FOM Newsletter June 2003
Morocco Week in Review 
June 21 2003

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID) said it will focus its new Morocco strategy on generating more jobs.  The announcement was made by James Bednar, USAID Director for Morocco, at a meeting with Moroccan health minister, Mohamed Sheikh Biadillah.  "USAID will adopt, as of next September, a new strategy in Morocco based on job generation, one of the top priorities of King Mohammed VI," Bednar said.  Next September will also mark a new start of cooperation between Morocco and the United States, an approach that will pay more attention to Morocco's priorities and stakes, he said. "The Americans will be partners rather than donors," he added.

Morocco fully complies with minimum standards for elimination of Persons' trafficking, US report

Morocco fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of persons' trafficking, the US State Department said in a 2003 Report on Trafficking in Persons. "The Government of Morocco participated in several high-level meetings with the European Union and the Governments of Italy and Spain to strengthen migration policies and procedures to Europe," the report said, adding Moroccan diplomats in both transit and destination countries are trained to assist Moroccan victims, and Moroccan consular officers are trained to provide counsel to unattended at-risk adolescents in Spain and Italy. Working with non-governmental organizations, the government has supported numerous anti-trafficking public awareness campaigns that warn young people about the dangers of migration to Europe and citizens against using child maids, the US State Department underlined.  While deploring that "Morocco has no law that specifically prohibits trafficking," the report conceded that the government utilizes a number of statutes covering kidnapping, forced prostitution, and coercion against traffickers. Law enforcement agencies actively investigate, prosecute and convict traffickers, it added, recalling that a former Belgian consul general was arrested in Morocco for recruiting Moroccan women to work in Belgian nightclubs.  "The police worked together with law enforcement from Saudi Arabia to break up a Moroccan trafficking ring consisting of 40 family members," the report said. The Report also recalled a law adopted by the Moroccan Council of Ministers to increase punishments against traffickers. "There is no evidence of official government involvement in trafficking," the report said, adding a government crackdown on all types of corruption within the public sector "has investigated approximately 10,000 officials for allegations of corruption, including corruption related to trafficking in persons." The Moroccan government participates in anti-trafficking and anti-child labour campaigns with international organizations, repatriates former child maids to their families, and has created a Centre for Immigration that provides counselling services including explanation of legal and civil rights to migrants, the report went on.

Intensively managed orchards & fields contrasting with barren overgrazed hillside, Morocco. 

© WWF-Canon / Jeffrey A. Sayer

Rome, Italy - Ill-conceived land use policies and unregulated management practices in the Mediterranean have resulted in over-exploitation of forest resources. This has led to acute environmental damage, biodiversity loss, and desertification, thus endangering the livelihoods of millions of people. On the occasion of the World Day to Combat Desertification on June 17, WWF and IUCN - the World Conservation Union ask Mediterranean national governments to combat desertification on the ground by restoring forest landscapes and the full range of environmental and socio-economic benefits they provide. About 300,000 sq km of land in the European coastal zone of the Mediterranean is undergoing desertification, affecting the livelihood of 16.5 million people. Contrary to popular belief, desertification is not the natural expansion of deserts, but results from a combination of human actions and climate change which transforms green landscapes into barren desert-like areas. Efforts to combat desertification in the Mediterranean have often focused on tree planting schemes, which in many cases have failed to restore all the goods and services a healthy forest ecosystem can provide.  "To successfully restore forest landscapes, national policies need to integrate environment and socio-economic aspects, and all concerned institutions should be involved in the process. Governments should eliminate or reform the economic, financial, and policy incentives that contribute to forest loss and degradation," said Pedro Regato, Head of the Terrestrial Unit at WWF Mediterranean Programme. In Tunisia and Spain alone the costs of desertification have been evaluated at US$100 million and US$200 million a year respectively. Tunisia loses 8000 ha of land every year to desertification and Algeria loses 40,000 ha. About 66 per cent of rural Mediterranean has a moderate to high risk of soil degradation. A large proportion of land is at high risk in Greece, Portugal and Spain (68 per cent, 43 oer cent and 41 per cent respectively). Extensive areas of bare rock cover approximately 10 per cent of the land in Greece, Albania, and the Mediterranean sections of the former Yugoslavia. These areas can be considered to be mostly desert land now and soil erosion has ceased to take place because there is practically no soil left. The IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation, WWF, and their partners are promoting Forest Landscape Restoration as a process that aims at regaining ecological integrity and enhancing human well-being in deforested or degraded forest landscapes. It focuses on restoring the functions that forests provide - such as food, habitat for species, soil stabilisation, and medicinal plants - at the broader landscape level as opposed to solely promoting increased tree cover in a particular location. Due to the urgency of the desertification problem, WWF and IUCN, in their recent workshops with other governmental and intergovernmental institutions, experts and civil society groups from the region, have pointed out the need for national and trans-national forest landscape restoration programmes. "Forests lie at the nexus of local livelihoods, biodiversity maintenance and reducing land degradation, for example due to erosion. They also regulate floods of water and it is essential that these wider functions are recognized by managers of these areas," said Jamie Skinner, Director of the IUCN Centre for Mediterranean Cooperation.

Notes to editors: The Convention to Combat Desertification focuses on the rehabilitation of land, and the conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources. UN Convention to Combat Desertification (Article 1(b)) Combating desertification includes activities aimed at rehabilitation and reclamation (Article 2(2)) Long term strategies should focus on rehabilitation, conservation and sustainable management of land and water resources

For further information: Sampreethi Aipanjiguly Communications Officer, WWF Mediterranean Programme Tel: +39 06 844 97 224 E-mail: saipanjiguly@wwfmedpo.org  Lourdes Lázaro Communications Officer, IUCN Tel: +34952028430 E-mail: lourdes.lazaro@iucn.org  ; www.uicnmed.org http://panda.org/news_facts/newsroom/other_news/news.cfm?uNewsID=7501 

LONDON, June 18 - Moody's Investors Service has changed to stable from negative the outlook on the Ba1 foreign currency country ceiling and local currency government bond rating of the Kingdom of Morocco. According to Moody's, the change in outlook mainly reflects the improvement in the country's public finances. After three years of fiscal deterioration from 1999 to 2001, Morocco's fiscal deficit improved in 2002 due to a stabilization of tax revenues and a fall in the growth rate of fiscal expenditures.  In addition, the government's decision last year to limit public sector employment to the number of people leaving for retirement is seen by Moody's as a positive step towards containing structural fiscal expenditures in the future. Moody's said that the change in outlook also reflects the reduction in Morocco's level of public debt due to the government's active debt management strategy. The agency noted that the largest reduction in the debt-to-GDP ratio took place in 2002 when the country benefited from a GDP growth rate higher than the real rate of interest.

