Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
January 2, 2010

US, Morocco keen to broaden Free Trade Agreement, U.S. official.
Washington

The United States and Morocco are eager to promote and broaden the Free Trade Agreement, in force since 2006, in a bid to further boost trade exchanges, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Commerce, Dennis Hightower, said Monday in Washington. "We are delighted to have the FTA in place and we want to do more to build on it," Hightower told MAP on the sidelines of a press conference on the Summit on Entrepreneurship announced by President Barack Obama in his Cairo speech.

Hightower also voiced satisfaction with the Moroccan trade environment, noting that "it can always improve, and it is incumbent on both countries to continue to look at what we are doing (...) and facilitate procedures for the companies from Morocco to come and sell their goods here, as well as to provide the opportunity for US companies to provide their goods and services there."

Moroccan-American trade exchanges reached 21.5 billion dirhams in 2008, and Morocco's exports to the U.S. doubled between 2007 and 2008.

Hightower said a U.S. trade mission will visit the north African country in the first quarter of 2010 to give impetus to US companies which may need to understand better its market.

Referring to difficulties facing Moroccan exports to the U.S., he said that Morocco's products go through Europe before reaching the U.S. "We have been discussing how to change that sort of process and flow to make it easier for a more direct flow."
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/us_morocco_keen_to/view
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AIDS documented cases in Morocco reach 3,198.
Rabat

The number of AIDS documented cases in Morocco since 1986 has reached 3,198, a statement of the Health Ministry said. The disease prevalence remains low with a 0.08% infection rate, the ministry said, noting that this rate increases among vulnerable people in some regions.

To fight this plague, Morocco has devised a strategic plan that seeks to secure access to the services of prevention, treatment and healthcare, while ensuring equity and confidentiality, upholding human rights, and fighting stigmatization and discrimination, the source said.

Prevention programs were enlarged to benefit 1,100,000 youth and women, and 100,000 people from the most vulnerable social segments, while 75,000 anonymous and voluntary AIDS screenings were carried out, it added. The Health Ministry spends every year 18 million dirhams to fight AIDS.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/aids_documented_case/view
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WB mulls funding Morocco's solar energy project.
Washington

The World Bank (WB) is studying the terms of a potential funding of Morocco's solar energy project which seeks to achieve a 2,000-megawatt capacity by 2020, for an amount of 9 billion dollars, the financial institution has said. The financing of this "ambitious" project could be part of the "financial support or technical assistance" offered by the WB to Morocco to develop renewable energy, Senior Energy Specialist for the Middle-East and North Africa (MENA) at the WB, Silvia Pariente-David, told MAP.

Some of these investments are already part of the concessional financing of The Clean Technology Fund (CTF), within the framework of the Consolidation Support Program (CSP) in the MENA region, Pariente-David said, adding that the Program will be submitted to the CTF on December 1. The WB official highlighted that the Moroccan solar energy project will contribute not only to reducing energy dependency and curbing greenhouse gas emissions, but also to boosting growth, promoting industrial development and generating jobs.

The project's completion is due in late 2019 and the first power station will be operational by 2015. Five sites were identified for this large-scale project, which is in line with Morocco's energy strategy, namely Ouarzazate, Ain Bni Mathar, Foum Al Oued, Boujdour and Sebkhat Tah. The project will ensure an annual production capacity of 4500 GW, that is 18% of the current national production.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/wb_mulls_funding_mor/view
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Morocco has made 'remarkable progress' in human development, UNDP says.
By Safae El Yaaqoubi Marrakech

Morocco has made "remarkable progress" in the field of human development, Director of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Geneva Cécile Molinier said. "There is a strong political will at the highest level to address the challenge of human development," Moliner said in an interview with MAP, adding that these efforts encourage several development partners to engage in more coordinated cooperation with Morocco.

The UN official, who expressed optimism about the prospects of development in Morocco, recalled the pioneering "ART GOLD" project, which aims to reinforce national strategies in the field of local development and governance through the harmonization of the actions of international players within decentralized cooperation throughout Moroccan regions. "The added value of this approach is to enable local development actors to have access to resources and know-how of the UNDP," she said, confirming the readiness of the UN program to accompany Morocco's efforts in the field.

