Morocco, US to hold 5th round of FTA negotiations in October
Creation of US Congressional Morocco Caucus to Promote US-Moroccan FTA
US External Trade Department Underlines the Importance of Reforms in Morocco
Princess Lalla Hasna chairs signing ceremony of conventions on rehabilitation of exotic gardens
Moroccan King orders to place Jewish pendant with charm on his baby neck
Sutron Corporation Selected for Morocco's Souss-Massa Integrated Water Management Project
Morocco records minor earthquake
Stronger democracy goes through strong political parties, King Mohammed
Justice key to development, Minister Bouzoubaa
King Mohammed calls for national rights, obligations charter
Morocco's civilisational awakening in focus
Seminar explores tapping water from atmosphere.

Morocco, US to hold 5th round of FTA negotiations in October

Morocco-USA, Economics, 7/26/2003

Morocco and the United States agreed to hold the 5th round of negotiations for a free trade agreement next October in Morocco, Morocco's delegate-minister of foreign affairs and cooperation and chief negotiator for an FTA with the US, Taieb Fassi Fihri announced Thursday.

Fassi told reporters in a joint press conference with US chief negotiator for an FTA, Catherine Novelli, that Moroccan and US negotiators that held the 4th round of negotiations this week in Washington drew the general guidelines of the agreement as well as the principles and practical modalities for trade liberalization.

The Moroccan minister underlined that Moroccan negotiators expounded to the US side ongoing economic and social reforms in Morocco, underlining that an FTA with the US is a sign of trust in the kingdom's economy.

For Novelli, negotiations were very productive, and enabled to reach significant moves forward at all levels and sectors. According to the US official, there are still pending issues but negotiations are going on the right path and they are due to end at the end of 2003.

To a question on the effect of the agreement on trade relations with the European Union, Fihri denied that a free trade agreement with the USA would entail any effects on Morocco's trade with the EU, insisting that it is an opportunity for Morocco to diversify cooperation with countries all over the world. Both the EU and the USA share the view that it is important that Morocco to secure a good development level by attracting foreign investments, he argued.

Novelli also stressed that the American side supports the promotion of economic relations between Morocco and the European Union, underscoring that Americans strongly believe that trade liberalization contributes to opening markets, generating jobs, and bringing about prosperity.

Morocco and the US are hoping to reach before end of this year the agreement announced in April 2002 during a state visit to the USA by King Mohammed VI. Morocco will therefore become the first African country to conclude an FTA with the US.

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030726/2003072620.html

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Creation of US Congressional Morocco Caucus to Promote US-Moroccan FTA

RABAT, July 29 - the office of U.S. trade representative, Robert Zoellick, announced in a release the creation of a Congressional Morocco Caucus to promote a Free Trade Agreement within the congress. The caucus was founded at the initiative of congressman Lincoln Diaz-Balart, and it is co-chaired by four congressmen. Its creation coincided with the fourth round of negotiations held last week in Washington under the chairmanship of Moroccan delegate-minister for foreign affairs and cooperation, Taieb Fassi Fihri, and US chief negotiator, Catherine Novelli. The FTA will allow the reinforcement of solid friendship with Morocco through the consolidation of growth, prosperity and security in the two countries, Zoellick noted, underlining that the conclusion of the agreement will constitute an important factor in US commitment to broaden economic opportunities to the Middle East and Maghreb region. According to Zoellick, Morocco imports products valued at US $1.1 billion per year, including US $500-worth products from the United States, stressing that the US is operating to suppress customs duties and other taxes concerning imports between the two countries.  The US trade representative release was published in the fringes of the 4th round of negotiations between the US and Morocco over a free trade agreement. Morocco and the USA had announced in April 2002 plans to sign a free trade agreement. The 5th round of negotiations will be held in October in Morocco. © MAP 2003

http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm

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US External Trade Department Underlines the Importance of Reforms in Morocco

