US Administration Applauds Morocco's Political, Economic Reforms
    Bush to be quick in FTA with Morocco -Evans
    Morocco Q3 trade deficit down 12 pct to $2.76 bln
    Morgan Creek Productions and Warner Bros. Pictures' Exorcist: The Beginning,
    King Mohammed visits education and schooling institute for blind people
    Moroccan expats' remittances up by 52.5 percent from Jan. to Sept. 2002
    Canada and the Université de Montréal improve nursing in Morocco
    November rain bodes well for Moroccan cereals
    Morocco Q3 tourism receipts plunge 24 percent
    Social projects in North in Eastern Morocco.
    THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK APPROVES A EUR 80 MILLION LOAN TO FINANCE THE STRENGTHENING OF ELECTRIC POWER GRID INTERCONNECTIONS PROJECT IN MOROCCO

     US Administration Applauds Morocco's Political, Economic Reforms

Rabat, Nov.11 - The US administration applauds the political and economic reforms in Morocco that culminated with the recent legislative elections, "widely reported to have b been conducted in a fair and open manner", said the US Secretary of trade, who is on a 24-hour courtesy and working visit to Morocco.  Donald L. Evans, who voiced his country's stance in a press conference held here on Monday, said that "all Moroccans are justifiably proud of the development of democratic institutions" in the Kingdom. The more open and liberal the Moroccan economy, the greater interest U.S. companies will show in trading with and investing in Morocco, Evans said. He stressed that the planned U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement should strengthen the economies of both nations and significantly deepen both countries overall bilateral trade relationship.

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    Bush to be quick in FTA with Morocco -Evans

RABAT, Nov 11 (Reuters) - The United States intends to swiftly process a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Morocco, although no agenda has been set yet, U.S. Commerce Secretary Don Evans said on Monday.  The White House plans free trade pacts with Morocco, five Central American countries and the Southern African Customs Union, which includes South Africa and four of its neighbours. Although talks for the accord with Morocco have not started yet, Evans told reporters "President George W. Bush will be expeditious."  He argued that last week's Republican victory at the U.S. congressional elections would provide the president with greater authority. Evans, who was on a one-day visit to Morocco, said the North African kingdom, a traditional U.S. ally, was "on a very short list for the free trade agreement."

A senior Commerce Department official accompanying Evans told Reuters each country "is special" in terms of how long the FTA talks last before the agreement is implemented.  "For Jordan it took less than two years, but it took much longer for Mexico, our closest neighbour. But the current environment is propitious," she said. Evans, who was expected to hold talks with King Mohammed, was later due to head to Ghana and South Africa.  With the World Trade Organisation (WTO) dominated by countries from the developing world, the Bush administration hopes to increase the United States' negotiating leverage in the forum by forging a coalition with sub-Saharan African countries. 

((Souhail Karam, Rabat newsroom, +212-37 720065 fax +212-37 722499, rabat.newsroom@reuters.com ))

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    Morocco Q3 trade deficit down 12 pct to $2.76 bln

RABAT, Nov 12 (Reuters) - Morocco's trade deficit in the year up to September fell 12.3 percent to 28.9 billion dirhams ($2.7 billion), an official of foreign trade regulatory Office des Changes said on Tuesday. "The trade deficit decline, which started this year, began to lose momentum," the official said.  He noted that, compared to its level a year earlier, the cover ratio of exports to imports improved in September to 68.8 percent from 64.2 percent but fell from 69.2 percent in August 2002 70.9 percent in June of this year. Exports rose 7.9 percent in value to 63.8 billion dirhams for a 4.3 percent rise in volume while imports inched up 0.6 percent to 92.7 billion dirhams for a 2.2 percent rise in volume. The European Union is Morocco's main trade partner accounting for nearly two-thirds of its foreign trade. ((Rabat newsroom, +212-37 720065 fax +212-37 722499, rabat.newsroom@reuters.com )) ($1=10.462 Moroccan dirhams) 

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    Morgan Creek Productions and Warner Bros. Pictures' Exorcist: The Beginning,

Starring Stellan Skarsgard, Commences Principal Photography in Morocco

BURBANK, Calif., Nov 11, 2002 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Principal photography has commenced in Morocco on Morgan Creek Productions' Exorcist: The Beginning, the prequel to the classic 1973 supernatural thriller The Exorcist, it was announced today by James G. Robinson, Chairman/CEO and Guy McElwaine, President of Morgan Creek Productions. Stellan Skarsgard will portray the young Father Merrin, a role made famous in the original film by Max Von Sydow. Exorcist: The Beginning traces the story of Father Merrin back to his first encounter with the Devil in post-WWII Africa. Produced by Morgan Creek Productions, Exorcist: The Beginning will be directed by Paul Schrader (Affliction, Auto Focus and screenwriter of Taxi Driver and Raging Bull). The film also stars Gabriel Mann (Outside Providence, The Bourne Identity), Clara Bellar (A.I.) and recording star Billy Crawford. James G. Robinson will serve as the film's producer and Guy McElwaine will executive produce. The screenplay is by William Wisher (Terminator 2: Judgment Day). After completing work in Morocco, the production will move to Rome for the remainder of the schedule.  Exorcist: The Beginning will be released in 2003 by Warner Bros. Pictures, an AOL Time Warner Company, and internationally by Warner Bros. Pictures and Morgan Creek International.