Looking ahead, Moody's believes that GDP growth will remain strong in 2003 despite the recent terrorist attacks in Casablanca. The positive forecast is based primarily on the significant rainfalls in 2002 and 2003, which will ensure strong growth in agricultral output and therefore a strong GDP growth rate, despite the expected fall in tourism revenues. In Moody's opinion, the government resulting from the autumn 2002 parliamentary elections is strongly committed to the implementation of a broad range of reforms in the areas of social policy, governance, and privatization -- as recently demonstrated by the sale of the Regie des Tabacs, Morocco's tobacco monopoly, to Altadis, the French - Spanish tobacco company, for US$ 1.5 billion. ((London Capital Markets; jon.laycock@reuters.com; Reuters Messaging

US to concentrate on FTA negotiations with Morocco, US official

The US administration will focus on FTA negotiations with Morocco and other trade initiatives following the conclusion of free trade accords with Chili and Singapore, US trade representative deputy assistant, Peter Allgeier, said Tuesday.  Allgeier stressed before the Committee on Finance in the US Senate during discussions on the U.S.-Singapore and U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreements that "We have FTA negotiations underway with Australia, Central America (CAFTA), Morocco, and the South African Customs Union (SACU)." The third round of negotiations between Morocco and the US took place on June 2 in Rabat after two previous negotiation rounds in March and January. The two countries hope to reach an agreement before end of this year. Allgeier further explained that trade relations between the US and Middle-East countries will contribute to promoting peace in the region, underscoring "we have announced our intent to begin negotiations on an FTA with Bahrain early next year." The US official further pointed out to the president's initiative to create a free trade zone with Middle-East countries. According to Allgeier, the free-trade agreements signed by the U.S.A. with Singapore and Chile at the beginning of June cover aspects of trade in goods, services, investment, government procurement, protection of intellectual property and competition policy.

Morocco, US agreed on FTA general guidelines, minister

Morocco and the US have agreed on the general guidelines of the legal framework of the free trade accord during the 3rd round of negotiations held earlier this month in Rabat, Moroccan delegate minister for foreign affairs and cooperation, Taib Fassi Fihri said Tuesday. Briefing the House of Advisors on FTA negotiations, Fihri explained that the 3rd round helped negotiators bring their viewpoints closer, but nothing was decided as far as mutual preferential conditions and the progressive dismantling of custom duties are concerned. This does not mean there are divergences, he noted, stressing that the indecision about some points stemmed from a common desire to agree on realistic and appropriate preferential relations and to conclude the agreement in the best conditions.  After he recalled that the accord aims to carry on the Moroccan trade liberalization process and gain more investments, the official said the negotiators are heeding the specificity of the Moroccan economy, notably in the sectors of industry, services, fisheries and textile. Other considerations that needed to be taken into account are associated with different regulations, especially those regulating investment, environment, social realms and intellectual property, he went on. The delegate minister further stressed that a previous accord was concluded between the two sides and that it determines transition steps and the accompanying measures in order to reach positive results, benefit from opportunities offered by the accord and avoid possible negative impacts. Concluding the agreement will help in upgrading the competitiveness of Moroccan enterprises and will create an investment-friendly atmosphere, he noted. The first two FTA negotiation rounds were held last January and March. the fourth round is scheduled during the last ten days of next July.

France extends Morocco 750,000 Euro for expats' enterprise creation

The French Development agency signed on Wednesday with the Sindibad fund, an affiliate of the pension managing CDG, a 750,000 Euro subsidy to promote investments in rural tourism and innovating SME's by Moroccan expatriates.  France's ambassador to Morocco, Jean Grasset, stressed that the project is the first move in an "interesting" operation. He said the "co-development" project is one of the axes in the strategic cooperation between Morocco and the European Union. The CDG's Sindibad fund was founded in December 2002 with an initial capital of 48 million Dirhams (4.4 Mln Euro) to finance and support new enterprises operating in the new information technologies and civil engineering.

http://www.arabicnews.com/ansub/Daily/Day/030620/2003062023.html 

PARIS, June 16 - Moroccan Premier, Driss Jettou, said Monday Morocco, which embraced Islam 14 centuries ago, is not facing any threat of "Islamic extremism." "No (such) danger is looming on Morocco," Jettou told the press after a meeting with French peer, Jean Pierre Raffarin. Extremist movements are found everywhere in the World. This is an international phenomenon that should be dealt with through joining forces of the world community as a whole, he said, adding "no country is spared." The Prime Minister was alluding to the terrorist attacks that hit Casablanca last May 16, killing 43 people. "What happened in Casablanca can happen anywhere," he said, adding Morocco is handling the situation "with determination." Jettou lauded, this connection, cooperation between Moroccan and French services. Jettou said he raised with Raffarin the Moroccan Sahara issue in light of the latest proposals floated by James Baker, personal Envoy of the United Nations Secretary General for the Sahara. "I informed my French peer that the political solution is the only way out Morocco would accept, as it guarantees the Kingdom's sovereignty and territorial integrity," he said. Jettou, who was received on the same day by French President Jacques Chirac, lauded the convergence of views between Paris and Rabat on all issues tackled and commended France's backing to Morocco. Questions of economic and trade exchanges between the two countries were also raised, he said. Morocco and France will hold next July 24-25 in Rabat a meeting of their Grand Joint Commission, to be co-chaired by Jettou and Raffarin. MAP 2003