For the UNDP official, Morocco is an active actor in south-south cooperation and actively contributes to new development programs mainly in Senegal and Mauritania. Moliner said the decentralized approach of development supported by the UNDP in Morocco is an “exemplary and efficient model,” which would be proposed to sub-Saharan countries. “The Kingdom of Morocco which has a long and strong tradition of cooperation with sub-Saharan countries will be certainly solicited.”

Molinier also stressed the importance the 5th Africities Summit, held in Marrakech (December 16-20), saying that it is an occasion to be in touch with development partners and determine the need of the African continent. The traditional modes of development have proved inefficient, she said, adding that there is a need to rethink policies of local development within a new form of “multilateralism.” http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/home/morocco_has_made__re/view
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Morocco, UNICEF sign agreement on children's rights.
Rabat

Moroccan human rights watchdog (CCDH) and UN children's fund (UNICEF) signed on Thursday an agreement on the promotion of children's rights and the setting up of aid mechanisms for abused children. The agreement was signed by chairman of CCDH, Ahmed Herzenni, and UNICEF representative in Morocco, Aloys Kamuragiye.

Under the agreement, the UN body commits itself to supporting the CCDH in setting up national institutional aid mechanisms, in accordance with the Paris Principles, with the aim of contributing to the implementation of the Declaration of the Rights of the Child, following-up cases of child abuse, and enhancing the rights of young people. A monitoring commission, made up of representatives of the CCDH and the UNICEF, will be set up to carry out the agreement. It will take charge of implementing the 2010-2011 "Morocco-UNICEF Cooperation" program. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/morocco_unicef_sign/view
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Morocco gets 100 million euro grant to develop health services.
Rabat

Morocco received on Thursday a 100 million euro grant, donated by the European Commission, Spanish Agency for International Development Cooperation (AECID), and The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) to develop the Kingdom's health services. The contribution of the European Commission stood at 86 million euros, the AECID contributed by 14 million euros, while the rest was granted by the UNFPA. This grant is meant to boost Morocco's health sector reform and improve basic health services and disadvantaged population's accessibility. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/morocco_gets_100_mil/view
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Compensation Fund's subsidies in Morocco estimated at around $2 billion in 2009.
Rabat

Morocco's Compensation Fund (Caisse de Compensation) spent an estimated 15.2 billion dirhams ($1.9 billion) in subsidies in 2009, as against 33.5 billion dirhams, that is a decrease of 54.5%, Economic and General Affairs Ministry said. The Compensation Fund is a subsidy meant to stabilise the price of staple supplies.

Out of this total, which represents subsidies for oil products, the butane gas and sugar, 4.8 billion dirhams represent arreas carried forward to 2009, the ministry said in a statement, issued following a meeting of the Fund’s board of directors on Friday.

The board noted "with satisfaction" the absence of any arrears carried over to 2010. The 2010 budget has allocated 14 billion dirhams to the Fund to preserve the purchasing power of citizens, the Finance Minister had said in October. He also announced that the government intends to reform the compensation system to better target the needy social groups. The measures related to the tax reform and wage increase for 2009 and 2010 are to cost an amount of 16 billion dirhams ($ 2.1 billion), with tax cuts worth some 9.6 billion dirhams ($1.2 bln).

The Budget, which forecasts a 3.5% growth, a not-more-than 2% inflation, and an oil barrel priced at 75 U.S. Dollars, provides for creating 23,800 job opportunities. It expects the budget deficit to attain 4% and hopes the stability of expenditure will be similar to that of 2009. The Budget also expects a 20.4% rise in public investment, which would jump 40% over the period 2009-2010. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/compensation_fund_s/view
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AMF lends Morocco $ 97.631mln to fund financial reforms.
Rabat

The Arab Monetary Fund (AMF) loaned 772 Million dirhams (some $ 97.631mln) to Morocco to fund reforms in the realm of finance. The loan agreement was signed on Monday in Rabat by Morocco's Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar and AMF's Director General Jassim Al Mannai.

