meeting between the two presidents the co-operation in the field of energy was mentioned. The President of Malta Marie Louise Coleiro praised the interconnector project between Malta and Sicily through which Malta is buying energy from Italy. She augured that this success will be achieved as works on the natural gas pipeline have commenced. Italy is the largest business partner to Malta as over 3,320 companies holding Italian shares operate on the island. The President of Malta said that this is another confirmation of the partnership between the two countries as she also made reference to the fields of politics, culture and economy.

Leter, the Maltese Prime Minister Joseph Muscat paid a courtesy visit to the Italian President Mattarella. During this meeting it was pointed out how the two countries face similar challenges and hold common positions on important issues. 

Definitely a common challenge pertaining to both countries is immigration described by the Maltese Prime Minister as not only being a humanitarian matter but also a security concern.  It is a global challenge, and not a local one. Both sides referred to the European Court ruling to reject the objections of Hungary and Slovakia for burden-sharing with quotas as a very important political decision. 

Prime Minister Muscat stressed the importance of adhering to quotas by all member states whilst President Mattarella commended Malta for taking a decisive role on this issue in the Mediterranean. The situation of Libya was also brought up during the meeting with both sides agreeing that dialogue between all parties concerned has to be strengthened. They emphasised that a relationship between the European Union and the African continent is crucial. The topic of energy connectivity was also discussed with Dr Muscat referring to the gas pipeline from Sicily to Malta linking the two countries.  The Maltese Prime Minister also disclosed the Government’s vision to start consultation for the elimination of petrol and diesel operated cars, a commitment that was positively received by the Italian President.

They also discussed the commercial links between Malta and Italy that are leading to benefits for both sides. 

President Mattarella said that he is impressed with the results that Malta is gaining in the economic field. Both sides agreed that Europe needs to strengthen its social dimension.

Meanwhile, President Mattarella congratulated Prime Minister Joseph Muscat for the exemplary manner in which Malta led the Presidency of the Council of the European Union during the six months tenure. Mattarella ended this day with a meeting with the outgoing Opposition Leader Simon Busuttil. Dr. Busuttil will end his term this coming Saturday, as the opposition party will be voting for a new leader following last June’s electoral defeat.

The Italian Minister of Foreign Affairs Italian, Angelo Alfano was present for the meetings.

 

(ITALPRESS/MNA)

Source: medNews

Interior Minister Marco Minniti met Libyan General Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi in recent days. The news appeared on Twitter’s profile and Facebook page of Alwasat Libya, posting a picture of the minister shaking hands with the general.

The meeting, the newspaper wrote, took place in the Libyan militia chief’s office near the Tobruk parliament at the headquarters of the general command in the Al-Rajmeh area. Minniti arrived in the city of Benghazi from Algeria, Alwasat reports. The Italian Interior Minister, the Libyan daily continues, said that Algeria and Rome are interested in the stability of Libya, because it is important to fight terrorism and trafficking in human beings.

For a long time, the Viminale owner wanted to talk face to face with “the strong man of Cyrenaica” who controls many of the migrants’ routes coming from Sub-Saharan Africa and across the heart of the Fezzan desert to the Mediterranean. Involving Haftar in European choices is paramount. “Obviously,” the entourage of Libyan Prime Minister Sarraj said, “we have been warned of Minniti’s journey to Benghazi, and the English and French Foreign Ministers have done so in the last few days.” They are moved in the spirit of the Paris accords ” .

To respond to the migration crisis, Minniti knows that it is also necessary to talk to Haftar, who has often announced that he wants to boycott the immigration flows containment plans that in his eyes appear to be interferences and violations of sovereignty. Haftar had always maintained a hostile attitude with Italy, which he accused of giving too much support to the government of Tripoli.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The Indian oil company Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has confirmed its willingness to participate in the ongoing call in Lebanon and Israel for the exploitation and production of oil and gas offshore.

The Indian company is one of the pre-qualified companies in Lebanon for the first phase of contract award for Blocks 1, 4, 8, 9 and 10.

