FOM Newsletter February 2003
Morocco Week in Review 
February 8 2003

Rabat, Feb.05 - Morocco and the United States signed here on Wednesday a cooperation agreement providing for promoting rural tourism through programs worth 78.6 million Dirhams (about US$ 8 million). The agreement, initialed by Moroccan tourism minister, Adil Douiri and US ambassador to Morocco, Margaret Tutwiller, means to support Morocco's efforts to meet the international market needs.  The agreement includes several actions, mainly a US$ 2.2 million-worth program for the development and promotion of new tourism products in rural areas, a program -valued at about US$ 900,000-worth- to encourage micro-finance for rural populations and a US$ 4.8 million to upgrade tourism infrastructure in Morocco's countryside.  Morocco has set a target to attract 10 million tourists by 2010 and will be endeavoring to promote new products that cater for ecological concerns and develop the kingdom's cultural legacy.

Japan granted US$ 103.680 to several Moroccan NGOs to help them finance social projects.  The donation agreements were signed in Rabat Thursday by Japan's ambassador to Morocco, Yoshitaka Kawamura, and representatives of the Ngos "Wad Aoufous for development and insertion," "Al Amal for development and cooperation" and "Childhood and Solidarity."  The donations will fund several social projects including the construction and equipment of a social center for 300 women in the region of Errachidia, the enlargement and refurbishment of a kindergarten in the province of Figuig. Japan funded some 219 projects in Morocco since 1989, in the framework of its non-refundable donations

RABAT, Feb 6 (Reuters) - Morocco said on Thursday its tourism receipts in 2002 fell 18.8 percent to 23.72 billion dirhams ($2.4 billion) due to the global repercussions on the industry of the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. "The receipts fell by more than half in December compared with the same month in 2001. This highlights the deep psychological impact on holiday-makers of the September 11 attacks, and more recently the Djerba (Tunisia) and Bali (Indonesia) bombings," an Office des Changes official said. Tourism is the second main hard currency earner in Morocco after remittances by over 2.0 million Moroccan expatriates living abroad, mainly in Europe. The remittances did not fare well either in 2002, dropping 4.5 percent to 35.2 billion dirhams. The official attributed the drop to the appreciation of the euro compared to the dirham. ((Reporting by Souhail Karam;

rabat.newsroom@reuters.com; +212-37 720065))($1=9.925 Moroccan dirhams)

Moroccan Gold Medalist Receives Flo Hyman Memorial Award

WASHINGTON, Feb.05 - Morocco's Nawal El Moutawakel, the first Arab and Muslim female ever to win an Olympic gold medal, will receive this Friday, at a congressional luncheon here, the Flo Hyman Award, the Women's Sports Foundation's most prestigious award. The award recognizes an outstanding female athlete whose achievements reflect Flo Hyman's spirit and commitment to excellence on and off the playing field.  Nawal El Moutawakel captured the gold in the 400-meter hurdles at the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, becoming the first woman from an Islamic nation to win an Olympic medal and the first Moroccan of either sex to catch the gold. In 1995, she became a council member of the International Amateur Athletic Foundation. Two years later, El Moutawakel was appointed Minister of Sport and Youth in Morocco and became the first Muslim woman ever elected as a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC). The award is named after Flo Hyman, who as captain of the 1984 silver medal-winning U.S. volleyball team contributed to the sudden popularity and respect for U.S. volleyball around the world.

(berdugo) Morocco, Local, 2/5/2003

The Moroccan Jewish community fully subscribes to the development drive initiated by King Mohammed VI and is constantly mobilized behind the king to materialize Morocco's aspirations to progress and prosperity. The statement was made by Serge Berdugo, secretary general of the Council of the Israelite communities in Morocco at a meeting Monday with the Wali (senior governor) of the Marrakesh region. Berdugo, who recalled the cohabitation that has always existed between Muslims and Jews in Morocco, said the Jewish community is ready to efficiently contribute to ongoing social and economic development in Morocco. The official unveiled a program to rehabilitate and renovate ancient worship sites and sanctuaries in Marrakesh to attract more tourists.