Morgan Creek Productions is the sole owner of all worldwide rights for any new or future Exorcist projects, including but not limited to motion pictures, television productions, books and new media. Morgan Creek Productions recently released the basketball comedy Juwanna Mann, starring Miguel A. Nunez, Jr, Vivica A. Fox and Tommy Davidson, which will be available on home video and DVD on November 19, 2002; and recently completed production in the U.K. on I'll Be There, starring Craig Ferguson and introducing Charlotte Church. I'll Be There is scheduled for release through Warner Bros. Pictures on January 31, 2003. CONTACT: Morgan Creek Productions Greg Mielcarz, 818/954-2786 gmielcarz@morgancreek.com   URL: http://www.businesswire.com 

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    King Mohammed visits education and schooling institute for blind people

Morocco, Education, 11/13/2002

Morocco's King Mohammed VI visited in Temara on Monday an education and schooling institute for blind people, which the sovereign has baptized Mohammed VI Education and Schooling Institute for Blind people. The Institute has been refurbished and endowed with new equipments for a cost of 1.24 million Dirhams (US$ 117,420) allocated by Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity.  In line with the King directives, the Foundation has sponsored construction of new institutes in Taroudant, Meknes, Fez as well the extension of a similar institute in Marrakesh. These operations required 27.5 million DH (US$ 2.6 milion).

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    Moroccan expats' remittances up by 52.5 percent from Jan. to Sept. 2002

Morocco, Economics, 11/13/2002

Remittances of Moroccans expatriates have reached dhs 26.69 billion (US$ 2.5 Mln) from January through September 2002, said the Moroccan Exchange Office.  This amount marks a 52.5 percent increase as compares to the average annual amount of remittances recorded, for the same period, from 1997 to 2001, added the same source.

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    Canada and the Université de Montréal improve nursing in Morocco

MONTREAL, Nov. 13 /CNW/ - The Honourable Martin Cauchon, Member of Parliament for Outremont and Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada, on behalf of the Honourable Susan Whelan, Minister for International Cooperation, today announced a $750,000 contribution over six years to the Université de Montréal to help strengthen nursing skills in Morocco. "Canadians value good quality health-care services and are supportive of helping other countries improve their health-care sectors," Minister Cauchon said. "Canadian universities, with support from the federal government, have helped many developing countries enhance their nursing skills."

Canada, through the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), will help the Université de Montréal work in cooperation with its Moroccan partners. They will work together to reinforce the skills of nursing staff and medical technicians to improve the quality of care provided to the Moroccan population. This partnership will also support a post-secondary program in paramedical studies and carry out the Université de Montréal's Masters in Nursing program in Rabat for Moroccan teachers. This initiative is funded through CIDA's University Partnerships in Cooperation and Development (UPCD) Program. This is a responsive mechanism through which Canadian universities can partner with developing-country organizations specializing in education and training. Projects are selected on the basis of merit after a competition and through peer review. CIDA's contribution is on a cost-sharing basis. The project being announced today will be administered by the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada (AUCC).

"Canadian universities have been at the forefront of our efforts to promote international development," Minister Whelan said. "Today's support for Moroccan nurses will improve the health of people in Morocco by upgrading the quality of health services available in the country."  "We are pleased to bring together the expertise of the Université de Montréal's Faculty of Nursing and that of Morocco's Ministry of Health," said Associate Professor and Canadian project manager Bilkis Vissandjee. "This support for the training of professors in nursing and paramedical techniques will be tailored to Morocco's culture and needs. The project will improve the health of Moroccans by helping to strengthen the nursing profession. This initiative is consistent with the Faculty of Nursing's vision for international development, which favours analysis and partnership with local development stakeholders, as well as sustainable development." Funding for this initiative was provided for in the December 2001 federal budget and is therefore built into the existing fiscal framework. 

