30 Jan 2024 Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) The Africa Report. South Africa-based Standard Bank says it will apply for an investment banking licence in Ethiopia as it seeks to expand into Ethiopia’s largely untapped market;

30 Jan 2024 Nairobi (Kenya) Business Day. President William Ruto endorses Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni’s new plan for closer cooperation with Africa, adding that it represents a good start to “recalibrating” Africa’s relationship with Italy;

30 Jan 2024 Kigali (Rwanda) HRW. United States-headquartered Human Rights Watch (HRW) says the United Kingdom (UK) should abandon its planned bill that would send asylum seekers to Rwanda, stating that it will disregard the UK supreme court’s ruling in December that said Rwanda cannot be considered a safe country due to its track record of repression, abuse and disregard for its international obligations;

30 Jan 2024 Kigali (Rwanda) Mining Magazine. Australia-headquartered Rio Tinto signs a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the government to explore and develop lithium projects in Western Province;

30 Jan 2024 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Daily News. The Tanzania Chamber of Commerce Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA) signs a contract with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)-based International Credit Rating Agency (ICRA) allowing Tanzanian businesses to acquire loans from abroad;

30 Jan 2024 Rome (Italy) Daily News. Tanzania is among eight African countries to which Italy will give priority under its new strategic €5.5 billion ($5.95 billion) Mattei Plan, which Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni unveiled on 29 January and which aims to strengthen relations with Africa in an attempt to boost energy ties and curb migration flows;

29 Jan 2024 Nairobi (Kenya) Business Insider Africa. The ongoing dispute between Uganda and Kenya over their oil partnership has already cost Kenya $200m, with further financial repercussions anticipated;

28 Jan 2024 Kinshasa (DRC) Times Live. United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO) says it has deployed soldiers to help secure a corridor for people fleeing Mweso, where M23 rebels have been carrying out attacks since 25 January;

28 Jan 2024 Morogoro (Tanzania) Daily News. Petroleum Upstream Regulatory Authority (PURA) director general Charles Sangweni announces that PURA plans to unveil 24 oil and natural gas blocks – ten onshore and 14 offshore – for investment following extensive exploration of land and sea areas to identify potential energy reservoirs;

27 Jan 2024 Nairobi (Kenya) Financial Times. High court blocks Kenya’s planned police deployment to Haiti, stating that Kenya cannot deploy police to countries with which it does not have reciprocal policing agreements;

26 Jan 2024 Djibouti (Djibouti) Arab News. Saudi Fund for Development CEO Sultan Al-Marshad and Djiboutian presidential adviser for investment affairs Fahmi Ahmed Al-Hajj discuss ways to enhance development cooperation and other issues of mutual interest;

26 Jan 2024 Kinshasa (DRC) AFP. Belgium-headquartered accounting firm BDO announces plans to expand into the DRC and Burundi, citing growing demand for audit and business advisory services, with its Kinshasa office expected to open 1 July;

26 Jan 2024 Zanzibar (Tanzania) The Citizen. Zanzibar government tourism and heritage minister Simai Mohamed Said resigns citing “unfavourable and disruptive working conditions”;

25 Jan 2024 Djibouti (Djibouti) IMF. International Monetary Fund (IMF) completes its 2023 Article IV Mission to Djibouti, noting a strong rebound in economic activity in 2023 but says geopolitical developments in the region present a risk to continued recovery;

25 Jan 2024 Asmara (Eritrea) ETN. Eritrea denies a German aircraft permission carrying German foreign affairs minister Annalena Baerbock permission to fly through Eritrean airspace to reach Djibouti;

25 Jan 2024 Nairobi (Kenya) Reuters. Head of the public debt management office in the finance ministry, Haron Sirima, will reportedly leave his post in the next two months, with his departure coinciding with Kenya’s escalating debt sustainability concerns;

25 Jan 2024 Kigali (Rwanda) New Times. President Paul Kagame welcomes Guinea’s military junta leader, Mamadi Doumbouya, in Kigali for a three-day official visit;

24 Jan 2024 Nairobi (Kenya) Daily Nation. Mines minister Salim Mvurya confirms that Kenya has discovered its first deposits of the critical mineral coltan which is used to manufacture electric car batteries, mobile phones and other electronic devices;

24 Jan 2024 Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) The Citizen. Opposition party Chadema organises a rally in Dar es Salaam against proposed changes to electoral laws;

24 Jan 2024 Kampala (Uganda) Offshore Technology. Petroleum Authority of Uganda confirms the government has selected United Arab Emirates-headquartered Alpha MBM Investments as its preferred bidder for a planned $4-billion oil refinery;