The Republic of Congo aims to produce three million tons per annum of LNG from the inaugural Marine XII development by 2025. Developed by Italy’s Eni, the project delivered its first LNG cargo this year and has laid the foundation for new investments in Congolese gas.

Speaking during the second annual Invest in African Energy (IAE) conference in Paris, the country’s Minister of Hydrocarbons Bruno Jean-Richard Itoua underscored the role project’s such as this play in the country’s energy transition and how international collaboration serves as a catalyst for both project development and climate resilience.

“We are actively seeking to collaborate with international partners who share our vision of natural resource exploitation that is both fair and sustainable. This collaboration is essential for developing innovative technologies, cleaner production methods and ensuring the equitable distribution of benefits generated by our natural resources,” stated Minister Itoua.

By partnering with foreign firms, African countries stand to accelerate the pace of the transition while unlocking a wave of economic benefits. Contributing the least to global greenhouse gas emissions, Africa also faces the worst impacts of climate change at a time when the continent is making great strides to alleviate energy poverty.

According to Minister Itoua, “We cannot make the transition to a renewable energy-based economy in isolation. It requires international cooperation and a shared willingness to rethink our growth and consumption models.”

As such, the country is inviting foreign investors to collaborate on oil, gas and infrastructure projects. Rich in over 10 trillion cubic of proven natural gas resources, the Republic of Congo is advancing project developments with the goal of addressing energy poverty and driving regional economic growth. Through the adoption of low-carbon technologies and collaborations with international project developers, upcoming projects serve as a benchmark for other gas-rich countries in Africa. In addition to Eni’s Marine XII permit, Wing Wah’s multi-phase Banga Kayo project is expected to produce 30 billion cubic meters of associated gas.

“These initiatives reflect our desire not only to exploit our resources but to use them in a more eco-responsible and sustainable manner. Beyond these projects, our long-term vision for Congo is to create attractive environments for future investments,” Minister Itoua added.

To attract new investment in oil and gas projects, the country is revising existing regulatory frameworks – with a new Gas Code on the horizon – updating existing hydrocarbons codes; while addressing challenges faced by investors.

According to Minister Itoua, “Our goal is clear: not only to optimize the use of existing resources but also to develop local infrastructure and skills that will create a solid and sustainable value chain. These efforts aim to make our projects not only viable but exemplary in terms of environmental respective, and contributing to our region’s sustainable economic development.”

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Energy Capital&Power.

The Council today prolonged the mandate of the EU Training Mission in Mozambique, until 30 June 2026, with a budget allocation of over €14 million for this period.

Furthermore, the Council decided to adapt the strategic objectives of the mission to new circumstances, thereby favouring its transition from a training to an assistance model, combining advising, mentoring and specialised training in support of the units of the Quick Reaction Force (QRF) of the Mozambican armed forces.

As a consequence of this change, the mission will be renamed EU Military Assistance Mission Mozambique (EUMAM Mozambique), as of 1 September 2024.

As part of the EU’s integrated approach encompassing humanitarian, peacebuilding, security and development actions, EUTM Mozambique was set up in July 2021 with the aim of training and supporting the Mozambican armed forces in protecting the civilian population, and restoring safety and security in the Cabo Delgado province, where the security and humanitarian situation had been continuously deteriorating since 2017.

The mission has supported the capacity building of the units of the Mozambican armed forces that have then become part of the QRF. In particular, the mission has provided military training including operational preparation, specialised training on counter-terrorism, and training and education on the protection of civilians and compliance with international humanitarian law and human rights law.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of European Union External Action: The Diplomatic Service of the European Union.

The Moroccan state is failing to meet its obligations to ensure accessible, affordable and good quality sexual and reproductive health services, including abortion, forcing women and girls into dangerous situations and violating their human rights, said Amnesty International today.

A new report titled My life is ruined: The need to decriminalize abortion in Morocco, documents how the criminalization of abortion in Morocco, even in cases when pregnancy results from rape, has devastating consequences for women and girls. Facing threats of imprisonment, many are compelled to clandestinely seek dangerous methods to terminate pregnancies. Those unsuccessful are coerced into carrying pregnancies to term, facing additional risks of prosecution under laws criminalizing sexual relations outside of marriage which exacerbate social exclusion and poverty, all while enduring the painful aftermath of failed abortion attempts.