For further information: Valérie Poulin, Office of the Minister for International Cooperation, Telephone: 819 953-6238; Media Relations Office, Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA), Telephone: 819 953-6534, E-mail: info@acdi-cida.gc.ca, Web site: www.acdi-cida.gc.ca (electronic version of document); Francis Marin, Université du Québec à Montréal, Telephone: 514 343-7762, E-mail: francis.marin@umontreal.ca Canadian International Development Agency has 342 releases in this database Top of Form 1

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    November rain bodes well for Moroccan cereals

RABAT, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Morocco's cereal-growing season is set to recover from an imperfect start with the aid of generous rainfalls expected this week, government officials and farmers said on Thursday. Morocco is one of the world's largest cereals importers. Average annual consumption is between seven and eight million tonnes, and volatile swings in the local harvest can push imports up to an annual 5.5 million tonnes. Weather forecasts show rain starting in the northern part of the country on Thursday before moving south up to the Atlantic Coast city of Agadir to cover an area representing over 85 percent of Morocco's cereals planted area.  The pace of planting has been slow this year because of low rainfalls, which on November 8 were 20 percent below a normal year, an Agriculture Ministry senior official said. "But reaching an average cereals harvest is still possible," he told Reuters.

Morocco's average cereals harvest is 6.0 million tonnes, with soft wheat accounting for around half. In 2001/2002 it produced 5.0 million tonnes, up from 4.5 million in 2001/2001. Moroccan farmers can plant an average 1.0 million hectares per week in adequate weather conditions. Only 1.8 million hectares had been planted up to November 8, the official said, against some 4.6 million hectares in the previous campaign. But he said "good wet conditions can propel the cereals planted area to 5.5 million hectares by the end of January". "If we reach that figure, the 6.0 million tonnes cereals harvest will certainly be attainable," he said.  "Uncertainty over rainfall led many farmers to wait, especially after the average amount of rains we had in October," the official added. Many farmers, saddled with debts from previous drought-hit campaigns, dare not or cannot plant their land. "But these rains (in November) will reassure farmers and speed up the pace of planting," he said. Seed sales, up to November 8, stood at 18,040 tonnes against an average for the past five years of 25,300 tonnes. A senior official at the Moroccan Farmers Union said low sales of seeds were due to a "relatively high production from last year" so "several farmers will use seeds from the last harvest." Agriculture contributes 20 percent of Morocco's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and employs around 40 percent of its workforce. ((Souhail Karam, Rabat newsroom, +212-37 720065 fax +212-37 722499, rabat.newsroom@reuters.com)) 

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    Morocco Q3 tourism receipts plunge 24 percent

RABAT, Nov 14 (Reuters) - Moroccan tourism receipts for the year to September totalled 18.13 billion dirhams ($1.73 billion), down 24 percent from their level a year ago. A senior Finance Ministry official said the decline, which was expected in the wake of the global downturn after the September 11 attacks on the United States last year, "is in line with the government forecast". "We expect to end the year with a 15-20 percent drop in receipts," the official said. Tourism receipts in 2001 stood at a record 27.8 billion dirhams.  Unlike, he said, Tunisia, Egypt and Jordan, three Muslim countries hit hard by the psychologic impact of September 11, Morocco "has managed to limit the losses". Morocco receives an annual 2.5 million foreign tourists and aims at quadrupling the figure by 2010. The sector employs some 600,000 people.

((Souhail Karam, Rabat newsroom, +212-37 720065 fax +212-37 722499, rabat.newsroom@reuters.com )) ($1=10.475 Moroccan dirhams) 

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    Social projects in North in Eastern Morocco.

OUJDA, Nov.15 - H.M. King Mohammed VI, visited on Friday the Institute of the Alaouite Organization for Blind People Protection, where he distributed equipment for social associations based in the eastern parts of Morocco. The equipment is valued at 1.6 million dirhams, nearly US$ 160,000, paid by the Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation. The Sovereign visited the same day the Al-Farabi Hospital of Oujda, where he handed medical equipment to hospitals in Oujda and the neighboring towns of Nador and Taourirt.The equipment include 15 ambulances, medical apparatuses and AND work 6 million dirhams (US$ 600,000). H.M. King Mohammed VI handed another lot of equipment to the Al-Farabi hospital, worth 10.8 million dirhams. H.M. King Mohammed VI, on Thursday visited the Child Protection Centre in Oujda, where the Sovereign gave the green light for the construction of a "parents" space and for the equipment of the centre with vocational training workshops. 