EU wants gradual agreement with Morocco in agricultural produce

Head of the European delegation in Rabat, ambassador Sean Doyle, said the European Union is seeking a "gradual" agreement with Morocco on agricultural produce with a clause providing for revision every five years. After five years, the agreement will be re-negotiated on the basis of an appraisal of the system, Doyle told "Le Terroir" newsletter published by the Moroccan ministry of agriculture and rural development. Agriculture is one big and difficult issue and we are trying to avoid confusing things, said the EU chief diplomat who deemed it appropriate to start negotiations before mobilizing the MEDA funds to support the Moroccan government in bringing about the needed changes to upgrade various agricultural sectors. To a question on Morocco's aspiration to enjoy a special status in its relations with the EU, Doyle said it is "legitimate and understandable" that Morocco claims such a status given that Morocco emerged in the south Mediterranean region as top of the class regarding such areas as democracy, political liberalization and economic reforms.

Morocco's 2003 cereals imports down 10 pct yr/yr

RABAT, June 18 (Reuters) - Morocco's cereals purchases in the marketing year which ended in May reached 4.13 million tonnes, down 10 percent from the previous year, state cereals authority ONICL said on Wednesday. Soft wheat imports remained unchanged at 2.29 million tonnes, the office said in a report made available to Reuters. Last year's harvest was some 5.5 million tonnes including 2.5 million tonnes of soft wheat. The North African country, a major cereals player, expects this year a much better harvest of some eight million tonnes, around half of it soft wheat.  The Agriculture Ministry has said Morocco would need to import 1.2-1.5 million tonnes of soft wheat in the 2003/2004 campaign, which starts in June and ends in May of the following year. France was the origin of 23 percent of total cereal imports, followed by Russia with 15 percent and Ukraine with 12 percent. The United States held five percent share and Canada 10 percent. North American origins held 30 percent of the North African country's cereals imports last year. "France managed to reconquer its pole position in the exporters list thanks to a remarkable improvement in the quality of its wheat while Black Sea markets are consolidating their newly-established presence here," a private importer said. "Prices in Europe in general were more competitive than in North America," he added.  Durum wheat imports fell to some 520,000 tonnes, barley fell 45 percent to 410,000 tonnes and maize imports were 12 percent down at 898,000 tonnes. Soft wheat stocks up to May 31 covered 2.7 months of milling needs with 636,100 tonnes against 589,400 tonnes a year earlier, durum wheat stocks stood at 63,800 tonnes, barley at 82,900 tonnes and maize at 64,500 tonnes, ONICL added. ONICL said the decline in the overall level of cereals stocks was normal because of the ongoing harvest. 

((Reporting by Souhail Karam, Editing by Tony Austin. Reuters messaging: souhail.karam.reuters.com@reuters.net ; email: souhail.karam@reuters.com ))

The Spanish government has called Spanish businessmen to enhance their investments in Morocco, the daily El Mundo reported. Quoting "well informed sources," El Mundo says a top Spanish official has encouraged the construction businesses association (SEOPAN) to re-launch its projects in Morocco and exert more efforts to get contracts in sectors of infrastructure and services that Morocco will be launching in the next months. In the same vein, the paper reports that Spanish group Dragados is "interested" in the evolution of Moroccan-Spanish relations and wants to probe investment opportunities in the kingdom. Construction group FFC, which wants to re-launch projects in Morocco, has voiced the same interest. Recalling that the bid for the privatization of Morocco's tobacco company was won by the French-Spanish group Altadis for 1.2 billion Euro, the paper says officials and economic operators from both shores of the strait are making efforts to uphold Spain as Morocco's second foreign investor and its 10th client. Bilateral exchanges were worth 3 billion Euro in 2002, El Mundo goes on. According to head of the Spanish confederation of enterprises (Spain's major employer's association with 2.3 million enterprises), Jose Maria Cuevas, "there is a common will to multiply investment and trade." Presently, over 9,000 Spanish enterprises are operating in Morocco, including multinational companies Telefonica, Endesa, Repsol, Cepsa, Gas Natural, Aguas de Barcelona, Aceralia, Abnegoa, Fagor, Inditex, and the banks BBVA, SCH and Caja Madrid.

Least developed countries hold conference in Rabat

The extraordinary ministerial conference of the Least Developed Countries (LDC) is scheduled this June 24-25 in Rabat with the participation of 49 countries, it was officially announced here. The encounter is part of the new dynamic that Morocco, as president of the Group of 77 (G-77), intends to apply to the South-South cooperation and the re-launching of the development of the least developed countries within an international context marked by globalization and economies' interdependence. The conference confirms King Mohammed VI's policy in favor of the causes of peace, development and solidarity with South countries in their major concerns and aspirations. The conference is also part of Morocco's decision to annul the debts of the African least developed countries and allow a free access of their exports to the Moroccan market.