This report features interviews with 33 women who sought abortion, as well as additional interviews with Moroccan NGOs working on women’s rights, legal and medical professionals. Despite sending letters to the Moroccan authorities in March and November 2023, and again in January 2024, presenting the report’s findings and seeking their response for inclusion in the report, no replies had been received at the time of publication. The report is being launched alongside a campaign to demand the decriminalization of abortion in Morocco. 

“No state should dictate pregnancy decisions and deny women and girls essential sexual and reproductive health services including abortion that they are entitled to under international law. Morocco’s discriminatory laws, policies and practices deny women their right to autonomous decision-making and perpetuate a social climate that forces women and girls to continue with pregnancy regardless of consequences and fosters violence, poverty and systemic gender discrimination,” said Amjad Yamin, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa.

“Moroccan organizations have for years called upon the Moroccan authorities to decriminalize abortion and ensure that nobody is mistreated, humiliated, degraded or at risk of criminal sanction or social exclusion for seeking or obtaining an abortion. This report and campaign build on those efforts and reiterate that under international law, everyone who needs abortion should be able to access it with respect to their privacy, confidentiality and with informed consent. Affordable and accessible comprehensive sexual and reproductive health services for all, especially those with low incomes or living in poverty, must be provided through the public health system.” 

“We can’t help women. Our hands are tied.”

The Moroccan Penal Code prohibits abortion unless it’s conducted by a licensed doctor or surgeon and deemed necessary to safeguard the woman’s health or life. Those undergoing or attempting abortion can face imprisonment ranging from six months to two years, along with fines, as well as additional prison sentences under provisions criminalizing sexual relations outside of marriage. 

Laws prohibiting the dissemination of abortion-related information further restrict access to crucial healthcare resources, denying women the ability to make informed decisions about their pregnancies.  “Inciting abortion” by any means, including through public speech or distributing related materials, carries penalties of up to two years in prison and/or fines.

Medical professionals performing abortions outside the law risk losing their licenses. Providers, if subpoenaed, must also testify and disclose information about abortions they are aware of, thus compromising patient confidentiality. 

These restrictions, compounded by the absence of medical guidelines or protocols on the provision of lawful abortions, leave many women without a legal and safe path to abortion.

One doctor told Amnesty International: “What can we do as doctors? Nothing. We can’t help women. Our hands are tied. We’re frustrated because we can’t give women the help they want.”

Herbs, chemicals and physical violence: Unsafe and ineffective

Women are most often left with no choice but to pursue unregulated, unsafe and often expensive abortions in secret. Women described resorting to a range of dangerous abortion methods including misusing pharmaceuticals, ingesting hazardous chemical mixtures and even physical violence, either self-inflicted or inflicted by others. Some women even attempted to end their own lives. Four women interviewed by Amnesty International required emergency hospital treatment for serious health complications resulting from unsafe self-induced attempts.

Farah, whose real name has been withheld to protect her identity, was raped by a male colleague when she was unconscious as a result of a diabetic attack. Two months later she found out she was pregnant and sought assistance from a gynaecologist who refused to perform an abortion.  Her boss suspended her to avoid what he perceived as reputational harm to his business if she was to be prosecuted for sexual relations outside of marriage.

Farah tried terminating her pregnancy by herself but ultimately was forced to carry through the pregnancy to term despite suffering injuries and an infection. She told Amnesty International:

“I took all kinds of herbs and anything else that you can drink to have an abortion.  I bought herbs from an herbalist, drank them, and got unbearable pains and threw up. I felt that my intestines were being torn apart but I did not have an abortion. One time, I went to my room, took off my clothes and inserted a long stick into my vagina and turned it in all directions, but all I got was a big wound and unbearable pain…. For more than five months I tried everything, to no avail. I even considered suicide.”

Morocco’s insufficient response to violence against women fosters a culture of impunity, enabling perpetrators of rape, intimate partner violence and sexual harassment to operate freely. Ten women told Amnesty International they became pregnant due to rape, perpetrated by strangers, neighbours, boyfriends, or husbands. Rape victims’ access to a remedy is undermined by harsh Penal Code penalties for sexual relations between unmarried people. 

Criminalization and stigmatisation of abortion in Morocco also impact women who have unwanted or unintended pregnancies due to contraception failure, lack of access to contraception, or economic deprivation. 

“Women in Morocco must be enabled to exercise their sexual and reproductive rights through access to comprehensive sexual and reproductive health information and services including modern contraceptives and safe abortion,” said Saida Kouzzi, Founding Partner at Mobilising for Rights Associates Amnesty International’s campaign partners. 

