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The is a major influence on the economies it encompasses, and in the past it has been controversial how the energy, space, and water is allocated amongst the countries it passes through. Ethiopia is costing billions of dollars on the Blue Nile, which will distort the previous allocation of water agreed by the countries surrounding the river. Most of the disagreement in the initial stages of project development stemmed from this allocation dispute, but the presidents of Egypt and Sudan, as well as the Ethiopian Prime Minister, all recently signed a contract pledging to better share the water and resources of the Nile. On Monday, Egypt agreed to a preliminary deal with Ethiopia on the construction of the dam.

and have renewed vehicle quotas for four years, postponing the creation of a free trade agreement to at least 2019. The two largest originally had free trade of vehicles for a brief period in 2011 and 2012, but transitioned to a quota system after Brazil complained of economic issues that were hurting the nation’s competitiveness abroad, especially in the auto industry. The new deal penned earlier this month for the first year of the agreement. This amount will increase by 3% every year until 2019 when the nations will return to free trade, barring any extension or renewal of the quota system.

With the March 31st application deadline quickly approaching for countries interested in joining the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), is rethinking its prior decision not to apply. The investment bank, led by , recently added the , , , and as members, even though the has issued warnings about the bank. The four major European countries to join the bank against United States wishes has led Australia to reconsider its position on AIIB, and look to possibly invest in the AIIB.

globalEDGE is a fantastic resource for discovering new information about the changing Caribbean business climate. Our provides more details about the Caribbean Community. Upon visiting this section, you will find a brief history of the trade bloc as well as and related agreements. Also, globalEDGE has compiled a for those interested in exploring the Caribbean business area in greater depth. Some examples are listed below.

With diverse ecosystems, the ocean is a key source of marine life and resources. Because the Caribbean region is surrounded by ocean, exporting marine resources could potentially be a key driver in the region's economy. However, because of, many Caribbean countries have not made full use of their marine resources, which has limited their ability to expand economically.

It has been 5 years since was struck with one of the worst earthquakes in recent times. The country has been trying to bounce back from the devastation and finally the government is saying . Foreign investment is a major focus right now for Haiti, as its aid from around the world is starting to dry up. Many international investors are expressing great interest in Haiti, specifically in the telecommunications, manufacturing, and beverage industries.

With the proposed re-establishment of normal diplomatic relations and the potential easing of economic sanctions between the United States and Cuba, trade relations between the two nations have begun to thaw. Cuba offers a new market of avid consumers, and an economy that could potentially be a key contributor to the Caribbean region. Even though the embargo may potentially be lifted, there are for Cuba and U.S. to be successful as trade partners.

In this high-tech century, news about hackers breaking into corporate information systems is not surprising anymore. Rather, it has become a common administrative issue for businesses and requires special attention from the board of directors, since cyber-security breaches can result in significant business losses if not handled properly. This blog post will review from the World Economic Forum and McKinsey and provide the approaches that company leaders can follow to reduce cyber risks.

Overall, the Caribbean region has lagged in its recovery from the global recession that began six years ago. In some Eastern Caribbean nations, unemployment is still as high as 20% and debt as a percentage of GDP exceeds 100%. There has also been a , as many nations are transferring their focus from to services. For sustainable economic growth to occur, countries in the Caribbean need to diversify their economies and expand their export markets.

In recent developments of the ongoing deterioration of relations between the and , the sanctioned multiple officials for alleged human rights violations, demanded the release of political prisoners, and warned against blaming American policies for the country's continued economic and political problems. While this is nothing new for the U.S. and countries that differ greatly from its foreign policy goals, what makes this episode especially noteworthy is that it could entail significant consequences for American prospects for doing business within the , and especially within .