Country Risk Rating

After the conclusion of the Syrian-Jordanian Higher Committee's meetings in Damascus in mid-October, Syrian Prime Minister Muhammad Naji al-Otari announced that the two neighbours... 2009-10-22

The social stability category is still Egypt's lowest scoring area in our short-term political risk ratings, and we are concerned about the impact of rising unemployment. A recent... 2009-09-25

Government officials from Syria and Iraq already appear to be smoothing over the cracks exposed by their recent diplomatic dispute. Tensions certainly remain, and Iraq's accusation... 2009-09-25

Jordan's official unemployment rate was 13.0% in Q209, up from 12.1% in Q109. Ongoing weakness in the domestic economy means that we see unemployment rising to 14.0% by year-end.... 2009-08-24

In a sign of tensions within the government regarding foreign policy, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu has signalled that he will be replaced by Vice Premier Silvan Shalom while... 2009-08-24

Relations with the US look as strong as ever, in light of President Hosni Mubarak's visit to Washington in August. There was little in the way of commentary from either side: it is... 2009-08-21

The government was, at the time of writing, yet to be formed, nearly two months after the elections, but no seasoned Lebanon observer will be very surprised at this state of affairs,... 2009-07-28

July 23 marked the 47th anniversary of the coup that launched the republic of Egypt, and, while the socialist leanings and non-aligned inclinations of the original state are largely... 2009-07-28

Relations between Israel and the Obama administration in the US appear to be worsening, with the two governments no closer to a compromise on how to move the Middle East peace process... 2009-07-23

Egypt's short-term political risk rating of 63.5 reflects the government's firm hold on political stability, in conjunction with a number of threats that could get out of hand if... 2009-07-15