Morocco says soon to launch Eurobond issue

RABAT, June 19 (Reuters) - Morocco said on Thursday it will soon launch its long-awaited Eurobond issue, a crucial test for international confidence after May's suicide bombings that rocked Casablanca, the North African country's business hub. The finance ministry said it would launch new bonds via Merrill Lynch and BNP Paribas, who won the bond mandate last year, encouraged by favourable conditions on bond markets. Fund managers said they expected a euro-denominated bond with a five year maturity. But the lead managers said the terms had yet to be decided, and would be determined next week, after discussions with the borrower. Analysts away from the lead managers said Morocco had no urgent need to borrow, and were probably seeing the publicity and transparency provided by having a large liquid bond. "I think it is mostly being done for benchmark reasons," said Tim Ash, emerging bond strategist at Bear Stearns in London. A benchmark bond would typically be around $500 million dollars equivalent. Last July, the finance minister said Morocco wanted to borrow between $300 million and $500 million worth of bonds. "Morocco can tell a reasonably story: their financial ratios are pretty good, and they have managed the Casablanca story pretty well," Ash said. In May Morocco reported central bank reserves worth $10.7 billion or 11 months of import cover. Finance Minister Fathallah Oualalou will start on Friday a week-long roadshow to meet foreign investors in Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, France and Britain to promote the issue. "At the end of this roadshow, the Kingdom's first bond... without any third party guarantee, will be launched in the international financial market," the ministry said. At present, Morocco only has its A Brady bonds <MOROCA=RR, issued in 1990 as part of a U.S. initiative to help less developed countries escape the 1980s debt crises. Brady bonds in general are expensive to service. The ministry said that proceeds of the new bond will be dedicated to the early reimbursement of expensive debt and would have no negative impact onliquidity. The timing of the issue coincided with favourable market conditions, it said. "Recourse to international financial markets is a strategic choice that is not dictated by financing need of the state's treasury, which can be totally satisfied by the domestic market," it said. RAIN HELPS LIQUIDITY Thanks to favourable weather for farmers, European investors have a good feeling about Morocco, and the bond will probably do well, said Vincent Megard, emerging bond fund manager at AXA Investment Managers in Paris. "It is raining a lot, and gross domestic product is linked to rain," he said. At the beginning of May, U.S. investment bank JPMorgan increased its allocation of Moroccan debt in its model emerging debt portfolio in part due to prospects of a large cereal crop. Agriculture employs 40 percent of Morocco's 10 million workforce and contributes up to a fifth of the country's GDP. "They also did a very good privatisation with the tobacco company, and they are managing quite well at the economy level," added Megard. This month, 80 percent of Morocco's state tobacco monopoly Regie des Tabacs Marocains (RTM) was sold for 1.3 billion euros ($1.5 billion) to French-Spanish group Altadis . In doing so, Morocco managed to slightly exceed, in one privatisation move, the projected receipts for the 2003 budget. The sale outweighs the fear generated by the suicide bombs, said a Moroccan fund manager. "A string of good news followed the bombings, including RTM's sale and the revision by Moody's of its outlook on the country. The bond issue is the ultimate test," he said. This week, Moody's Investors Services raised its Morocco rating outlook to stable from negative, citing improving public finances. Moody's rates Morocco Ba1. Morocco made its sovereign debut in September 1997 with a $200 million syndicated five-year term loan.  

((Reporting by Souhail Karam and Alexander Manda; Reuters Messaging souhail.karam.reuters.com@reuters.net, email souhail.karam@reuters.com: Rabat newsroom tel +212 37 726518)) ($1=.8598 Euro) ($1=9.364 Moroccan dirhams)

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

Spanish police arrest 2nd Casablanca bomb suspect

MADRID, June 19 (Reuters) - Spanish police have arrested a Moroccan man suspected of involved in bombings in the city of Casablanca last month that killed 43 people, including 12 suicide bombers, police said on Thursday. The arrest of the 32 year old in the northern city of Vitoria, follows lastweek's detention in the southern town of Algeciras of another man linked to the May 16 bombings, Spain's Civil Guard said in a statement. Morocco has so far charged around 100 people on suspicion of participating in the attacks, which killed eight foreigners including four Spaniards at a Spanish restaurant in the north African city. A five-star hotel and a Jewish community were also targeted. 

((Reporting by Chris Brown, editing by Stephen Weeks; Reuters Messaging: chris.brown.reuters.com@reuters.net; +34 91 585 2164)) http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=1056040787nL19266749&section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=All%20Morocco%20News&objectid=22403786-8F1A-11D4-867000D0B74A0D7C 

Morocco announces will to reform religious affairs

Morocco on Wednesday announced will to review religious affairs within a comprehensive development project embracing political, cultural and doctrinal branches. This came in a TV debate broadcast by Morocco's second TV channel 2M, with minister of Habous (endowments) and Islamic affairs, Ahmed Toufiq. This new vision will be based on "our fundamental options," Taoufiq said, adding that Oulamas (Moslem scholars) will have an important role to play in this new approach. According to the official, the suicide bombings that hit Casablanca last May 16 "are contradictory to Islam" which, like all other revealed religions, bans suicide as an inadmissible and unjustified act, especially in a society that systematically adopts dialogue. These attacks were perpetrated by individuals, embracing ideas that nonchalantly accuse other people of being apostate and of heresy, he said, adding such an attitude shows ignorance of the supreme values of Islam. It is crucial to understand the reasons behind indoctrinating the victims of these extremist ideas that harm culture and democracy through practices and behaviors that are alien to the Moroccan society, said Taoufiq. The persons who blew themselves are victims of such indoctrination, he added. Toufiq urged Moroccans not to tolerate doctrinal ideas that are contradictory to the Moroccan society and not to turn mosques into places for doctrines' propaganda. Religion should be handled based on an "in-depth understanding," he said, announcing that his department will open a toll-free number to answer all religious queries.

Morocco issues first international bond loan

Morocco's finance and privatization minister, Fathallah Oualalou, will conduct starting Friday a roadshow in Bahrain, the UAE, France and the United Kingdom to promote the kingdom's first bond loan. An official release said following Oualalou's tour and meetings with businessmen from the four countries, Morocco will launch on the international financial market its first bond loan, without a third party guarantee. The loan lead managers are French bank "BNP Parisbas" and "Merryll Lynch International." The official release explains that resorting to the international financial market is a strategic choice that is not spurred by a need for financing the public treasury but by the "particularly propitious" conditions on the market and by the Kingdom's resolve to consolidate its international openness and modernity." The choice is also motivated by the need to create a benchmark value and diversify sources to finance both the private and public sectors. The initiative is also meant to promote an active management of Morocco's public debt as subscriptions will be used to pay off most expensive debts. The ministry also stresses that the move will not entail any aggravating effect on the country's liquidity.

