Guinea and its iron ore: Let the people benefit, for once
Posted: June 5, 2014 Filed under: Guinea | Tags: Alpha Condé, Beny Steinmetz, Guinea, Lansana Conté, Mo Ibrahim, resource curse, Rio Tinto, Simandou, Vale Leave a commentGuinea’s government may at last be dealing sensibly with its mineral riches
BURIED beneath the mist-capped mountains of south-eastern Guinea is one of the world’s biggest deposits of iron ore. Estimated at around 2.2 billion tonnes, the Simandou concession contains almost as much as the entire global iron-ore industry produced in 2013. Thanks to its size and unusually high quality, some experts say that whoever controls Simandou may dominate the world’s iron-ore sector for a generation. Read the rest of this entry »
Morocco’s role in Africa: Making more of it
Posted: February 25, 2014 Filed under: Mali | Tags: Algeria, Attijariwafa Bank, diplomacy, Guinea, IBK, Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Islam, Libya, Mali, Maroc Telecom, Morocco, Muhammad VI, Polisario, soft power, Tunisia, Western Sahara Leave a comment
Morocco is vying with Algeria for more influence in the region
KING Muhammad VI of Morocco’s trip to Mali could not have gone better. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, Mali’s president, and his entire cabinet were waiting on the tarmac to welcome the monarch off his jet on February 18th. When the king bestowed Morocco’s highest honour on Mr Keita, he promptly renamed a boulevard in Bamako after him (Muhammad’s name is emblazoned on a red and green billboard). Over five days of pomp, pageantry and public displays of affection, Muhammad signed 18 agreements, covering microfinance to defence and energy. He is hoping to do the same in Ivory Coast, Guinea and Gabon, the remaining stops on his tour. Read the rest of this entry »
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