The loan, part of a compensatory loan granted by the AMF within the framework of its cooperation relations with Morocco, brings the total loans granted by the Arab financial institution to the North African kingdom this year to 3 Billion dirhams. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Mezouar said that the loan shows AMF's confidence in Morocco's economy and in its ability to face the world economic crisis.

AMF's Director General described structural reforms implemented by Morocco to face the global economic downturn as "wise" and commended the social measures adopted by the Kingdom's government. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/amf_lends_morocco/view
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AFD loans Morocco € 40 million to fund hydro-agricultural project.
Rabat

The French Development Agency (AFD) on Monday granted Morocco a € 40 million loan to fund a hydro-agricultural project in the Sbou region. The project provides for the construction of an irrigation network to enable the development of localized irrigation on 4,000 hectares in a bid to achieve a rational management of water resources.

Between 2007 and 2009, the AFD contributed to financing projects totaling 8 billion dirhams in the North African country.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/afd_loans_morocco/view
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Morocco, first consumer of Chinese green tea worldwide.
Huang Ju (China)

Morocco imported 38,500 tons of tea (94.2 million dollars) in the first eight months of 2009 to become the first importer and consumer of the Chinese green tea worldwide, the Chinese trade Ministry said. Right after China, Morocco is considered as the first consumer of green tea worldwide, followed by Uzbekistan, Japan, Russia and the USA.

In 2008, Morocco's Chinese green tea importations amounted to 96.1 million dollars. The North African country imports nearly 30 pc of Chinese Green tea from Chiang's province (East). Van Gao, Huang Ju's museum deputy-curator, told MAP that Morocco has always represented a very important market for Chinese tea.

In 2008, tea-cultivated area in China reached 1.6 million hectares with a production of 1.24 Million tons, one third of tea world production.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_first_consu/view
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Belgium rises its donations to Morocco to 80 million euros .
Rabat

Belgium doubled its donations allocated to its Indicative cooperation program with Morocco for the period 2010-2013 to reach 80 million euros, the finance ministry said on Tuesday. Belgium's minister for Cooperation and Development, Charles Michel, who held on Tuesday in Rabat a series of meeting with several Moroccan officials, voiced his country's will to contribute to the large-scale projects carried out by Morocco. He said his country is keen to reinforce its ties with the North African country in wide-ranging areas, notably agriculture, water and water treatment.

Michel said that 2,000 scholarships will be awarded to Moroccan students, as part of bilateral partnership.
A large business delegation headed by Crown Prince of Belgium is currently on a working visit to the kingdom to examine ways to boost economic ties.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/belgium_s_indicative/view
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Tahar Ben Jelloun Art Review: The Roots of Time.
Tahar Ben Jelloun: Morocco Newsline Tuesday, 15 December 2009

Before the noise of the wind, Melehi has encountered a new turning point. He has anticipated the movement of signs by involving them in the here and now, in the torment of desire. It’s a journey dreamed of in the echoes that the desire for a woman leaves behind as prints. Colours are glimpses of this will to seize the inaccessible or to inscribe it in a time scale making of the work an attempted look, a humble approach. It’s a journey dreamed of in the echoes that the desire for a woman leaves behind as prints. Colours are glimpses of this will to seize the inaccessible or to inscribe it in a time scale making of the work an attempted look, a humble approach.

Melehi has new resources at his disposal: unexpected advances in the world of the imagination take him away from his traditional technique in order for him to dare to venture into other areas, more flexible, more dreamlike and also erotic.

Melehi dares to lose himself. He comes out of the shadow. He paints waves differently, in a more emotional way – they are subtler and even more off-the-wall. He scarcely indicates erosion. A crack now takes the place of so many perfect lines. Such is the female body in fantasies. The work of Melehi is a superb parable of duration and desire. For a long time now, his hand and his gaze have been full of a fine fervour: the living colours worn by migratory birds, by the memories of childhood that dwell persistently and naturally in him.