Morocco's Prime Minister, Driss Jettou, on Thursday chaired a meeting on thestudy of an action plan to develop the fisheries sector, covering the period between 2003 and 2007. Under the plan, the government sets strategic objectives such as the preservation of sea resources, the protection of sea environment against all forms of pollution, increase of annual production to two million tons per year by 2007, the enhancement of the growth of sector's value added to 11 percent annually. The generation of 90,000 new direct and indirect jobs, the amelioration of the national sea products distribution network and the development of fish culture to reach 10,000 to 15,000 tons of fish annually are also among the priorities of the plan. In order to attain these objectives, the government envisions the gradual implementation of a series of measures, particularly of legislative nature (adoption of a new fisheries code, laws on environment protection), as well as the reinforcement of surveillance, increase the number of fishermen villages and others.

Morocco's economic policy must meet the requirements of cooperation with the European Union, Moroccan minister of finance and privatization, Fathallah Oulaalou, said. The country's economic policy must be harmonious with EU cooperation, Oulaalou said at a meeting with Christoph Zypel who leads a German parliamentary delegation of the Social Democrat Party (SPD). The minister underscored the "importance of EU's role in accompanying Morocco's economic and social development process," recalling that Morocco's trade with the union makes 70% of the overall. "Our country remains the closest candidate to striking an economic partnership deal with Europe," he said, deeming it necessary that Morocco-EU cooperation become more effective to boost the kingdom's economic and social take-off.

Touching on Morocco's reforms, the Moroccan minister said "housing, administration modernization and justice reforms are major issues in Morocco's democratic project," adding that they remain, however, dependent on EU's support in the framework of the MEDA program. On his part, Christoph Zypel said "EU member countries should coordinate their action to develop the prospective cooperation with Morocco, adding that "the union's grants to Maghreban countries in the framework of MEDA can not solve these countries' economic problems alone. The EU should be a mediator between countries of the south shore of the Mediterranean for better cooperation.

Morocco's theologians on Friday decried terrorist attacks as a violation of the teachings of Islam. The theologians slammed in a communique the terrorist attacks that killed 43 people last May 16 in Casablanca. Such attacks are against Islam and against ethics and human rights in general, they said. The scholars said they had already said the Casablanca attacks are banned by the Quran (Islam's holy book), the Sunna (the Prophet's tradition) and the unanimity of Islam's scholars. The theologians said it is their duty to issue advice to the Ummah (nation) individually and collectively. The acts perpetrated by criminals, manipulated by certain people, are disobedience to God and to his prophet Muhammad and a dissidence regarding the community of believers, the scholars said, citing several verses of the Quran and the prophet's sayings formally banning such acts. Suicide is a violation of Islam's precepts, the theologians stressed saying he who commits suicide or kills a human-being will be severely punished on Judgement Day.

Morocco and Brazil signed Thursday in Brasilia a cooperation agreement in water resources management and utilization. The accord was initialed by Moroccan territory development, water and environment minister, Mohamed El Yazghi, and Brazilian peer, Marina Silva. President of Brazil's Water National Agency, Jerson Kelman, said the agreement aims to exchange information and experiences in water resources management, underscoring the importance to cooperate with Morocco since it is at the same development level as Brazil and it gives a particular importance to the use of more rational methods in irrigation and desalination of sea water. El Yazghi arrived Wednesday to Brasilia after participation in the Brazil-Africa forum on politics, partnership and trade held in Fortaleza (north-eastern Brazil). He will have a series of meetings with other Brazilian officials

The Moroccan monarchy is "a token of morality and authority, a capacity existing nowhere in the world except in Morocco," said Mohamed Arkoun, a renowned Arab thinker and professor at the French prestigious university of La Sorbonne. Arkoun, who was lecturing on his recent book "From Manhattan to Baghdad, beyond Good and Evil," the Algerian intellectual said the Moroccan monarchy is "a moral resort, engraved in the collective imagination of Moroccans," and sealed by centuries of symbiosis. Arkoun said he is confident in king Mohammed VI's intelligence and perceptiveness and in his capacity to ideally succeed in his actions that are part of the policy of aspiration, a philosophical policy focusing on the necessity to establish a link between moral resort and the Moroccan people's aspirations. During the lecture that also focused on the direct impact of September 11 and the US-UK-led war on Iraq, Arkoun proposed to Arab political forces and intelligentsia to ponder on some questions, notably the deep reasons lying behind terrorism that is justified by a reading of the Quran (Islam's holy book), a reading enclosed in a fanaticism apostatizing the opinion of the other.  Arkoun opines that we have to ponder the foundations of Islam to stop falsetheologians from producing the language of violence and hatred. "We should offer a credible option, able to eliminate the legitimacy of this ideology in the eyes of people who consume such ideologies," he said. This terrorism --that foments obscurantist ideologies banning all kind of dialogue and deeming it a priori an apostate that the world is better off without -- was enhanced and amplified, on the one hand, by colonialism that gagged all aspirations by creating an identity crisis in the unconsciousness of Arab individuals and, on the other, by the US "humiliating" interference in Iraq that was justified by September 11, he said. Terrorism carried out by young stateless justified exchanging roles, i.e. victims became aggressors and the intruder became an advocate of rights, added Arkoun. Reconciling with Reason and building a new society, Arkoun explained, is an urgent necessity that led to the creation of regional spheres.  "Morocco cannot detach itself from the Maghreban space, which is both a collective imagination and a solution to escape a political speech thatremained by far enclosed in a double state and Islamic dogma," he said

Arkoun added that it is important to develop the collective memory and social imagination of the population living in this sphere because the achievement of such a historic task constitutes a social power of progress and integration in the Maghreban and in the international context as well. For the thinker, Islamic ideologies have deprived these countries of a culture of integration and that pan-Arabism speeches masked this old Maghreban culture. Boosting The Arab Maghreb Union (UMA, mustering Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya and Mauritania) through anthropologist approaches to forge a critical historical consciousness in the minds of Maghreban citizens in such a way to rid the people of the region of an ideology that "made them miss the rendez-vous with history." For Mohamed Arkoun, the Arab states are a victim of the West. However, 9/11 attacks wiped out this victimization and allowed the super powers to occupy an Arab state by brandishing speeches making them targets of aggressions led by "pariah" states to create a false legitimacy. It is crucial to understand the American society, a melting pot of all peoples and cultures of the world, said Arkoun, noting that the European Union is witnessing a major revolution that will profit the Arab states.