Morocco's carrier Royal Air Maroc (RAM) and United States' Delta Airlines signed a cooperation agreement in aeronautical industry, RAM said in a release Wednesday. The accord, part of the marketing alliance signed by the two companies in June 2000, is meant to optimize existing technical resources at both carriers' aeronautic industrial centers, to foster partnership in marketing innovation, computerized systems, aeronautic maintenance and service improvement. It gives RAM access to all the US territory, and gives Delta the possibility to operate on Moroccan and African destinations serviced by RAM. Delta Airlines, the world's second carrier in terms of passengers (105 millions in 2001), has over 800 planes and offers 5826 daily flights.

RABAT, Morocco --- STMicroelectronics opened a chip design and software development center in Rabat, Morocco, yesterday (February 5, 2003) that the company expects to host up to 150 designers within a couple of years. The facility was inaugurated by the prime minister of Morocco, Driss Jettou with Pasquale Pistorio, president and chief executive officer of STMicroelectronics.  The setting up of the design center expands the scope of ST's presence in Morocco beyond back-end and test operations, which have been here for some time. The Rabat design center is chartered with the development of advanced system-on-chip (SoC) products for digital TV, DVD players, flat-screen displays, and digital still and video cameras. "Complementing the long-standing success of our manufacturing facilities in the country, our latest IC design and software development center takes our relationship with the people of Morocco to a new level," said Pistorio. "We have been impressed by the skill and enthusiasm of young Moroccan engineers and are excited by both the contribution they can make to our world-beating portfolio of innovative products and technologies and the contribution that we can make in stimulating the growth of a dynamic semiconductor design industry in Morocco." The design center is located within the Mohammadia School of Engineers (EMI) in Rabat. Starting from an agreement signed in July 2001 with the Mohammed V-Agdal University, within which EMI operates, ST has supplied work experience for students, cooperated on research topics for post-graduates and endeavored to provide career opportunities for graduates. The operation is intended to allow Moroccan engineers to develop their careers without leaving the country and Morocco to retain young and talented engineers in the microelectronics arena, said ST. Around 20 graduates from the Mohammadia School of Engineers and 20 from other schools in Morocco and around the world have been recruited for the first phase of the center's development, which is initially focused on the design of integrated circuits for Digital Consumer applications, and the development of customer application software.

RABAT, Feb.07 - Morocco has lowered its public external debt by 38% between 1995 and 2002, which is a total amount of US$ 8.6 billion in 7 years, said the manager of the Moroccan treasury. The total amount has been brought down from US$ 22.6 billion in 1995 to US$ 14 billion in 2002, said Abdelatif Loudiyi, who added the ratio public external debt/GDP went down from 68% to 35%. Compared to the balance of payments, the rate dropped from 192% in 1995 to 85% in 2002. The official explained that Morocco's active management of the treasury external debt, launched in 1996 to bring external indebtedness to a "bearable" level, has covered the period between 2001 and 2002 a total amount of US$ 500 million, including US$ 300 million that were swapped into public and private investments and US$ 200 million of onerous debts that were paid back before due time.

PARIS, Feb.04 - Morocco's 266,000 kmē Saharan provinces are promised a bright future in tourism, and are an ideal hiking place, "Afrique Magazine", a famed monthly in French, wrote in its February issue. The publication emphasized in a 12-page richly illustrated report, tourism and natural assets of the provinces, particularly the richness of their sea ground and wild beaches.  Afrique Magazine also underlines the impressing ornithological reserves of Morocco's Saharan provinces. It recommends visitors to visit the Tarfaya beach where they can admire the "Casamar," an ancient road house built in 1880 by a British national, and a representation of a plane, erected in memorial of Saint-Exupery, the French pilot and writer who was fond of the Moroccan Sahara, and whose writings had these areas as usual setting, mainly his celebrated "Petit Prince". Visitors may also stop at the Naila Laguna, 120 km from the town of Tan Tan, the magazine goes on, describing the natural resort as one of the most beautiful sites in the region.

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