WASHINGTON, July 29 - The democratically elected government in Morocco has carried out a program of economic reforms in all fields, the US Trade Representative (USTR), Robert Zoellick said in a release made public on the fringes of the 4th round of negotiations of a Free Trade Agreement between the US and Morocco that ended last week in Washington. In addition to a program that deals with inflation reduction, tourism promotion and liberalization of key economic sectors, Morocco committed to simplifying formalities and lift obstacles hindering internal and external investments, said Zoellick. USTR believes that the conclusion of an FTA will reinforce reforms and improve investment conditions in Morocco, recalling the action currently led by the US government to consolidate and readjust its aid program in favor of Morocco. The USTR underscored Morocco's strategic importance, highlighting its position as an emerging market located between Europe, Africa and the Middle East.  Morocco and the USA had announced in April 2002 plans to sign a free trade agreement. The 5th round of negotiations will be held in October in Morocco. MAP 2003

http://www.map.co.ma/mapeng/eng.htm

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Princess Lalla Hasna chairs signing ceremony of conventions on rehabilitation of exotic gardens

Morocco, Environment, 7/29/2003

Morocco's Princess Lalla Hasna, chairwoman of the Mohammed VI Foundation for Environment Protection, chaired here on Sunday the signing of two partnership conventions on the rehabilitation of the exotic gardens in Bouknadel (near Sale). Founded in 1951 by French horticultural engineer Mark Fran¨ois, the gardens have a very specific character and considered among the best in the world. Their rehabilitation is part of a policy to upgrade the Moroccan cultural and tourism heritage.

According to the foundation, the conventions are aimed at making the gardens an international educational center by endowing them with a multimedia library, an arboretum, a pedagogical space and a restaurant for visitors. Contacts have already being made with embassies of the countries that are represented in the garden, namely China, Japan, Brazil, Mexico, France and Congo to establish a scientific cooperation, develop acclimatized species and set up partnership with exotic gardens throughout the world. A reflection committee will be created to establish a framework that would allow the rational management of the gardens to guarantee their development and continuity. The rehabilitation of the 4.5 hectars gardens will be partly funded by BMCE bank's foundation

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030729/2003072924.html

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Moroccan King orders to place Jewish pendant with charm on his baby neck

Israel's Chief Sepharadic Rabbi, Shlomo Amar, met Wednesday with Morocco's King Mohammed VI. The meeting took place at the residential wing of the King's palace in Tangier. In the course of the conversation between the two, which lasted over two hours, the Rabbi asked the King to "act as his forefathers did and to continue to maintain peace between Arabs and Jews". Later, the King asked the Rabbi to convey various political messages to Israel, according to the Tel Aviv-based Yediot Aharonot website.

At the end of the conversation, according to the report, the two decided that the Rabbi and his family would be guests of honor in a ceremony due to take place next year, to commemorate five years to the King's monarchy. Moreover, they decided that the Moroccan King would patronize a special event organized by the international community of Moroccans.

According to the report, the Rabbi gave the King a 300 year old Siddur (Jewish prayer book) and blessed the King with a special blessing. During the blessing, the Moroccan King bent down and opened his hands. Afterwards, the King opened the prayer book and read a few verses, the report said. The Rabbi also gave King Mohammed VI a pendant with a charm for the King's baby. The Monarch then gave an order to place the charm on his baby's neck, the report concluded.

http://www.albawaba.com/headlines/TheNews.php3?action=story&sid=255393&lang=e&dir=news

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Sutron Corporation Selected for Morocco's Souss-Massa Integrated Water Management Project

STERLING, VA -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 07/31/2003 -- Sutron Corporation of Sterling, Virginia, has been awarded a $500,000, two-phase, design-build contract to automate the monitoring of key water resources for the Souss-Massa Integrated Water Management (SIWM) project in Morocco. SIWM is a major assistance program of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in Morocco.

The Souss-Massa River Basin was selected by USAID as the most promising site to establish model institutions because it combines successful and rapid economic growth (agriculture, tourism, fishing, and shipping), pressing social needs (accelerated migration to cities), with alarming elements of water scarcity, pollution, and competing demand among many water users.