Government Spokesman: Monarchy, Foundation of Moroccan Nation Unity

PARIS, June 17 - The monarchy is the major foundation on which the unity of the Moroccan nation lies and which enables it to move towards modernity and democracy, said here on Monday communication minister and government spokesman, Nabil Benabdellah. The official, who was speaking to French journalists and foreign journalists accredited in France, said the best bulwark against religious extremism in Morocco is the modern monarchy that cements the nation and is increasingly building a space of democracy and modernity. After he strongly condemned last May 16 terrorist attacks in Casablanca as vain attempts to harm Morocco's resolute progress toward modernity and development, Benabdellah surveyed the democratization process Morocco has embarked on, under the wide leadership of HM King Mohammed VI. "We are aware where we stand and we are aware of where we want to go. In our present status, we have gone a long way as far as democracy is concerned, and we also have a long way to go", he said. Benabdellah also underscored the solidarity and civism manifested spontaneously by Moroccans during the anti-terrorism march held in the wake of the terrorist attacks, describing this as a "clear signal of a strong will to move forward to modernity and democracy". The government spokesman further explained how Morocco is waging an all-out battle to ensure the country's economic and social takeoff, underscoring that the role of women and their status in a modern society is at the forefront of this battle. "Women emancipation, he stressed, is one of the major battles that Morocco should wage today. The more we move on this issue, the greater our chances to join the camp of modernity".MAP 2003

Morocco plans new immigration strategy

RABAT, June 16 -- Moroccan human rights minister, Mohammed Aujjar, said the government is considering a new migration strategy. Speaking here at an encounter on historical, economic, political and cultural aspects of Moroccan immigration, Aujjar said this new orientation is developed to meet concerns of present and new generations of migrants who will be called to contribute in building democracy in their home country. He further underscored at the encounter held by Paris-based association "Generiques" and the ministry the valuable contributions of migrants in bringing peoples and cultures closer and their attachment to their cultural legacy as well as to the human rights and democracy values. After he insisted that the migration issue requires a particular attention to address differences between the cultures of host and native countries, the minister criticized rich countries' security approach to immigration, especially the US and Europe, to stop the migratory influx coming from the south. "This approach, he said, can not solve the problem alone." - arabicnews

It is difficult to find a "destination as exotic and ideal as Marrakech," GB Airways managing director, John Patterson, said. GB Airways, franchise partner of British Airways, held last week in Marrakech its annual conference with the participation of its representatives to debate future outlooks of the company in countries toward which it organizes flights (Western Europe, North Africa). "Infrastructures, the climate, flights' frequency and geographical proximity make Morocco an ideal destination whether for holidays or conferences," said the company in release. GB Airways and its partners are sparing no effort to encourage "people go to Morocco," said the release, adding that the company organizes several flights to Marrakech, Agadir, Casablanca and Tangier.

RABAT, June 18 (MAP)- Moroccan minister of Habous (Islamic endowments) and Islamic affairs, Ahmed Toufiq, said Tuesday there was no link at all betweenMosques and terrorism. Speaking during question time at the House of Advisers (parliament upper chamber) on the ministry control over mosques, Toufiq reaffirmed his department's resolve to protect mosques against extremism and put an end to the discourse attempting to link mosques to terrorism. On mosques that were financed by individuals, the minister said that from a legal point of view, such mosques are not private. I don't think charitable persons build mosques and pay staff to make them a source of terrorism, he insisted. © MAP 2003

Casablanca Blasts: Casa De España Club Calls "All Friends" to Support Reconstruction

CASABLANCA, June 14 - The managers of the Casa De España Club which was hit by the terrorist attacks that rocked Casablanca May 16 calls "all the friends" to support the club reconstruction. The club manager, Raphael Bermutz, said Friday at a press conference at the Spanish chamber of trade and industry in Casablanca the club's staff were moved by H.M. King Mohammed VI's visit to Casa De España following the attacks. The sovereign's visit "comforted us and soothed the hearts" of the (2,200-strong) Casablanca-settled Spanish community, he said. Contacts are currently underway with Spanish authorities for participation in the reconstruction of the 45-year-old club, Bermutz added. Last month's string of terrorist attacks claimed 43 dead and scores of injured. The heaviest death toll was recorded in the Casa de Espana. MAP 2003

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

Moroccan prime minister says wisdom will prevail in case of jailed journalist

PARIS, Jun 16, 2003 (AP WorldStream via COMTEX) -- A Moroccan journalist on a hunger strike to protest his prosecution for insulting the king will be treated with "moderation and wisdom," Morocco's prime minister said Monday. Ali Lmrabet, who has been hospitalized in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, has not eaten for six weeks. An appeals court was to review his case on Tuesday. "Let justice speak, and then we will see what follows," said Prime Minister Driss Jettou, following a meeting with President Jacques Chirac in which the Lmrabet case was discussed. Lmrabet is head of two satirical weeklies, the French-language Demain and its Arab-language sister Doumane. He was convicted on May 21 of insulting King Mohammed VI and attacking the monarchy in articles and cartoons and sentenced to four years in prison. His two publications were banned. Human rights and press freedom groups in Morocco and abroad have spoken outagainst Lmrabet's conviction.

