Drought In Morocco Hit Rural Income, Consumption, WB Says.
Middle Atlas Museum To Be Set Up In Azrou.
Moroccan 2001 growth seen at 9.0-pct - think-tank.
More excavations to be conducted at archeological site.
Moroccan-Canadian talks over new information technologies.
Morocco, France sign agreements for support of SMI modernization.
Archeologists unearth children skeletons dating back to 13,000.
Baisse de 0,3 pour cent de l'ICV en février 2001.

Drought In Morocco Hit Rural Income, Consumption, WB Says.

Washington - Drought that hit Morocco in the few past years, adversely impacted income and consumption in rural areas, says a World Bank (WB) report on the economic and development financing in the world. The 243-page report, released on Tuesday, says that the Moroccan current account deficit stood at 3.1 percent of the GDP in 2000, despite an 8 percent rise in tourism receipts and the slight recovery of the industry and services sectors. The report imputes the situation to the increase of exchange rates, the hike in oil prices and the decrease of tariffs provided for by the partnership accord concluded by Morocco and the European Union. The privatization program implemented by Morocco and Tunisia helped the North Africa region drain some 4.5 billion dollars in foreign direct investments in 2000 against 1.5 billion in 1999, the report adds.

Moroccan News Agency (Rabat) Posted Wednesday April 11, 2001

http://www.middleeastwire.com/morocco/stories/20010411_5_meno.shtml

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Middle Atlas Museum To Be Set Up In Azrou.

Moroccan News Agency (Rabat) Posted Saturday April 7, 2001 -

http://www.middleeastwire.com/education/stories/20010407_4_meno.shtml

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Moroccan 2001 growth seen at 9.0-pct - think-tank.

Morocco's economy is expected to grow by over 9.0 percent in 2001 after two years of near-stagnation, a local think-tank said on Thursday. The forecast was based on "promotion of investments, exports and activation of the domestic market," the Centre Marocain de Conjoncture (CMC) said in a report. The government has officially forecast that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) would grow by 8.1 percent this year, up from 0.8 percent in 2000. The CMC figures were the result of a survey conducted in the last quarter of 2000 among 43 federations representing firms operating in the agricultural, industrial and trade sectors. "More than 77 of these firms expect a growth of more than nine percent this year," the report said. Morocco's agriculture-based economy has in the past two years been hit by a severe drought. According to the survey, about 45 percent of Moroccan firms also expect the ongoing privatisation to have "a positive impact" on the sectors they operate in. The government plans to privatise a dozen firms in the next few years, including the Royal Air Maroc flagship airline, Banque Centrale Populaire (BCP), CIH Bank BNDE bank and tobacco firm Regie des Tabacs.

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=987076859nL12189501

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More excavations to be conducted at archeological site.

History, 4/11/2001

A Moroccan-British archeology team will conduct more excavations at the Volubilis archeological site, an ancient Roman city. Supervised by Morocco's National Institute of Archeology and Patrimony and the London College, the search, which started last September, has so far covered three different zones of the site and will be extended to the southwestern and western areas of the Roman city. Archeologists will also develop a management program for the site and its immediate surroundings, and use the Geographic Information system to process data. Volubilis was a Roman settlement constructed on what was a Carthaginian city, dating from 3rd century BC. Volubilis was a central administrative city for this part of Roman Africa, responsible for the grain producing in this fertile region, and exports to Rome. Volubilis was also administering contacts with the local Berber tribes.

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010411/2001041121.html

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Moroccan-Canadian talks over new information technologies.

Economics, 4/9/2001

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010409/2001040942.html

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Morocco, France sign agreements for support of SMI modernization.

Economics, 4/12/2001

Morocco and France signed in Rabat on Wednesday a package of agreements meant to support and modernize Moroccan small and medium-sized enterprises. The two countries initialed an agreement providing for cooperation in supporting SMI's, signed a convention instituting partnership between the French department of SMI's and the Moroccan agency for enterprise creation, and signed another declaration of intent for the enforcement next July of the law on price and competition liberalization. A convention of cooperation between the Young Enterprise center of Casablanca, was also concluded between the Moroccan ministry of social economy, the French Chamber of commerce and industry and Morocco's bank "BMCI." The agreements signed during a visit by French secretary of state for small and medium sized enterprises- Francois Patriat- also include a framework agreement meant to develop and modernize the trade sector in Morocco. The documents are meant to promote business relations between Moroccan and French enterprises, increase French financial bodies' financing and support to the Moroccan enterprises and bring French assistance to the training of officials in charge of enforcing the price and competition liberalization law. They also provide for encouraging the conclusion of agreements between the two countries' public and private institutions, organizations and enterprises. The French official is visiting Morocco to prepare for the high joint cooperation commission slated for next May in Paris.

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/010412/2001041204.html

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Archeologists unearth children skeletons dating back to 13,000.

by Al Jarida, Apr 9, 2001

©Al Jarida

http://c.moreover.com/click/here.pl?b17452627

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Baisse de 0,3 pour cent de l'ICV en février 2001.

L'indice du coût de la vie (ICV) a accusé, en février dernier, une baisse de 0,3 pc par rapport à son niveau du mois précédent, a-t-on appris lundi à Rabat. Cette variation provient essentiellement des produits alimentaires dont l'indice a régressé de 0,6 pour cent, relève-t-on dans le dernier bulletin d'information de la Direction de la statistique (officiel). Les indices des autres groupes de produits ont connu des variations relativement faibles sauf pour le secteur "transports et communications" qui a enregistré une régression significative de 0,4 pour cent. Comparé à son niveau au même mois de l'année précédente, l'ICV du mois de février 2001 a évolué de +1,4 pour cent, a indiqué la Direction de la statistique, ajoutant que l'indice moyen des deux premiers mois de l'année 2001 par rapport à celui de la même période de l'année 2000, a progressé de 1,3 pour cent. Les indices mensuels par ville ont connu, en février dernier, des variations allant de -1,1 pour cent pour la ville de Meknès à -0,1 pour cent pour Casablanca, Rabat et Tanger. Les variations inter-annuelles des deux premiers mois de l'année 2001 restent, quant à elles, caractérisées par une dispersion relativement importante allant de -0,5 pour cent à +3,1 pour cent. Les taux d'accroissement les plus importants ont été enregistrés au niveau des villes de Tanger (+3,1 pour cent), Rabat (+2,3 pour cent), Agadir (+1,7 pour cent) et Marrakech (+1,5 pour cent).

Posted to the web April 9, 2001 at http://allafrica.com/stories/200104090682.html

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