I remember a small canvas painted while he was still a child; it was hanging in the living room of his parents’ house in Asilah. It shows a seascape, the one he could see from his window. In the background the sea is not placid and calm but promises movements that are intriguing. This painting is the point of departure for Melehi’s work who, even after having gone through the fashion for Italian plastic art of the 60s, has renewed his acquaintance with this childhood memory. Today, for the sake of consistency, we are witnesses to his going back to his origins, to one or two daring manoeuvres that delight us.

Whereas Melehi in a certain way undresses the female body, Talal dresses it up unusually and puts it on stage as if life was a theatrical comedy. He doesn’t just paint merely figurative portraits, but mixes them up and loads them down as if all these women were hiding their faces behind the colourfulness and outrageous hats. Talal lets us see the mask of the face at rest, adding to the portrait the fantasy of mockery and the human gaze. Between the two painters there is a distance with, nevertheless, a way of working that makes them come together. Talal gets hold of a portrait and makes of it a dancing partner. The ballroom we are to imagine is a stage prop. Reality is not the most important thing. These faces are covered, veiled by music. Melehi invites us to visit the world of his dreams. Bodies are shapes sketched circumspectly. He leaves our gaze free to imagine things.

Each has resisted the influences and fashions which have flooded the Morocco art scene. They have stayed true to themselves and have not been swamped by the commercial free-for-all made up of mimicry and a certain conformism. Talal has gradually been able to get away from the dominant and grandiose shadow of his mother, Chaibia. He has discretely maintained his themes while still concerning himself with those that have overwhelmed the gaze directed at Moroccan artists and which had a connection with the Cobra group.

In a way this exhibition poses the problem of looking at modern art in Morocco. Two visions of the world co-exist alongside each other and yet both tend in the same direction: two ‘resistance’ artists, though this adjective has to be taken with a pinch of salt. Inheritors of the Western pictorial tradition, they have taken on board this choice and responded to it with quiet strength. The burgeoning of so many painters in Morocco is an excellent thing. But, as everywhere in this type of emerging art, there are those who forge works of art and those who build a career based on the most heinous aspect of art: money.

The Moroccan art scene is in the process of making a place for itself in the new cultural traditions. Given time good values will triumph over those others that make much ado about nothing. It is in this sense that this exhibition of two painters of the same generation comes just in time to remind the general public that the ease with which works of art become rooted in time is their chief characteristic.
http://www.morocconewsline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=401&Itemid=1
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Morocco's Bright Idea.
Saturday, 19 December 2009

Well before Copenhagen the major players in solar energy technology had already lined up and set their sights on the solar energy development plan announced at Ouarzazate at the beginning of November. Sweet revenge indeed for zero emission energy after its development was abruptly halted by oil which was going ‘too cheaply’ as, Jacques Chazeau, an adviser in concentrated solar energy, has revealed. How things have changed! Two days before the end of the Copenhagen summit it is not so much the price issue which has propelled solar energy to centre stage as the constraints linked to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

In their laboratories the leading plant manufacturers have continued to stake on the future and have carried on with their research programmes. The technological solutions date back to the eighties. There are several different kinds of solar energy production which are being developed at a rapid rate. Photovoltaic energy is a procedure by which solar energy is directly converted into electricity by semi-conductor materials, such as silicon, covered in a thin layer of metal. In the technology known as thermal solar energy the sun’s rays are concentrated through the use of mirrors. The heat which is collected produces steam which is then converted into electricity by a turbo-alternator group.

The choices made in the matter of technology will be determining factors. At the moment the CDER (Centre de Développement des Energies Renouvelables) is carrying out a study in order to establish which technology or technologies would be in Morocco’s best interests. But already one thing is agreed: there is no question of either being dependent on one type of technology or of becoming a testing ground for the big concerns.