The U.S.-based Committee to Protect Journalists said Friday that the jailing of Lmrabet and another journalist "mark a significant deterioration in press freedoms in Morocco." Mustafa Alaoui, editor of the weekly Al-Ousboua, was detained June 5 for publishing a letter claiming responsibility for the May 16 suicide attacks in Casablanca that killed 31 bystanders. Lmrabet went on a hunger strike on May 6 and doctors treating him recently signed a letter expressing concern for his health. Lmrabet's brother asked the French president to speak to Moroccan authorities about the case. "We have gotten over much more difficult problems than this," the Moroccan prime minister said of the Lmrabet case, "and we have treated them with much moderation and wisdom. That will be the case this time, too." Jettou, on his first visit to France since being appointed head of government last October, also discussed collaboration against terrorism during his hour-long meeting with Chirac. French investigators have been helping Morocco in their probe into the suicide bombings, the first such terrorism in the kingdom. Morocco claims the bombers were working for an international network. One Frenchman was arrested in Morocco in the case.  

By EMMANUEL GEORGES-PICOT Associated Press WriterCopyright 2003 Associated Press, All rights reserved http://www.zawya.com/Story.cfm?id=167w3039&section=Countries&page=Morocco&channel=All%20Morocco%20News&objectid=22403786-8F1A-11D4-867000D0B74A0D7C 

One bomb hit the Belgian consulate Morocco terror claim prompts questions. 

Friday, 6 June, 2003

Authorities in Morocco are questioning the editor of a weekly newspaper that published a group's claim of responsibility for last month's suicide attacks in Casablanca. A previously unknown group, al-Saiqa (thunderbolt), said it had carried out the attacks but had not meant to hurt civilians. It blamed what it called a government spy for changing the targets at the last minute.Moustafa al-Alawi, the editor of al-Ousbouu newspaper, faces charges of spreading panic and disinformation. He told the BBC that the statement had been posted to his office. He rejected the allegation that it had caused any panic. In its brief statement, al-Saiqa said its aim had been to target Moroccan and American intelligence agents. But the man leading the operation had turned out to be an infiltrator from the Moroccan intelligence services, it said. Five bombs went off within minutes of each other in the centre of Casablanca on 16 May. Twelve suicide bombers were among 43 people killed. 'Violation' According to the alleged group's statement, the plan was to assassinate a Moroccan judge and detonate a car bomb to kill a group of American and Moroccan intelligence agents who were at a hotel in central Casablanca. But, the statement added, the government agent changed the plan at a late stage and civilians, including a number of Europeans, were killed and injured. The public prosecutor of the Casablanca Court of Appeal said on Thursday that the publication of the statement in al-Ousbouu was a "violation of the anti-terrorism law". Other Moroccan newspapers had declined to run the statement, the prosecutor said. "The publication... is a breach to public order and security and a cunning means to spread panic among citizens and doubt on the conditions in which these dastardly attacks were perpetrated," the prosecutor added. The appeal hearing of Moroccan journalist Ali Lamrabet, jailed for four years for slandering King Mohammed VI, has been adjourned to 10 June after judges refused to release him provisionally.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------

Moroccan minister of Habous (Islamic endowments) and Islamic affairs, Ahmed Toufiq, said Tuesday there was no link at all between Mosques and terrorism. Speaking during question time at the House of Advisers (parliament upper chamber) on the ministry control over mosques, Toufiq reaffirmed his department's resolve to protect mosques against extremism and put an end to the discourse attempting to link mosques to terrorism. On mosques that were financed by individuals, the minister said that from a legal point of view, such mosques are not private. I don't think charitable persons build mosques and pay staff to make them a source of terrorism, he insisted.

"International Network behind Casablanca Attacks" (Minister)

PARIS, June 17 - Moroccan communication minister and spokesman for the government, Nabil Benabdallah, told Monday French TV channel LCI an international terrorist network is behind the May 16 blasts that actually targeted the modern and democratic society project Morocco is building. During recent years, Morocco has developed a project for a modern, democratic society. It is such a project that was targeted by the criminalattacks, he said. The attacks' international connections are getting clear. We are convinced there is a foreign hand in the matter, not that of a country, but rather of an international terrorist network. The probe will end up proving it more precisely, he added. Answering a question on charges facing Moroccan Islamist movements that they have been practicing "intellectual terrorism," and paved the way for the attacks, Benabdallah said "through their ideas and a somewhat moralizing attitude, they have contributed in spreading extremist ideas." For the minister, "They (the Islamists) must take a clear stand in the Moroccan democratic landscape and reject any confusion between religion, shared by all Moroccans, and the political, which is open to everyone." On the status of the Justice and Development Party (PJD) on the Moroccan political map, Benabdallah deems that "the PJD can become a party like any other if it decides to play the national democratic game. It is not the case to day," he insisted. "The party has extremely unclear and equivocal attitudes on a number of issues. Personally, I don't think they adhere in the country's democratic map." For the communication minister, there is a majority that was somehow awaken by the attacks. "The Moroccan society should not be misjudged. It is deeply yearning for modernity and democratization." MAP 2003

The Morocco-UAE Development Company (SOMED), equally owned by Moroccan and UAE public investors, has bought 100% of the capital of Daweoo-Rabat, owner of a five-star hotel in Rabat. SOMED says in a statement the operation to buy the hotel seeks to maintain the hotel as a reference tourism institution in Rabat and increase its accommodation capacity. SOMED was set by Morocco and the United Arab Emirates as a tool of economic development. In addition to the tourism sector (two luxury hotels in Casablanca and Marrakesh), it is active in a wide array of activities, including industry, international trade, fisheries and infrastructure. It is jointly owned by the Moroccan treasury and other institutional investors and, on the UAE side, by the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development.

