MOROCCO The success Morocco has had in applylng market-based economic reforms has made the kingdom the toast of international financiers. However, the drought that afflicted Morocco this year has starkly exposed the country's dependence on agriculture. How the government has been forced to impose a tough austerity programme to avert a balance of payments crisis.

MAGHREB - The economic reforms undertaken by Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia have laid the basis for a period of rapid growth, with a leading role for private investors. However, all three regimes have faced serious challenges to their political authority. Charlotte Blum, recently in Tunis and Algiers, and Jon Marks in Casablanca report.

Blum, Charlotte, (1997)

Cover story ALGERIA Bloody massacres make headlines while the restructuring of Algeria's economy is passing largely unremarked. Yet, despite the continuing doubts about safety, Algeria is starting to attract the diversified investments its IMF-inspired reforms need if they are to succeed. The latest initiatives.

Blum, Charlotte, (1997)

GERMANY: As the clamour for change grows around Chancellor Kohl, Peter Kemp reports on Germany's current economic and political climate and its trade and performance in the Middle East. Charlotte Blum explains how the power giant, Siemens, is expanding production in the region and surveys the recent activity of Germany's leading industrial engineering companies.

Kemp, Peter, (1997)