The Sovereign heard explanations on the project, which cost 243,822 dirhams, financed by the Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation.The workshops, to be equipped in the centre, are specializing in construction, electricity and gardening.The Child Protection Centre of Oujda was built in 1974. It can accommodate 120 children. 35 children are presently living in the charity H.M. King Mohammed VI laid the foundation stone for the construction of a house for female students in the Moroccan eastern city of Oujda. The house will be built part of efforts of the Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation geared towards backing social activities for needy students in different parts of Morocco. The house, to be built over 8,913 square meters at a total cost of 17 million dirhams, nearly US$ 1.7 million. The Mohammed V Foundation will pay 8.5 million dirhams for the project and the remaining sum will be paid by the Angad association, an NGO working for the promotion of the eastern regions of Morocco. The two-level house includes 110 rooms, administrative services, a restaurant, a mosque and gardens. H.M. King Mohammed VI dedicated Thursday the Lalla Asma Institution for Deaf Students. The institution, built over 1300 square meters. The four-storied building was financed by a 4-million donation, and the plot of land on which the institution is built was offered by the Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs. A hundred students will study at the institution, which also hosts a boarding house for pupils coming from neighboring regions. The institution dispense education to deaf students aged between 3 and 18. H.M. King Mohammed VI distributed Thursday here Iftar meals to the poor. The Iftar 2002 Operation which benefits 1,400 people in urban centres and 12,800 in rural areas in eastern Morocco. The Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation earmarked 73 million dirhams (US$ 7.3 million) to finance the solidarity operation, staged during this year's fasting month of Ramadan. Some 455,600 families in 507 localities will benefit from this year's operation. The Foundation plans to distribute 44,500 iftar meals daily in 71 Moroccan cities and towns.

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    THE AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT BANK APPROVES A EUR 80 MILLION LOAN TO FINANCE THE STRENGTHENING OF ELECTRIC POWER GRID INTERCONNECTIONS PROJECT IN MOROCCO

ABIDJAN, 13 NOVEMBER 2002 - The African Development Bank (ADB) has approved a loan of 80 million Euros (EUR)* to finance the strengthening of electric power grid interconnections project in Morocco. The project aims to improve the security and reliability of the energy supply system and reduce the country's energy bill . Its objective is to increase the capacity of electric power interconnections between Morocco and its two neighbours, Algeria and Spain by doubling the transit capacity of the Morocco's interconnection with Spain from 700 MW to 1,400 MW and by increasing the one with Algeria, from 400 MW to 1,700 MW. The project concerns the construction of 670 km of very high voltage (VHV) 400 kV lines and 60 km of high voltage (HV) 225 kV lines ; the laying of 28 km of 400 kV submarine cables between the Fardioua (Morocco) and Tarifa (Spain) stations ; the construction of three new 400/225 kV substations at Mediouna (Casablanca region), Toulal II (Meknes region) and Bourdim (Oujda region) and the extension of the 400/225 kV and 60/22 kV substations of Melloussa (Tangiers region); the construction of four new 225/60 kV substations at Khourigba (Chaouaia region), Tensift II (Marrakech), Agadir and Tiznit in the south of the country; the extension of the 225 kV substation of Chichaoua (Marrakech region) and the construction of 175 km of 225 kV power lines between Chichaoua and Agadir and finally the assembly of 1,219 km of a fibre optic cable network on the existing 400 kV, 225 kV and 60kV lines.

The project will contribute to strengthen regional integration and cooperation in the energy sector through the increase of electricity exchanges between the Maghrebi countries and Europe. Furthermore, it will contribute to the liberalization of the electricity market in Morocco as well as the improvement of the competitiveness of Morocco's industry and economy by enhancing the electric power supply system at least cost. The project is co-financed with the European Investment Bank (BEI) and the French Development Agency (AFD). The ADB loan will be used to finance 34% foreign exchange costs of the project whose total costs is estimated at UA 237.50 million, equivalent to EUR 318,22 millions. Bank Group operations in Morocco started in 1970. To date, the Group has committed a total amount equivalent to US$ 3.12 billion on 69 operations. Of this amount, about US$ 2.66 billion has been disbursed. 

* 1UA = EUR 1.33986 as at November 2002
* 1UA = US $ 1.32163 $ EU as at November 2002
*1 UA = Dirhams 14.0681 as at November 2002

Description: construction of 670 km of 400 kV power lines and 60 km of 225 Kv lines ; laying of the second undersea 400 kV link between Morocco and Spain; construction of 3 x 400/225kV Substations and the extension of an existing substation; strengthening and extension of the existing 225 kV and 60 kV grid; supply and assembly of a fibre optic network; mitigative environmental impact measures; engineering design, supervision and control services.

Beneficiary: Kingdom of Morocco 
Executing agency: Office National de l'Electricité, 65, Rue Othman BenAffan, 20.000 Casablanca, Morocco
Tel.: (212) 22-66-80-80; Fax: (212) 22-22-00-38
Estimated starting date: January 2003  Duration: 4 years 

Procurement: International competitive bidding for equipment and works.

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