US Slams Investment Climate in Algeria

The Algerian President meets with the cabinet on Tuesday. (Algerian Presidency) 
The Algerian President meets with the cabinet on Tuesday. (Algerian Presidency) 
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US Slams Investment Climate in Algeria

The Algerian President meets with the cabinet on Tuesday. (Algerian Presidency) 
The Algerian President meets with the cabinet on Tuesday. (Algerian Presidency) 

The US Department of State has criticized in its recent report “2023 Investment Climate Statements: Algeria” the import substitution policy endorsed by Algeria and the shortage of supplies in the local market.

The report said that “the import substitution policies it employs tend to generate regulatory uncertainty, supply shortages, increased prices, and a limited consumer goods selection.”

“Economic operators deal with a range of challenges, including complicated customs procedures, cumbersome bureaucracy, difficulties in monetary transfers, and price competition from international rivals,” according to the report.

“International firms operating in Algeria complain that laws and regulations are constantly shifting, raising commercial risk for foreign investors.”

The report added that “Algerian government officials frequently encourage US companies to invest in Algeria with particular focus on agriculture, information and communications technology, mining, hydrocarbons (both upstream and downstream), renewable energy, and healthcare."

“Algeria’s economy is driven by hydrocarbon production, which historically accounts for 95 percent of export revenues and approximately 40 percent of government income.”

“The historically debt-averse government resists foreign financing, preferring to attract foreign direct investment (FDI) to boost employment and replace imports with local production.”

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune ordered the government to continue the subsidies on basic products and to ban all imports of legumes except through the National Professional Cereals Office.

During Tuesday's cabinet meeting, Tebboune ordered the cabinet to implement stringent dissuasive measures to revamp the agricultural sector.

The President further authorized the import of fresh red and white meat after one year of banning the import of locally manufactured products. This decision aims to alleviate any potential shortages and price fluctuations.

The Algerian President further instructed the government to promote private investments in this sector. These investments will ensure that perishable goods remain readily available and help curb seasonal price fluctuations.

Moreover, he directed the cabinet to purchase agricultural products directly from producers to contribute to the creation of a National Agricultural Products Board, with cold storage facilities for stock preservation.

He also emphasized the need for a clear and consistent communication policy to keep citizens informed about the availability of essential goods, thus quashing rumors of shortages.

“While Russia’s war in Ukraine has led European countries to turn to Algeria as a source of gas, rising domestic energy consumption and underinvestment in production may make it difficult for the country to significantly increase its exports," according to the US report.

In this regard, OPEC revealed in its monthly report on Tuesday that Algeria supplied 939,000 bpd in August from 955,000 in July. Algeria had decided on a production cut of 20,000 bpd for August in addition to the OPEC+ voluntary output reductions that have been in force since May.



Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Israel Seizes Rafah in New Gaza 'Security Zone'

A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
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Hundreds of Thousands Flee as Israel Seizes Rafah in New Gaza 'Security Zone'

A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)
A youth rides a bicycle as people commute along the al-Rashid road, the only route linking the northern and southern parts of the Palestinian territory, on April 2, 2025. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP)

Hundreds of thousands of fleeing Gazans sought shelter on Thursday in one of the biggest mass displacements of the war, as Israeli forces advanced into the ruins of the city of Rafah, part of a newly announced "security zone" they intend to seize.

A day after declaring their intention to capture large swathes of the crowded enclave, Israeli force pushed into the city on Gaza's southern edge which had served as a last refuge for people fleeing other areas for much of the war, reported Reuters.

Gaza's health ministry reported at least 97 people killed in Israeli strikes in the past 24 hours, including at least 20 killed in an airstrike around dawn in Shejaia suburb of Gaza City.

Rafah "is gone, it is being wiped out," a father of seven among the hundreds of thousands who had fled from Rafah to neighboring Khan Younis, told Reuters via a chat app.

"They are knocking down what is left standing of houses and property," said the man who declined to be identified for fear of repercussions.

After a strike killed several people in Khan Younis, Adel Abu Fakher was checking the damage to his tent.

"Is anything left for us? There’s nothing left for us. We’re being killed while asleep," he said.

The assault to capture Rafah is a major escalation in the war, which Israel restarted last month after effectively abandoning a ceasefire in place since January.

GAZANS FEAR PERMANENT DEPOPULATION

Israel has not spelled out its longterm aims for the security zone its troops are now seizing. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanayahu said troops were taking an area he called the "Morag Axis", a reference to an abandoned former Israeli settlement once located between Rafah on Gaza's southern edge and the adjacent main southern city Khan Younis.

Gazans who had returned to homes in the ruins during the ceasefire have now been ordered to flee communities on the northern and southern edges of the strip.

They fear that Israel's intention is to depopulate those areas indefinitely, leaving many hundreds of thousands of people permanently homeless in one of the poorest and most crowded territories on earth. The security zone includes some of Gaza's last agricultural land and critical water infrastructure.

Since the first phase of the ceasefire expired at the start of March with no agreement to prolong it, Israel has imposed a total blockade on all goods reaching Gaza's 2.3 million residents, recreating what international organizations describe as a humanitarian catastrophe after weeks of relative calm.

Israel's stated goal since the start of the war has been the destruction of the Hamas group which ran Gaza for nearly two decades and led the attack on Israeli communities in October 2023 that precipitated the war.

But with no effort made to establish an alternative administration, Hamas-led police returned to the streets during the ceasefire. Fighters still hold 59 dead and living hostages which Israel says must be handed over to extend the truce; Hamas says it will free them only under a deal that ends the war.

Israeli leaders say they have been encouraged by signs of protest in Gaza against Hamas, with hundreds of people demonstrating in north Gaza's Beit Lahiya on Wednesday opposing the war and demanding Hamas quit power. Hamas calls the protesters collaborators and says Israel is behind them.

The war began with a Hamas attack on Israeli communities on October 7, 2023 with gunmen killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages according to Israeli tallies. Israel's campaign has so far killed more than 50,000 Palestinians, Gaza health authorities say.

Rafah residents said most of the local population had followed Israel's order to leave, as Israeli strikes toppled buildings there. But a strike on the main road between Khan Younis and Rafah stopped most movement between the two cities.

Movement of people and traffic along the western coastal road near Morag was also limited by bombardment, said residents.

"Others stayed because they don't know where to go, or got fed up of being displaced several times. We are afraid they might be killed or at best detained," said Basem, a resident of Rafah who declined to give a second name.

Markets have emptied and prices for basic necessities have soared under Israel's total blockade of food, medicine and fuel.

The Palestinian Health Ministry, which is based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank but has nominal authority over hospitals in Gaza, said Gaza's entire healthcare system was at risk of collapse.