I was pleased to note that IMF staff has reached agreement with the authorities on the policies to underpin a new 3-year, SDR 4 billion (about US$ 5.5 billion) arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility.

On 28-30th January 2020 the international investment event “Energy Week Georgia 2020” will take place in Tbilisi.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 266,000 in November, and the unemployment rate was little changed at 3.5 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported

overall real GDP growth in the GCC is estimated to drop to 0.8% this year compared with 2% last year.

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis announced today that the goods and services deficit was $47.2 billion in October, down $3.9 billion from $51.1 billion in September,

The market capitalization of five of the top 10 U.S. coal companies was sliced by more than half from early January to mid-November 2019.

Experts expect LNG production growth in Russia. By 2024, the projected export growth is up to 47,9 million tonnes. The latest news on encouraging LNG application in the country reveals that Russian shipping companies are switching to fuel with low sulphur and nitrogen content starting from 1 January 2020.

The package would come to around 13 trillion yen ($120 billion), but that would rise to 25 trillion yen ($230 billion) when private-sector and other spending are included.

The Saudi economy recorded its biggest increase in new work in more than four years in November according to a report from IHS Markit.

In total, the Saudi government plans to sell 0.5% of Aramco to individual investors and the remainder to domestic institutions and international firms registered in the kingdom, known as qualified foreign investors.

Russia, a key non-OPEC ally, has so far opposed deeper cuts or a longer extension. But Moscow has often taken a tough stance before every meeting before approving the policy. Sources said Saudi Arabia was working on convincing Russia.

Al Mazrouei led a UAE economic delegation comprised of government and private sectors' officials in a two-day visit to Sudan where they explored paths of cementing bilateral relations in areas of trade, investment, energy, mining, electricity, infrastructure and agriculture.

The essential role of natural gas in the attainment of UN Sustainable Development Goals, in particular Goal 7, as an environmentally friendly, affordable, reliable, accessible and flexible natural resource for ensuring economic development and social progress

“Since coal is still a major resource, we will continue to rely on coal when we need it - and right now for instance, the economy is slowing and renewables are still relatively weak,” said Lin Boqiang, dean of the China Institute for Energy Policy Studies.

With oil and gas as core of the cooperation between the two countries, China is currently eyeing new opportunities to join Qatar's upstream and downstream LNG industry in addition to plans of increasing its LNG imports from Qatar, while Chinese companies are tapping Qatar Petroleum (QP) to enter China's upstream energy industry and gain access to a 1.4 billion people market, China's Ambassador to Qatar, Zhou Jian, said at a press conference at his residence