New rules curb foreign investment

The government is trying to develop local business and has excluded foreign companies from the first rounds of contract bidding for newpublic projects that are intended to transformthe economy.

Next man on the throne
The 2011 election promises to raise the political temperature, with the possibility of an independent bid for the presidency and opposition to the ruling party gathering pace.

Family, friends and neighbours
Companies in the oil and gas sectors are watching the political battle between reformers and conservatives to gauge likely changes in the government’s relationships with foreign investors.

Taking on the militants
Mauritania has regained the international support lost when a 2008 coup toppled the former president, by adopting a tough approach to terrorism and crossborder trafficking.

New party enlivens debate
The government wants to shift export dependence away from European markets and strengthen the domestic economy through infrastructure building and decentralisation.

Keeping a competitive edges
Tunisia is hard-pressed to break its long-term economic dependence on European Union consumers and on labour-intensive industries that rely on a low-skilled workforce.