Sutron will supply a turnkey system to:
- Monitor reservoir content and releases at seven dams
- Monitor weather conditions and rainfall at nine locations
- Monitor streamflow at key locations
- Place information in a database to be used for real-time management

All data will be relayed to Agadir, Morocco, where it will be used by a newly established River Basin Agency (RBA) to better manage water in the system.

Sutron Corporation 21300 Ridgetop Circle Sterling, VA 20166

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release_html_b1?release_id=56002

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Morocco records minor earthquake

Rabat, 07/31 - An earthquake measuring 4.7 degrees on the Richter scale was recorded Tuesday off the Atlantic coasts between the Moroccan cities of Rabat and Casablanca, according to the National Centre for Scientific and Technical research (CNRST). The Centre said the tremor was greatly felt by Casablanca residents, with its epicentre said to be some 330-km from Rabat and 330-km from Casablanca. No casualty or damage was reported.

http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=194604

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Stronger democracy goes through strong political parties, King Mohammed

Morocco, Politics, 7/31/2003

Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Wednesday stressed that "efforts to build a stronger democracy will still be inadequate unless there are strong political parties."

This came in a speech delivered by the king on the occasion of the Throne Day, marking this year the fourth anniversary of the enthronement of King Mohammed VI.

The king, who noted that he looks forward "to the rehabilitation of politics, in its noble meaning," urged for legislation on political parties to be passed promptly.

"I want to make it clear that I am determined to provide those parties with efficient means to enable them to discharge their mission fully," he said.

Morocco has a multi-party system and bi-cameral parliament, comprising a House of Representatives and a chamber of advisors.

King Mohammed VI underlined that "the proposed legislation should seek to enhance the role of parties in guiding and representing citizens, by banning the setting up of parties or groups along religious, ethnic, linguistic or regionalist lines."

"The parties should be provided, in all transparency, with government financing to enable them to carry out their activities and get a deep insight into the real issues of concern to the citizens," he said, specifying that "the aim is to help them come up with realistic programmes and concrete solutions to their problems, and also to rally support for all issues of local or national interest and to work closely and harmoniously with NGOs from the civil society."

The king added that the forthcoming polls in Morocco, especially local elections (due next September 12), "will be a real opportunity for our political parties to fulfil their national obligations, by contributing to the establishment of institutions which can give shape to the aspects of development and modernity in the type of society we seek to build." "This is indeed what the Moroccan people wants," he stressed. "It is no longer prepared to accept that certain parties indulge in the use of pompous, meaningless slogans. Nor will it let such obsolete mottos jeopardize efforts to tackle the real challenges of the present and the future," he said.

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030731/2003073124.html

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Justice key to development, Minister Bouzoubaa

Morocco, Judicial, 7/31/2003

Justice plays a crucial role in development, the consolidation of the rule of law and the reinforcement of social equity, Morocco's justice minister, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, said Tuesday in a meeting with cadres of the body of magistrates in the appeal court of Tangier.

For the minister, reforming the judicial system should be intensified in order to succeed the democratic transition and accompany the development drive. He stressed that it is important to endow people operating in the legal system with means and resources to allow them accomplish their mission and immunize the body of magistrate against all drifts to guarantee the liberty and independence of justice.

Bouzoubaa said it is important to carry out reforms in the justice sector, notably in training, modernization and raising of moral standards, insisting that this entails reviewing the training system and educational programs and harmonize them with the deep economic and financial developments in Morocco.

To achieve this, financial and moral conditions of magistrates and cadres in the justice ministry should be improved, he stressed, noting that his department is currently studying the problems hindering the work of magistrates.

According to Bouzoubaa, reform will be enhanced through the optimization of human resources working in courts, the mobilization of specialized experts, the modernization of establishments and the computerization of judicial systems. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030731/2003073119.html

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King Mohammed calls for national rights, obligations charter Morocco

Politics, 7/31/2003

Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Wednesday called for the drafting of a National Charter of Citizens' Rights and Obligations.

