Russia’s military intervention in Syria, launched in September 2015, is a game-changer on several levels. One interesting facet of this engagement is the impact it had on promoting Russian-made arms. Even though this link has been publicly acknowledged by Russian …
This article was published in the May 2017 edition of Executive Magazine.
There’s no shortage of headlines about Russian grand design for the Eastern Mediterranean. It predated Russia’s military intervention in Syria, but setting a foot in the region, …
The security of energy infrastructure is increasingly cited as a source of concern for policymakers in the countries of the Eastern Mediterranean.
This is particularly true for Egypt, where we are seeing a dramatic shift in militants’ modus operandi (who, …
Energy deals featured high on the conference agenda, with an obvious preference for upstream activity and power generation. Reducing the debt it owns foreign companies and cutting down subsidies by about a third (with a view to phasing them out …
Economic diplomacy is a largely neglected concept in Lebanon, although the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Gebran Bassil, has made it one of his focus themes since his appointment in February 2014, with regular emphasis on promoting investments in the emerging …
For Total, the keyword today is: continuity. The Group wants to stress that the plane crash near Moscow, which claimed the life of its chief executive Christophe de Margerie is an individual accident, and that the rest of its leadership …
Lebanon – Local politics:
The excitement surrounding cabinet formation has cooled down in the past few days. Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam is now confronted to the daunting task of distributing ministerial portfolios, having committed, from the beginning, to the principle …
The past three weeks oil and gas have been the focus of chaotic political discussions fueled by a number of events, including developments related to the maritime border dispute between Lebanon and Israel, and the postponement of the first licensing …
Lebanon – Israel:
Caretaker Energy Minister Gebran Bassil held a press conference on Friday 05/07 to warn of possible threats resulting from the discovery of the Karish gas field in Israel, close to the Lebanese border. As we expected in …
Lebanon – First licensing round:
According to the Offshore Petroleum Resources Law, companies wishing to acquire an exploration license should constitute consortiums of three companies, one of which an operator, and jointly submit a bid. On 11/06, TPAO’s acting president …
Lebanon – Turkey:
The relatives of the Lebanese pilgrims detained by rebels in Syria expanded the scope of their protests and headed to the Ministry of Energy and Water on 16/05 [see “Lebanon – Turkey” in our April …
Lebanon – Diplomatic activity:
Beirut received this week the Spanish minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation José Manuel García-