If the experts are to be believed, tower technology is the most suitable for Morocco. This was developed from space technology by the company which invented the technology for engine propulsion in American rockets. It would entail the construction in Morocco of a solar installation of five plants using Solar Reserve’s technology over an area of more than 3,000 hectares with solar radiation of 2,500 KWh/m²/per year producing 3TWh/per year of green electricity. A discharge of 1,5 million tonnes of CO2 would be avoided. Discussions over technical arguments are still at a very early stage.

This particular technology is suitable for Morocco because 75% of the input for a plant using this technology can be produced on site. This can be the main source of supply for a whole chain. Elsewhere this is not the case. In terms of sunshine, Morocco can be compared to the west of America where vast deserts facilitate the production of very cheap solar-based energy.

According to Jacques Chazeau, concentrated solar energy is a key factor in sustainable development for Morocco and indeed the Mediterranean. Chazeau, an expert in these highly complex markets, suggests three reasons why this is so. Firstly, the energy produced must be competitive, i.e. accessible to the majority. It should also create jobs as it stimulates the development of local equipment and materials plants. Finally, still on an economic level, the most important factor is that Morocco will benefit not only from a high return but also from an “inexhaustible fuel” supply (the sun). There is still a need to find technologies which will allow this energy to be captured, stored and put into service when ONE (Office national de l’énergie) and industry need it. Only ambitious projects will result in prices which can compete against fossil fuels. And, according the French expert Chazeau, the Moroccan plan is exactly that.

On an environmental level, over and above the added value created by the equipment sector, a sufficient quantity of home-produced clean electricity opens up export possibilities. In these difficult times for the balance of trade this can give a boost to the Kingdom’s export possibilities.

Solar energy has the advantage that it can be ‘stored’ unlike wind or photovoltaic energy where there can also be variations in capacity. This is what the electricity boards hate most of all. They dislike having to manage fluctuations in capacity on their network. On an industrial level, the challenge is to produce a volume of electricity which remains constant, similar, for example, to hydro or nuclear energy. Electricity boards are well known for hating the gymnastics they have to perform when capacity varies on their network. http://www.morocconewsline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=403&Itemid=26
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Ancient Morocco adds modern amenities in bid to boost tourism.
Wednesday, 09 December 2009

Tourists wandering through the ornately tiled rooms of the late-9th-century Bahia Palace, home to a sultan's vizier, his four wives, 24 concubines and countless offspring, can only imagine the domestic juggling act required to get through the day. Not far from here, in a jewel-box-like palace of similar vintage, Driss Segueni ponders a more modern problem. Namely, how to provide for the upkeep of a palace bursting with intricate mosaic tile, sculpted plasterwork and areas like slaves and harem quarters that just don't figure into the typical 21st-century lifestyle.

Segueni's solution: Install a retractable roof over the palace's cavernous central courtyard and transform the space and its sumptuous salons into a high-end restaurant. Without the move, this magnificent structure, built in 1904 by a feudal lord and inherited by Segueni several years ago, "would have become a ruin," he says.

Throughout this 900-year-old city, a blizzard of tourism-related projects is underway, even in the midst of the global recession. A who's who of luxury openings in 2010 include hotels flying the Mandarin Oriental and Beachcomber flags, plus the ultra luxe Royal Mansour, owned by King Mohammed VI. Other hotels in the pipeline include a W Marrakech, a Four Seasons, a Raffles, a Park Hyatt and an InterContinental.

The construction boom comes after an ambitious plan launched by the king almost a decade ago to increase tourism to Morocco from 4.4 million in 2002 to 10 million in 2010 by enhancing tourism infrastructure and ratcheting up promotion. Much of the growth is along the country's Atlantic coast, with major developments, such as the 600-acre Mazagan Beach Resort, which opened Oct. 31 south of Casablanca.

But at present, no place is generating as much buzz as La Mamounia, one of the world's iconic hotels, which reopened Sept. 29 after a $180 million three-year makeover. Winston Churchill declared it to be "the most lovely spot in the whole world." (A regular guest here, he has a namesake suite, plus the Churchill Bar, with its leopard-print carpet, tufted, red-leather walls and an oversized red lacquered grand piano.) Last week's opening bash drew Gwyneth Paltrow and Jennifer Aniston, among other glitterati.