"(...) I call on the Consultative Council for Human Rights, whose membership reflects a wide range of trends and leanings, to draft a project for the National Charter of Citizens' Rights and Obligations, and to make recommendations on how to deal with the legal loopholes concerning the fight against all forms of discrimination, hatred and violence," said King Mohammed VI in a speech on the occasion of the Throne Day.

"This is the way for us to achieve our objective, as we seek to reinforce citizen-based democracy which is true to our identity and open to the values of modern times," he said, adding "we want this to be endorsed by each family, where unity and harmony should prevail, and by the various media, which should display a sense of responsibility."

The king reaffirmed determination to ensure that the necessary adjustments are made, and that the efforts to upgrade the Family Law and the national media are pursued.

The king also announced the creation of a Royal Institute for Strategic Studies

"Our country is going through a comprehensive process of transition," he said, adding "we, therefore, need to enhance its capacity to make judgments and adjustments and to anticipate. Hence my decision to set up a Royal Institute for Strategic Studies."

The Institute which will be entrusted with this vital mission should interact constantly with ongoing changes and keep domestic and external transformations under control, he said. http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030731/2003073123.html

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Morocco's civilisational awakening in focus

Abu Dhabi |By A Staff Reporter | 02-08-2003

Zayed International Centre for Coordination and Follow-up has published a book titled Civilizational Awakening in Morocco. The book makes an objective attempt to address the conflict between tradition and modernity which has long occupied the attention of the intellectual elite.

The Zayed centre, in its introduction to the book, emphasises that notwithstanding the characterisation or dimension given to this conflict, specifically in modern times, it has a bearing on the course of Arab history and on formulating its future.

Additionally, the intellectual and material challenges pose obstacles to the civilisational awakening of the Arab nation within the Islamic framework.

The study refers to 19th century Moroccan reformists' theories explaining the causes of the fall and rise of the Islamic countries, with special focus on the turmoil that rocked Morocco. The reformists call for solutions to the problems facing the Muslim world, that come from within, for reforming the religious, social and moral conduct of the Islamic world, so that it can resume its civilisational message.

Within this framework, the book analyses the content of the reformatory discourse adopted by the Moroccan thinkers who are contemporaneous with the Moroccan society before and during the French Protection. The study explains that the reformists, however, stopped short of putting forward a comprehensive vision, focusing only on describing the causes of civilisational fall.

The book also tackles the questions of changing the political system in Morocco under Western pressure and colonialist aspirations in the country accompanied by the breakdown of the structures and components of the Moroccan state. It explains the evolution of the idea of "reform" from the latter half of the 19th century to the first decade of the 20th century through the projects of constitutional reforms which represent the main framework of political reform in Morocco.

The book enumerates the opinions of prominent reformists who firmly defended issues of the nation, and the consequent appearance of modern constitutional theories that combine originality with modernity.

http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/news.asp?ArticleID=94136

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Seminar explores tapping water from atmosphere.

Saturday, August 02, 2003

The scientific seminar 'The Utilisation of Sky Rivers to provide Water Security' can help explore ways and means of collecting fresh water from the atmosphere, said Mohannad Al Unser, Moroccan Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development.

The seminar was organised recently by the Zayed International Centre for Coordination and Follow-up.

The minister added the subjects discussed will receive due attention on the part of agricultural research institutions in Morocco to make use of the content of the seminar proceedings.

The seminar has stressed the importance of making efforts to discover alternative water resources to meet the needs of remote and arid areas through launching projects focusing on condensing humidity to get fresh water.

It also explained in detail the practical methods being followed at present to exploit sky rivers with the aim of trying to find renewed and permanent resources of water. ©Gulf News

http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=emiseminar0208&section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=All%20Morocco%20News&objectid=224037861A-11D4-867000D0B74A0D7C

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