Oil prices recorded slight gains on Friday, with global benchmark Brent crude hovering above $81 a barrel, as sentiment on US demand rose supported by supply disruptions in Libya and Nigeria. Brent and West Texas Intermediate crude futures rose for the third consecutive session and in early Asian trading today, Friday. They are on their way to achieving gains for the third consecutive week for the first time since April, according to CNBC. Brent crude futures were trading at $81.36 a barrel and West Texas crude futures at $76.89 a barrel. Source: Jordan News Agency

The Amman Stock Exchange (ASE) closed Thursday’s trading session 0.16 per cent higher at 2,455 points. Three-point-six million shares were traded through 2,471 transactions at a trading value of JD4.55 million. The closing prices of 28 companies with traded shares increased, while 25 others declined. The prices of the shares of 46 others remained unchanged. Source: Jordan News Agency

Morocco will decide on the future of cooperation with the European Union (EU) in the field of fisheries in the light of the government’s own assessments and in consultation with European partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, said today. “The Morocco-EU fisheries Agreement is still in force. On the other hand, it’s the fisheries Protocol, concluded for four years (2019-2023), which expires on July 17,” Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) quoted Bourita as saying during a press briefing at the end of the 3rd Ministerial Meeting of the Atlantic African States Process. This is, the Minister added, a “programmed” expiry since the conclusion of the Protocol for a period of 4 years, starting on July 18, 2019. Bourita described as “satisfactory” the implementation of the Protocol, noting that cooperation had been “positive and mutually beneficial” over the past four years. He stressed that a meeting is scheduled for this week in Brussels between the Moroccan authorities and their European counterparts, within the framework of a joint Commission in the fisheries sector, to make a joint assessment of these four years. With regard to the future of the fisheries Agreement, the Minister indicated that “the Moroccan government is currently considering” three parameters. The first is “doctrinal”, he said, stressing that Morocco today, in line with the vision and foreign policy outlined by HM King Mohammed VI, favors partnerships “with a clearer added value”. “Morocco would like to see more advanced partnerships, where Moroccan added value is stronger”, underlined Bourita. Concerning the second parameter, the Minister explained that the Kingdom has developed a national fishing strategy “Halieutis” and put in place a vision dedicated to the development of the sector, which takes into account the expectations of operators and requires adaptations within the framework of interaction with

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of France adopted on Saturday a joint communique on joining forces to search for innovative solutions to produce hydrogen and promote renewable energy. The communique followed the meeting between Saudi Minister of Energy Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman and French Minister for Energy Transition Agnes Pannier-Runacher in Riyadh, according to the Saudi Press Agency (SPA). “Both countries acknowledge the importance of advancing the implementation of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Paris Agreement in accordance with the principles, objectives and goals defined therein, including pursuing efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5آ°C,” the communique reads. They recognize that clean hydrogen is an essential fuel to reach the shared objective of promoting a sustainable economic development while mitigating the impact of climate change. Both countries agreed to enhance cooperation in the field of electricity, and exchange experiences in the field of electricity generation from renewable energy resources, grid interconnection projects, as well as encouraging the participation of private sectors in power sector projects including generation, transmission, distribution, storage and network automation technologies. They have agreed to engage in joint efforts to enhance energy efficiency, and to enhance their cooperation in the field of nuclear energy in a peaceful and safe framework, the management of radioactive waste and the nuclear applications, and the development of human capabilities. Both countries agreed to cooperate on advancing climate technologies and solutions including carbon capture utilization and storage for hard-to-abate sectors such as cement, aviation, marine, and petrochemicals, among others. The Kingdom aims to become the leading exporter of hydrogen and electricity produced from low emission resources globally, capitalizing on its ability to produce hydrogen and electricity produced from low emission resources at competitive cost. The Kingdom has the necessary resources of renewable energy,