ICPE Member States' News - 12.3.2010

Algeria

Turkish Minister in Algeria (Turkish Weekly): Turkey's state minister for foreign trade attended the 9th meeting of Turkey-Algeria Joint Economic Commission in Algiers. The parties reviewed the current commercial and economic relations between the two countries. They also exchanged views on ways to further develop cooperation in the areas of energy, mining, agriculture, industry, transportation, standardization, health and construction.

Albania

Albania to auction 3bn leke of 2YR T-notes March 18 at 8.90% (Balkans.com): The government is to auction 3 billion leke (21.5 million euros, USD29.3 million) of two-year treasury notes on March 18 at a fixed coupon of 8.90%.

Albania FM in Two Day Belgrade Visit (Balkan Insight): Albanian Minister of Foreign Affairs Ilir Meta launched on Thursday a two-day official visit to Serbia, where is expected to hold talks with Serbian President Boris Tadic and Foreign Minister Vuk Jeremic.

Bangladesh

Qatar to help in Bangladesh’s dev sector (The New Nation):  Qatar will intensify its cooperation in the development sectors of Bangladesh, including river dredging, construction of road infrastructures, community health clinic and power stations.

The underperforming economy (Financial Express): The first half of the current fiscal year, that is a period of six months ending on December 31, 2009, has witnessed a downward economic trend in Bangladesh, as was observed by the Manila-based Asian Development Bank (ADB) in their latest Quarterly Economic Update (QEA).

Utilising the coal resources (Financial Express):  Energy shortages are causing slowed-down economic activities in Bangladesh. But the country's potential reservesof high energy--some 2.5 billion tons of coal deposits of high grade -- are being kept buried underground from fruitless bickering over the manner of their extraction and pondering about alternatives.

DRC

Congo customs snag will not affect debt review (Reuters Africa): The  suspension of a contract with a U.S. firm advising Democratic Republic of Congo on how to maximise its customs revenues will not affect the country's access to credit, the IMF said on Thursday.

Guyana

El Nino affecting sugar production (GINA): The extended El Nino period has been having severe effects on cane cultivation across the sugar industry, particularly on the East Demerara estates, the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) said.

India

Russia's Putin pledges to develop India banking ties (Hindustan Times): Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin on Friday pledged to develop banking ties with India to boost co-operation between the two countries.

Switzerland ready to provide assistance to India on tax havens (Hindustan Times): Switzerland has changed its attitude on tax havens and is ready to give assistance to India on the issue of black money stashed in its banks, a former lawmaker has said.

Industry grows by 16.7% in January (Times of India): Industrial production grew by a robust 16.7 per cent in January compared to just one per cent in the same month a year ago, led by a good show from the manufacturing sector.

NMDC share sale fully covered: Sources (Economic Times): A share sale in top iron ore miner NMDC was fully covered by late afternoon on Friday, two sources with direct knowledge of the

deal said.

Air India, Indian Airlines merger flawed: Parliament committee (Economic Times): A parliamentary committee Friday called the merger of Air India and Indian Airlines a "marriage of incompatible individuals" and said two aviation companies should work separately, though under a common holding company.

Ranbaxy says to achieve $3bn turnover by 2012 (Hindustan Times): Drug maker Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd said on Friday it was planning to achieve $3 billion in consolidated turnover by 2012 as part of its medium-term business plan.

German province woos India Inc (Hindustan Times): The most densely populated state of Germany, North Rhine Westphalia (NRW), is aggressively wooing Indian companies to invest there.

Iraq

Petrofac Targets Iraq Oil After Asfari Quadruples Share Value (Bloomberg):  Ayman Asfari, the chief executive officer whose oil and gas engineering skills guided a fourfold increase in the value of Petrofac Plc within five years, is now preparing to tap Iraq’s energy boom.

Allawi Voices Vote Suspicion as Iraq Results Emerge (Bloomberg): Former Iraqi Prime Minister Ayad Allawi complained about possible vote-tampering as early results from Iraq’s election showed blocs led by Allawi and Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki leading in their areas of core support.

Exxon's growing reliance on expensive oil (CNN Money): Exxon Mobil outlined plans Thursday that rely heavily on oil from tough to reach places, extracting it from the depths of the ocean, the frozen Arctic and the tar sands in Canada's frozen tundra.

Iraq awards China major oil deal near Iran border (World Tribune): Iraq has concluded an agreement for the development of a major crude oil field near the Iranian border.

Macedonia

Gantar Wraps up Macedonia Visit, Happy with Relations (STA): National Assembly Speaker Pavel Gantar wrapped up his official visit to Macedonia on Thursday after meeting Foreign Minister Antonio Milososki, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski and President Gjorge Ivanov. He said he was happy with the relations between the two countries which he labelled as excellent.

Syria

Syria, Russia to Develop Bilateral Relations (SANA): During a meeting between Vice President Farouk al-Sharaa and Head of the Organizational Committee of Syrian-Russian Friendship Association Alexander Dzasokhov, both sides discussed the latest developments in the region and the current international challenges.


Syria and Belgium Discuss financial and banking Cooperation (SANA): Deputy Premier for Economic Affairs Abdullah al-Dardari on Wednesday discussed with Governor of National Bank of Belgium Guy Quaden financial and banking cooperation.

Prepared by:

Ana Milić

Andreja Mamilovič

Laura Čepin

Rok Kogej

Špela Berlec