Country Risk Rating

BMI View: Our rosy economic outlook for the short and medium term is somewhat tempered by the multiple downside risks we see to Libya's business environment.

On the back of President Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali's re-election for a fifth consecutive term on October 25 2009, Tunisian authorities have allegedly stepped up a campaign against journalists... 2010-01-04

Two new government programmes are set to enhance access to financing for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Morocco, with the goal of improving their competitiveness. The first,... 2010-01-04

In a further illustration of Algeria's poor relations with neighbour Morocco, the latter charged on December 14 that Aminatou Haidar, a Western Saharan activist on hunger strike in... 2010-01-04

Two Swiss businessmen, Rachid Hamdani and Max Goeldi, who had been detained in Libya since July 2008, were sentenced to 16 months in prison for immigration offences in December 2009.... 2010-01-04

Libya has agreed to cooperate more closely with the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on issues such as organised crime, money laundering and human trafficking. Under the agreement,... 2009-11-20

Tunisian media groups have complained yet again at what they see as rising levels of censorship. Three newspapers - Attariq Aljadid, al-Maoukif and Mouatenoun - linked with opposition... 2009-11-20

In a sign of growing tensions over Western Sahara, Morocco has expelled a Swedish diplomat accused of passing on official documents to separatist groups within the disputed territory.... 2009-11-19

Algeria is to introduce a draft resolution to the UN Security Council calling for a ban on the payment of ransoms to terrorist groups. Algerian authorities claim that they have the... 2009-11-19

As part of the ongoing fallout from the controversial release of the convicted Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, Libya has stopped issuing visas to Canadian citizens. According... 2009-10-26