However, the ONGC indicated that it would not present itself for the Lebanon-Israel border blocks, namely Blocks 8, 9 and 10, as the Indian company also intends to participate in the exploration and exploitation of 24 blocks off the Israeli coast (none of which is in the controversial areas).

In Lebanon, pre-qualified companies for the first phase of contract award must submit their bids by September 15. The announcement of the winners and the signing of the contracts is scheduled to take place on November 15.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

The Master of the Tennis FIT Kinder + Sport 2017 circuit finished. The event, held at the Foro Italico from August 21 until August 30, was characterized by the fact that it was the first international edition: over 1300 matches played by 1345 players, including 51 foreigners. Between the Kinder Village the Pietrangeli Stadium, young athletes, aged between 9 and 16, spent some days immersed in a sporty climate, full of passion for sport. From this year, Italy has invited eight additional federations in the capital to take part

to the event: Austria (5 players), Bulgaria (8), Germany (6), Israel (6), Luxembourg (8), Malta (9), Principality of Monaco (5) and Hungary (4). A satisfaction for Rita Grande, the former tennis player that organizes the event: “We are very happy to have been able to involve 8 federations. Some

foreign athletes have won, while others have made it to the final. It’s the first time, after eleven years, that the Italian kids can compete with foreign boys. Technical exchanges took place and new friendships have emerged”.

Several winners belonged to foreign federations. Bulgaria won the women’s Under 12 and reached the final in the male tournament. Hungary brought 4 athletes in the finals, in the Under 10 and Under 11 categories, while Austria won the Under 9 women tournament. Germany was finalist in the under 12th

Women tournament. In the remaining categories, finals were played by Italian playersi. The goal of next year, as stated by the organizers, is to involve at least four more federations in order to make the atmosphere of the tournament as international as possible.

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

On 28 August, the Moroccan Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, Abdelkader Amara, said that the work on the Tangier – Casablanca high speed rail line has reached a state of progress of over 90%. This figure was confirmed at the last meeting of the Board of Directors of the Office national des chemins de fer (Ferrovie dello Stato), which foresees the delivery of the infrastructure by June 2018. The project altogether includes 12 tunnels, 169 Railway bridges and over one hundred hydraulic structures, 80% of which made by Moroccan companies. ONCF Chief Operating Officer Mohamed Rabie Khlie informed the media that the first tests of the TGV were carried out last February at a speed of 160 km / h, while 320 km / h tests will begin next September on a 120 kilometers stretch. DG Khlie confirmed that trainings for train maintenance personnel are also being carried out, in addition to the operators in charge of marketing the service. The first semester of 2018 will be dedicated to line and routing approval tests, while commercial start-up is scheduled for next summer. The TGV station in Tangier, for which an amount of about € 32 million has been allocated, will be built on an area of 10,500 m² (waiting rooms, ticket offices, boarding areas, shopping areas) and 77,000 m² of equipped outdoor areas. In Tangier, a convoy maintenance center was also set up, designed for 30 high-speed trains, covering an area of 14 hectares, of which 20,000 square meters of buildings. The TGV maintenance center, with the latest industry technology, costed around € 56 million and was made by a consortium of Moroccan companies, joint ventured with French Railways Société nationale des chemins de francais (SNCF).

(ITALPRESS/MNA).

Source: medNews

In recent days, interesting macroeconomic data was released by Israeli CBS. Growth in the second quarter of 2017 was 2.7%. Comparing these data, it emerged that, compared with Q4 2016, where an important 4.4% was achieved, there was a slowdown. In the first half of this year, economic growth thus stands at 2.1%. The value is more modest than the peak reached in 2016, partly due to the extraordinary performance of the automotive industry. In the quarter under review, increases in consumption (+ 6.5%) and in fixed capital (+ 5.2%) were recorded. As a consequence of the shekel appreciation of recent months, exports decreased by 8.8% on an annual basis. It is important to remember that all these estimates may be subject to review. On the monetary front, the shekel is returning to higher exchange rates, suggesting that the Central Bank will not intervene with rising interest rate. Good news continues to come from the labor market; Compared with 4.3% in June, in July the unemployment rate fell to 4.1%. The participation rate thus reached 80,01%.
(ITALPRESS).

Source: medNews