Business

29 Dec 2022; MEMO: The chance for nuclear negotiations is still "available" but it will not remain so "forever", Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian said yesterday, criticising the "hypocrisy" of Western powers.

Abdollahian was speaking at the start of his official visit to Oman at a time when the nuclear negotiations have reached a standstill and tensions have increased between the Islamic Republic, Europe and the United States.

30 Dec 2022; MEMO: Somalia's Ministry of Petroleum and Mineral Resources on Wednesday warned British company Genel Energy Plc against oil exploration in the Somaliland regions in the north of the country, Anadolu Agency reported.

The warning came in a press release issued by the ministry after the British company announced it had concluded an oil exploration agreement with Somaliland.

29 Dec 2022; MEMO: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday received the credentials of new ambassadors from four countries, including Israel.

At the presidential complex in the capital Ankara, Erdogan welcomed Israeli Ambassador Irit Lillian, marking the first appointment by Tel Aviv since 2018.

Senior diplomat Lillian, whose appointment was announced on Sept. 19, had served as Israel's charge d'affaires in Ankara for the past two years.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: Turkiye's president on Monday announced the discovery of an additional 58 billion cubic meters of natural gas in the Black Sea.

"Our drill ship Fatih has explored 58 billion cubic meters of natural gas reserves, 3,023 meters under the sea, at the Caycuma 1 block," said President Recep Tayyip Erdogan following a Cabinet meeting at the Presidential Complex in Ankara.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: iFly Airlines has notified tour operator Tez Tour about the forced cancellation of all international flights from Russia to Egypt due to the lack of permission to use Jordan's airspace and restrictions on overflight imposed by several other countries, Russia's TASS news agency reported.

iFly airline asked the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency to allow it to fly through Syria, but the agency refused, considering it unsafe.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said the government will not cut spending on national projects, despite the scarcity of US dollars in the market.

Speaking during the inauguration of a project in Egypt, El-Sisi said Egypt is continuing to spend on national projects without paying attention to the pressure resulting from the scarcity of the US dollar supply in the market.

Since the outbreak of the Russian-Ukrainian war, more than $23 billion worth of investments have exited Egypt.

28 Dec 2022; MEMO: Iran welcomed on Monday the resumption of talks with Saudi Arabia, a week after the foreign ministers of both countries held a "friendly meeting."

26 Dec 2022; MEMO: Greece has moved to postpone a major arms purchase from Israel, local media reported on Saturday.

Defense Ministry officials fear that the purchase of Spike NLOS missiles, a particularly desired system for the navy's fast attack boats and the ground forces' AH-64 attack helicopters, risk being postponed indefinitely, private broadcaster CNN Greece reported.

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: Lebanon's maritime border demarcation for oil exploration and extraction must be completed, Hezbollah's deputy secretary general said yesterday.

Naim Qassem told Al-Nour radio station that oil extraction in Lebanon had nothing to do with "electing the Lebanese president," adding that his group was keen on "reaching tangible results on the issue of Lebanon's wealth."

27 Dec 2022; MEMO: Algeria's foreign reserves amounted to $60 billion by the end of 2022, the governor of the Bank of Algeria announced yesterday, Anadolu Agency reported.

Salah-Eddine Taleb told reporters that the available reserves would cover the country's import needs from goods and services for two and a half years.