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FOM Newsletter
March 2002Morocco
feels economic squeeze as domestic debt climbs.
Education,
a Shield Against Extremism, H.M King Mohammed VI Says.
First
Regional Investment Centers in Morocco Operational by July
Canada
Suggests to Be North American Alternative for Leveling of Morocco's Economy.
King Mohammed to wed this month
401 brides at king's
wedding in Morocco.
Spanish
company to invest $ 26 mln in Morocco in 2002.
Rhythms of the
World Festival to be Held in Rabat.
Morocco feels economic squeeze as domestic debt climbs.
Mar 13, 2002 (Al-Bawaba via COMTEX) -- Last week's visit by King Mohammad of Morocco to the disputed Western Sahara was branded by independence activists as provocative, and might cause an escalation in tensions with Morocco's neighbor, Algeria. Socioeconomic concerns, however, might pose an even greater threat to Morocco, with nearly one-fifth of the population living on less than one dollar per day. Following the two-day visit, Morocco's King Mohammad VI announced the creation of an agency to promote economic development in Western Sahara. The Moroccan monarch also reiterated that Morocco would not give up an inch of the region. In response, the Polisario Front, the independence movement for Western Sahara, described the King's words as "a
declaration of war on international legality." They also accused Morocco of plotting to plunder Western Sahara resources, which include phosphorous, fish stocks, and offshore oil. The conflict over the disputed Western Sahara region has recently intensified, threatening to aggravate relations between Morocco and Algeria. King Mohammad's visit came two weeks after a United Nations (UN) report suggested dividing up Western Sahara as one of four conflict resolution options. Morocco has rejected that proposal and accused neighboring Algeria of supporting the UN report in an attempt to partition the area. Following the UN report, Algerian President Abledaziz Bouteflika paid an unanticipated visit to Polisario headquarters; the first such trip by an Algerian President since the beginning of the conflict. With the country's foreign policy agenda in the spotlight, it is vital that Morocco not neglect fundamental economic issues. Last month, Moody's Investors Service changed its outlook on the country's foreign currency ceiling from stable to negative. The international rating agency cited that "Morocco's creditworthiness is constrained by its vulnerability to climatic uncertainties and sluggish non-agricultural GDP (Gross Domestic Product) growth." According to recent Ministry of Treasury predictions, Morocco's economy will grow by merely 0.5 percent in 2002.Meanwhile, the country's external and domestic debt levels are moving in opposite directions. The government's active debt management strategy has lowered the level of foreign debt to $14.2 billion, but this reduction has been offset by a rise in domestic debt to $15 billion, causing aggregate public debt levels to remain high. Moreover, weak international equity markets will make it difficult for the government to finance the deficit with privatization receipts. As a result, the government will likely rely increasingly on domestic debt financing, which will cause debt levels to expand further.
On the micro level, Morocco's economic predicament appears even more troublesome. The number of citizens living below the poverty line of one dollar per day has, over the last three year, risen from 4.2 million to 5.5 million, equivalent to 18 percent of the population. Many of these impoverished are employed in the agricultural sector, which has suffered from three consecutive years of drought. Unemployment, which official figures put at 13 percent, is more likely closer to unofficial estimates of 20 percent of the workforce. - (menareport.com)
By Mena Report Reporters (C) 2002 Menareport.com , All rights reserved.
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Education, a Shield Against Extremism, H.M King Mohammed VI Says.
MARRAKESH, Mar.13 - Education is a shield against extremism, a tool to promote democracy and
solidarity and a steering engine towards world peace, said H.M King Mohammed VI Wednesday in a message to a conference on Higher Education in the Arab World-Preparing for the Global Marketplace, held in Marrakesh March 13-15. "ŠEducation provides the very basis for progress. It is a shield against extremism in all its manifestations. Likewise, education is the cornerstone for building social cohesion and creating equal opportunities. It must therefore continue to be a guide steering the world towards tolerance and peace in the future," said H.M King Mohammed VI in the message that was read out on his behalf by royal advisor, Abdelaziz Meziane Belfkih. After he surveyed efforts made by Morocco to initiate large-scale reforms in the fields of education and training, to eradicate illiteracy and to provide a sound basic education for all children in Morocco, H.M King Mohammed VI called on Arab countries to work to correct the image of Islam as perceived by the "other", and to highlight Islam's civilizational dimension as well as its message which is based on peace. "In this context, it is incumbent upon Arab universities, to make an additional effort to open up to the other universities in the world, and to enhance their presence at the international level, by intensifying their international cooperation activities and availing themselves of their relations, to convey the shining image of Arab culture, away from all stereotypes and clichés that are disseminated by some media," the sovereign said.© MAP 2002
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/home_dep/news_f172.htm
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First Regional Investment Centers in Morocco Operational by July
RABAT, Mar.14 - The first regional investment centers will start operation as of July 2002.
The decision was made at a meeting here Wednesday chaired by Moroccan minister of the interior,
Driss Jettou, and attended by the walis (senior governors) of the 16 regions of the Kingdom, a statement by the ministry of the interior said. All the other regional centers planned should be operational before the end of the year, it has been stressed at the meeting, that debated the organizational structure of the centers, their needs in matters of financial and human resources as well as the training of the staff to run these centers.© MAP 2002
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/home_dep/news_f503.htm
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Canada Suggests to Be North American Alternative for Leveling of Morocco's Economy.
