North Africa and the Sahel

The Sahel region stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Red Sea and consists, according to the UN, of ten countries which sit, wholly or partly, within it: Senegal,  Gambia, Mauritania, Guinea, Mali, Burkina Faso, Niger, Chad, Cameroon and Nigeria Other neighbouring countries however, such as Benin, Togo Sudan and Central African Republic, due to their proximity, and to the fact that they increasingly share the same problems, are often included when the Sahel is discussed.

Mali said it was suspending licenses for foreign artisanal gold mining companies after a series of fatal accidents in the West African country, one of Africa’s top three gold producers. Gen. Assimi Goita, president of Mali’s transitional government, ordered “the suspension of artisanal mining permits granted to foreigners,” according to a statement issued following a Council of Ministers meeting which was read out on the national television station ORTM.

Algeria, Tunisia, Austria, Germany and Italy have agreed to construct a hydrogen pipeline to bring clean fuel generated with renewable energy in North Africa to the European Union, in a move hailed as one of the bloc’s “most important renewable energy projects”. But analysis of Algeria and Tunisia’s green hydrogen strategies reveals that neither country is likely to be in a position to export the fuel in any meaningful quantity when the pipeline is due to start operating in 2030.

Floods in southern Morocco have killed at least 11 people and left nine missing. The Moroccan interior ministry told the French news agency AFP. One of the dead is a foreigner. It did not say who he was.

Thousands of migrants have tried to cross the border from Morocco into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in recent days, Spanish authorities said on Monday (26 August). Among these migrants, hundreds of young people have attempted to swim around border controls. Cristina Pérez, the Spanish government's representative in Ceuta, told reporters on Monday (26 August) that since Thursday (22 August) an average of 700 people a day had tried to breach the border, with a peak of 1,500 attempts on Sunday (25 August). While Pérez did not specify how many migrants had successfully reached Ceuta, she noted that authorities were returning 150 to 200 people a day to Morocco under Spanish laws that allow for 'border rejections'. She thanked the Moroccan authorities for their "loyal cooperation".

Morocco's King Mohammed VI has pardoned more than 4,800 people wanted or convicted of illegal cannabis cultivation. This was reported by the Moroccan newspaper Le Matin and the French news agency AFP on Monday evening (19 August), citing the North African country's justice ministry. The pardoned farmers simply met the 'conditions for pardon', the ministry said, explaining the decision.

Morocco is pushing ahead with the development of high-speed rail. Morocco plans to launch a tender to study the project of a high-speed rail link between Fez and Rabat, with a stop in Meknes. Meknes is one of the cities that will be used for team training and accommodation during the 2030 FIFA World Cup.

Social Affairs Minister Kamel Maddouri has been appointed Tunisia's new prime minister, according to a statement from the presidency. President Kais Saied dismissed Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani on Wednesday, just one year after he was appointed.

Finland and Morocco discussed cooperation in water, renewable energy, green hydrogen, cybersecurity and telecommunications in the Finnish capital Helsinki on Tuesday (6 August).  Finnish Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen received her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, who is on a working visit to Finland. Both countries see opportunities in digitalisation, especially in cybersecurity and 5G networks.