Havana, Jun 19, 2003 (EFE via COMTEX) -- Souhail Abdelouahed, a member of the political bureau of Morocco's Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) - formerly the Communist Party - said his organization was interested in restoring bilateral relations between Morocco and Cuba, the press reported. "We are prepared to come up with plans to reactivate and develop the ties between our countries," Abdelouahed said at a meeting with the president of Cuba's legislature, Ricardo Alarcon. Morocco broke off diplomatic relations with Cuba in January 1980, when the island recognized the Saharawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR), the name given the Western Sahara by the Algerian-backed Polisario Front guerrillas, who launched an independence war against Morocco in 1975, after the kingdom annexed the territory upon the withdrawal of Spanish forces. Abdelouahed heads a delegation of the political bureau of the PPS, a minority member of Morocco's ruling coalition. The other visiting PPS members were Mohammed Grine, who is in charge of mass organizations and foreign relations for the party, Mehdi Bechegeoune, who is responsible for financial matters, and Aicha Karch, head of women's affairs. Abdelouahed, who is also chief executive of the nation's Real Estate and Hotel Credit Bank, said historic ties between Arab countries and Cuba call for a return to normal relations. In a communique carried by Prensa Latina, Cuba's official news agency, Abdelouahed said legislative and trade contacts could pave the way for a return to normal relations. Legislators from various Moroccan parties are interested in working to restore bilateral ties, he said. Alarcon, in turn, noted that the two countries had kept up "stable and repeated" legislative contacts. Morocco took part in the Inter-Parliamentary Union conference held in Cuba two years ago, and a Cuban delegation later participated in another legislative congress in Morocco. The next step is for the two nations to exchange delegations, Alarcon said.  

The Moroccan economy received an important boost at the start of June, with the announcement of the privatisation of 80% of state monopoly Régie des Tabacs (RTM) to the French-Spanish multinational Altadis. The sum to be paid out - MAD14.08bn (EUR1.29bn, USD1.52bn) - brought out smiles in the Moroccan finance ministry and the business community. However, it also caused more than a few eyes to bulge in the financial community abroad. The MAD14.08bn privatisation, announced on June 2, is the second largest privatisation that Morocco has made since liberalising its economy, outstripped only by Vivendi Universal's now legendary MAD23bn payment for the 35% stake in Maroc Telecom in 2000. In one single transaction, the Ministry of Finances and Privatisation has exceeded its privatisations estimate for the 2003 budget, forecast at MAD12.5bn. Furthermore, for the business community, grimly optimistic after the May 16 attacks in Casablanca, the privatisation is seen as a welcome and real sign of confidence in the continued strength of the Moroccan economy. The privatisation was praised by all (winning) parties concerned, from Minister Fathallah Oualalou to co-presidents Jean-Dominique Comolli and Pablo Isla, and the financial intermediaries, Attijari Finances and HSBC CCF. The common refrain was that the process was highly professional and transparent. It seems that for the first time in the country, the competing offers were actually opened in front of the bidders. It is common knowledge amongst development economists that privatisation usually works best when there are a number of bidders involved. In this case, the interest of Philip Morris (offering MAD9bn) and British American Tobacco (MAD10bn) doubtless led Altadis to make its killer offer. At 2.2 times the initial estimate, however, it is natural that many eyebrows were raised. One after another, financial institutions and agencies downgraded their ratings for Altadis, seeing the bid as well above what was expected.Moody's, Fitch, CSFB, DresdnerKleinwortWasserstein and GoldmanSachs all downgraded their stance on the company, citing primarily misgivings about a potential deterioration in Altadis's financial portfolio. Altadis's shares also took a fair hammering, losing around 12% in the week after the announcement was made. By the time of the company's AGM on June 10, the company directors were at pains to defend the plan and assure shareholders firstly that other expansion plans (in Italy, Serbia and Turkey) could still be funded, and that their EUR0.70 dividend was safe. At 18 times Régie des Tabacs' EBITDA, the Altadis bid might indeed seem somewhat steep. But Altadis has been at pains to explain its logic.According to El Mundo, Pablo Isla considers the bad reaction abroad to be the result primarily of a lack of knowledge of RTM's strengths and potential. It is interesting to note in this respect, as reported by La Vie éco, that it was the head of Telefonica (and ex-head of Tabacalera, the Spanish part of Altadis) Cesar Alierta Izuel, who strongly encouraged Altadis to make a killer bid. In Morocco at least, there is no argument. RTM is the sixth largest company in the country, with EUR260m in sales in 2002 and with a 36% EBITDA margin. It has been the object of a highly successful restructuring and repositioning - the pension funds have been successfully externalised (at a cost of MAD3.4bn), real estate sold off (a focus on its core business), and costs brought down - both in transformation and the workforce, the latter through retirements. The good recent performance has been registered with the new owners, who have opted to retain the services of the current boss, Larbi Bellaha. RTM's dominant domestic position also bears close similarities to Altadis's forebears, Seita (France) and Tabacalera (Spain) - which should help them devise similar defensive market-retention strategies for the Moroccan concern. Although tobacco liberalisation has now been set in law, the market is not due to be fully liberalised until 2008. Until then, RTM (Altadis) will continue to retain a distribution monopoly in Africa's fifth largest smoking nation (14.4bn units puffed away in 2002); indeed imports, transformation, and exports will not be opened up until 2005. Altadis can therefore enjoy a good period of monopoly transition, during which time it can increase its own brand presence, as well as help RTM consolidate its domestic presence (pursuant to future increased competition) and increase its export potential.

The challenges are not negligible. RTM might control 100% of distribution and produce 85% of market volume, but it retains only 67.5% of market value. Part of the problem is its dominance in the relatively less profitable dark tobacco segment (45% of volume but only 19% of value). Altadis intends to keep the trend firmly towards blonde tobacco, evinced by the state-of-the-art cigarette factory in Aïn Harrouda, the planned shutdown of the Casablanca plant, and the continued state-supported encouragement of local tobacco growers to switch crops. Efforts are also planned to increase quality and marketing, both of which will prove crucial should RTM prove to be a stepping stone into the Maghreb, Middle Eastern and Sub-Saharan African markets. Finally there have been concerns that the privatisation will once again cause excess liquidity in a monetary market which is still trying to recover from the Vivendi bonanza of three years ago. This has been mitigated by the fact that some of the financing (up to EUR300m) will be raised in the local market. Nevertheless the capital market intermediaries CFG Group, believethat the intermarket bond rates will continue to decline, although the impact will perhaps not be felt until the second semester of 2003.  

© Oxford Business Group 2003Article originally published by Oxford Business Group

Return to Friends of Morocco Home Page