CASABLANCA, March 12 - Canada is ready to become the North-American alternative for the levelling of the Moroccan economy, Leopold Battel, economic advisor at the Canadian embassy in
Rabat, said on Tuesday. Canadian businessmen show a firm will to invest in Morocco, especially in the realms of telecommunications and information technologies in a bid to help Morocco take up the challenges thrown by the association accord the Kingdom signed with the European Union, Battel told a meeting on information technologies in Casablanca. The association accord binding Morocco with the EU provides inter alia for the creation of a free trade zone by 2010 implying the lowering of all trade barriers. The Canadian businessmen want to fill in, with their Moroccan peers, the blatant deficit at the level of the competitiveness of the Moroccan industry, he said. Canada wants to help the Moroccan private sector benefit from the generalization of new information technologies, he said, adding "the future belongs to those mastering new information technologies.© MAP 2002
http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/home_dep/news_f503.htm
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King Mohammed to wed this month
RABAT, March 11 (Reuters) - Morocco's King Mohammed is to marry later this month, a source close to the royal palace said on Monday. The source told Reuters the king will marry Salma Bennani, a Moroccan computer engineer, at a private Islamic ceremony on March 21 at the royal palace in Rabat. An official wedding celebration will then be held in the city of Marrakesh in the second week of April, the source said. The monarch, 38, was enthroned in July 1999 after the sudden death of his father, King Hassan. The engagement of the king was officially announced in October last year in a break with royal tradition in a country where previous royal weddings had not been announced to the public and wedding details are never discussed. Last year, in an interview with the Paris-based Paris Match magazine, the reform-minded monarch said there was nothing wrong with celebrating a royal wedding. "Normality suits me. It's quite normal to celebrate our marriage...That's the formula we chose together. So we are going to celebrate our marriage like any other couple, in joy and happiness," the king told the magazine. He said his fiance, in her early 20s, was a daughter of a teacher from the city of Fez, Morocco's spiritual capital. One tradition will not change. Bennani will not become queen. "There is no queen in Islam, so the question doesn't arise, at least not in Morocco," the king said. ((Rabat newsroom, +212-37 720065 fax +212-37 722499, rabat.newsroom@reuters.com)) © Reuters Limited.
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401 brides at king's wedding in Morocco.
By Isambard Wilkinson in Lisbon (Filed: 13/03/2002)
The Moroccan royal family broke with tradition yesterday by announcing that King Mohammed VI is to marry a computer engineer graduate at a private Islamic ceremony at the royal palace in Rabat on March 21. The announcement of the king's engagement in October surprised many observers as royal weddings are normally not announced to the public and details of the wedding are never discussed. Spanish news agencies reported that the 38-year-old king and Salma Bennani, believed to be 24, will be married in a solemn ceremony along with 400 other couples. An official public wedding celebration will then be held in Marrakesh in the second week of April.The king appears eager to reaffirm the reputation he enjoyed as a reformer when he came to the throne in July 1999 after the death of his father, King Hassan. He initially enjoyed overwhelming popularity, and was called "the king of cool" by Time magazine. In his native land he is often referred to as M6. Last year, in an interview with Paris Match, he spoke against the traditional taboo of going public about royal wedding plans and said he could see nothing wrong with celebrating his marriage. The king said: "Normality suits me. So we are going to celebrate our marriage like any other couple, in joy and happiness." His fiancée, was at first said to be linked to one of Morocco's richest families, but is now believed to be the daughter of a teacher from the city of Fez, Morocco's spiritual capital.
The king's father is believed to have produced all five of his children with one of his wives, Latefa, but kept a harem of wives and concubines. King Mohammed will preserve at least one tradition. His bride will not become queen. He said: "There is no queen in Islam, so the question doesn't arise, at least not in Morocco."
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Spanish company to invest $ 26 mln in Morocco in 2002.
Business, 3/14/2002
Spanish investment Company, COFIDES, is projecting to invest 300 Mln Dirhams (nearly $ 26 Mln) in Morocco in 2002, mainly in the sector of tourism. The announcement was made by director of COFIDES delegation in Morocco on the sidelines of a meeting Tuesday in Agadir between Moroccan and Spanish economic operators. COFIDES, which backs development projects carried out by Spanish firms, has so far financed 20 Moroccan projects worth some $152 million (175 Mln Euros) in different sectors such as metallurgic and pharmaceutical industries, textile and agribusiness The Spanish business delegation is visiting the Souss Massa region (southern Morocco), to explore investment opportunities in the fields of tourism, agriculture and fisheries.
COFIDES opened its Casablanca delegation last October. This is evidence to the importance Spain gives to Morocco, regardless of juncture issues, director of the delegation said.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/020314/2002031422.html
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Rhythms of the World Festival to be Held in Rabat.
Local, 3/11/2002
Rabat will be hosting next May 18-24 its first "Rhythms of the World" festival featuring artists and musicians from Sub-Saharan Africa, the Caribbean and South-America. The event will feature several events, including shows, exhibitions, movies and conferences. Festival goers will also have the chance to listen to musicians from the regions and taste typical cuisine Young Moroccan choreographers, circus artists and singers will also be mingling with artists coming from Bolivia, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, Columbia, Comoro Islands, Cuba, Guinea, Peru, Mali, Mexico, Reunion, Senegal and Trinidad andTobago.
http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/020311/2002031131.html
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