Cruelty and discrimination against unmarried women 

Morocco’s Penal Code penalizes sexual relations between unmarried individuals with one month to one year in prison, while adultery carries a sentence of one to two years. This not only leads to social exclusion but also exacerbates economic exclusion for women compelled to carry pregnancies to term. Women who have been imprisoned for such offences and have a criminal record also face additional barriers and stigma seeking employment and often face social isolation. 

Ouiam, whose real name has been withheld to protect her identity, is a widow with a child, who was imprisoned for having sexual relations outside of marriage. She also unsuccessfully attempted to induce an abortion herself. She said:

“As an unwed mother, I live in terror in my village, no one speaks to me… The people of the village treat me worse than ever.”

Several women interviewed described being verbally, physically, or sexually abused during their abortion experience. 

The children of unmarried women forced to carry their pregnancy to term are denied legal identity due to laws that only recognize paternal filiation within legal marriages. The Family Code denies these children the right to bear the name of their biological father or receive financial support or inheritance, fostering poverty and discrimination against them. Furthermore, the Civil Status Code fails to guarantee unmarried women the right to obtain a family booklet, essential for registering birth and obtaining official documents to access basic services such as healthcare, education, legal aid and social benefits.

“The courageous women sharing their heartbreaking stories in this report inspire and demand action. It’s high time for the Moroccan authorities to prioritize women’s sexual and reproductive rights and shatter state silence and inaction surrounding abortion. They must urgently adopt laws that protect reproductive rights and autonomy, decriminalize abortion and ensure equal access to comprehensive healthcare including safe abortion for all women and girls,” said Stephanie Willman Bordat, Founding Partner of Mobilising for Rights Associates (MRA), Amnesty International’s campaign partner.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Amnesty International.

New World Bank data finds that private infrastructure investment in low- and middle-income countries totaled $86 billion in 2023. Investments declined 5% compared with 2022, however, were on par with the previous five-year average.

Despite the decline in total investment, more countries received private investments in infrastructure across a wider sample of projects. In 2023, 68 countries received investments across 322 projects, compared to 54 countries and 260 projects in 2022. Guinea Bissau, Libya, Papua New Guinea, São Tomé and Príncipe, and Suriname achieved their first private participation in infrastructure (PPI) transactions in more than a decade.

The Private Participation in Infrastructure report dates back to 1984. It tracks investments in 10,000 infrastructure projects in low- and middle-income countries on a continuous basis. As infrastructure financing becomes a bigger priority for countries around the globe, this dataset is an important resource for tracking progress and identifying trends.

“Getting the right infrastructure in place is crucial for people to live to their full potential. With government budgets under pressure and an infrastructure financing gap totaling multiple trillions of dollars, more private sector participation is needed to deliver infrastructure projects,” said Guangzhe Chen, Infrastructure Vice President at the World Bank. “At the World Bank, we are pulling out all the stops to enable this progress, through our work on public-private partnerships, our overhauled guarantees program, and our grants to the world’s poorest countries. The PPI report is an important tool for us in these efforts. It is the only database of its kind, offering a direct view into the regions and sectors receiving infrastructure investments, how these projects are structured, and what role multilateral development banks can play in these contexts.”

Private infrastructure investments declined in most regions in 2023, with notable exceptions being the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and East Asia and Pacific (EAP). MENA continued its growth trajectory, with PPI investment levels almost doubling from $1.4 billion in 2022 to $2.9 billion in 2023. The EAP region returned to pre-pandemic levels of investment after a three-year lag as the region recovered from the effects of COVID-19.

When it comes to sectoral trends, energy saw a threefold increase in investment levels in 2023, with most of this increase directed toward EAP. In line with the continued global push to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, 97% of electricity generation projects were renewable in 2023, compared to 93% in the previous five-year period. 

When it comes to the world’s poorest countries, 26 countries that are members of the International Development Association (IDA) received investment commitments amounting to $4.3 billion across 53 projects in 2023, an 18% increase and a record in terms of number of projects.  

The PPI Database has data on over 10,000 infrastructure projects in 137 low- and middle-income countries from 1984 to the present. The database is the leading source of PPI trends in the developing world, covering projects in the energy, transport, water and sewage, information and communications technology (ICT), and municipal solid waste sectors.

For more information, please visit: PPI.WorldBank.org

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of The World Bank Group.