La Mamounia is the sort of ultra-exclusive enclave where advance notice is required just to get past the doormen. A guest services employee earnestly explains that there's a hidden spa-within-a spa for "princesses, stars and models." Starting rates are just shy of $800, and a trip to the poolside lunch buffet will set you back $100 or so.

A world apart, blocks away

On this day in early November, Hillary Clinton has just checked out of one of its three riads (a Moroccan-style home) tucked away on its 20 acres. Actress Sarah Jessica Parker is ensconced in a suite (she's here filming the Sex and the City sequel). And what appears to be an Arab sheik, his robes billowing as he strolls through the 300-year-old gardens, is in residence.

As riveting as the people-watching is in these rarified quarters, it's surpassed by the carnival and cacophony a few blocks away at Djemaa el Fna, Marrakesh's sprawling central square. Part bazaar, part public forum, part sideshow, it bustles by day and erupts by night with snake charmers, acrobats, musicians, fortune-tellers and others. At dusk, food sellers set up shop and locals and tourists dine side by side on skewered meats and spicy harira (chickpea and lentil soup).

The grand expanse of Djemaa el Fna dissipates into the narrow alleys of the medina, where a growing number of riads have been converted into small lodgings. Their unadorned exteriors offer no hint of the intricate interiors of mosaic tile, sculpted embellishments and fountained courtyards that lie within.

The riad-turned-lodging phenomenon is a relatively recent development here. Marrakesh's first boutique hotel, La Maison Arabe, opened in 1998 in what had been one of the medina's earliest restaurants. (Churchill was a regular there in the late '40s and '50s.) Current owner Fabrizio Ruspoli added a 10-room wing and spa last year, creating one of the few full-service small hotels within the old city.

The soul of the city

Beyond the walls of the medina lie the Gueliz and Hivernage sections, areas built by the French, who ruled the country as a protectorate from 1912 to 1956. Farther out, a more sparsely populated section called the Palmeraie sports a number of sprawling golf resorts and new hotels, including the Mandarin Oriental opening in early 2010, and a branch of the decadent Nikki Beach swimming pool club.

Flashy new developments and opulent rehabs aside, the soul of Marrakesh lies in its medina, whose walls stretch 6 miles around. Its narrow streets and alleyways defy orderly navigation. (The 220-foot-tall Koutoubia Mosque provides a welcome beacon for the perennially lost.) Thousands of small buildings are crammed into its 2.3-square-mile confines, which are chaotic and messy and utterly mesmerizing. Donkey carts and motorcycles vie for space in its claustrophobic back streets. On the broader thoroughfares, motorized traffic mixes it up with horse-drawn carriages ferrying sightseers.

In the souks, men gather outside cubbyhole-sized shops crammed with carpets, leather goods and everyday necessities to share sweetened mint tea and conversation. Tourist goods abound. (Bargaining is high art here; don't count on ever getting the best of a Moroccan merchant.) But the medina is primarily the domain of locals and many aspects of daily life play out in the way they have for centuries.

In a rustic bakery, the proprietor receives mounds of pillowy dough from his customers to bake in a cavernous wood-fired oven. In a cave-like room next to a neighborhood hamam (public bath), a worker methodically shovels wood scraps into a fire to create steam for the baths. Nearby, craftsmen dip cloth in stone vats of colorful dye.

The scene is truly exotic. But locals like Youssef El Alaoui, a tour guide whose family has lived in the medina for seven generations, have a different perspective.

"Modern life is here," he declares. Pausing at a real-estate office advertising a 2,500-square-foot riad priced at more than $500,000, he estimates the amount is five times what it would have fetched a decade ago. Nearby, workers are laboring in a cloud of plaster dust as they convert an old riad into a small luxury hotel.

"They're doing magic here. It will be magnificent," El Alaoui says. "Marrakesh is losing its heart in one way: It's busier. There are too many cars. Still, these beautiful houses are being given another chance, and that helps save the city."
http://www.morocconewsline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=399&Itemid=94
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