Virtual Magazine of Morocco on the Web
Morocco Week in Review 
May 19, 2007

Moroccan-US trade up 30% since adoption of FTA.
16/05/2007

Moroccan-US trade has risen by 30% to $1.2 billion since the enforcement of the free trade agreement (FTA) signed between the two countries in 2006, local press quotes Morocco’s Minister of Trade and Economy Salaheddine Mezouar as saying on Tuesday (May 15th). Speaking at a conference on FTA assessment, Mezouar pointed out that Moroccan clothing exports to the USA had increased by 122% in 2006 while perfume sales had grown by 41%, also noting that US investment in Morocco exceeded $1.5 billion, mainly in tourism and clothing. In 2006, Moroccan-US trade was up 44% over 2005. Moroccan exports to the US netted $521.2 million while American exports to Morocco reached $875.5 million, up 67% from 2005. The FTA came into force on January 1st, 2006. According to the FTA agreement, Morocco can export to the US a duty-free quota of 15 million square meters of finished goods and 500 tonnes of thread and materials made from fibres and cotton from less developed Sub-Saharan African countries. Morocco is looking to expand its textile markets outside the EU due to strong competition after the EU abolished quotas for Asian textiles in January 2005. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2007/05/16/newsbrief-01
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Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture writes off agricultural debt.
By Imane Belhaj – 14/05/2007

Nearly 100,000 Moroccan farmers have benefited from the latest government write-off of debts owed to the Agricultural Loan Corporation, totalling nearly 3 billion dirhams. In a move to aid farmers beset by drought and other difficulties, the Moroccan Ministry of Agriculture has again absolved the debts of a number of the country’s farmers. Agriculture Minister Mohand Laenser said in a statement on Wednesday (May 9th) that the recent debt cancelation targeted 99,582 small farmers facing difficulties in repaying their loans due to drought and natural disasters. They were selected according to criteria laid out by the Agricultural Loan Corporation's supervisory council, requiring that the total debt not exceed 500,000 dirhams, that the loans were not granted after 2001, and that the farmers did not possess adequate collateral.

According to Mohammed Tougar, Director of the Chamber of Agriculture in the province of Khenifra (the poorest region in Morocco, according to the latest study by the High Commission for Planning), "all the farmers in the province should benefit from it because they are poor and fulfil the conditions and criteria determined by the Ministry. They work in a region without water or a surfaced road. They are under every material and natural pressure, [and] they need assistance from the state. Also, the region as a whole this year has suffered from inadequate rainfall."

Yousef J., a small farmer in the Al-Shawiya province who owes an agricultural loan of 20,000 dirhams, said that the measures will at least help to lift morale among farmers who have suffered an unsatisfactory season, with harvests considerably smaller than last year’s. But not everyone agrees. Abdullah Kh., who was not included in this year’s write-off or the debt rescheduling programme undertaken last year, told Magharebia, "I took out a loan from the Corporation 10 years ago, and I don’t have the income to repay the loan, which is 50,000 dirhams, not including interest. Nevertheless, I wasn’t on the list of those benefiting from the comprehensive write-off, whilst there are people better off than me financially who were [found] eligible. We fear that the same favouritism will continue in this new exercise."

The state and the Agricultural Loan Corporation have offered various types of relief in recent years, from interest cancellation to debt rescheduling or even forgiveness. Over the last eight years these relief programs have benefited approximately 350,000 farmers at a cost of more than 7 billion dirhams, 240,500 of these farmers have been completely absolved of their debts.

The issue has angered certain parliamentarians who, last week, verbally questioned Laenser on the degree to which compliance with the Ministry's criteria was used in selecting beneficiaries. The minister confirmed in front of Parliament that decisions were taken based on a list prepared by the Agricultural Loan Corporation, and if any error was proven to have been made, the administration would correct it immediately, explaining that the exercise was not intended to encourage farmers not to perform.

An expert in the agricultural sector, Abdessallam Saddiki, commented that Moroccan agriculture is in need of a clearly defined policy, and that it should not remain hostage to fluctuations in the weather. "Whenever the weather is good we have an abundant harvest and the growth rate increases, but whenever the weather is dry, the result is devastating," said Saddiki. "Moroccan farmers, particularly the small ones, therefore require more attention and initiatives which actually help them to improve the sector and achieve the desired result, not like these seasonal and circumstance-driven measures," he continued. http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/features/2007/05/14/feature-01
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Morocco to increase renewable energies output.
13/05/2007

Morocco plans to increase its output of renewable energies to 10% by 2012, announced Hamid Chabar, the country’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, prior to the 15th session of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development, which kicked off on Friday (May 11th) in New York. Morocco has set up a centre for renewable energies development and is considering an energy-specific action plan, which includes the construction of three large windmill parks and the distribution of solar energy to households and community institutions, as well as certain industrial units, MAP quoted Chabar as saying. "Thanks to the policy of diversification of energy sources, the share of oil products in our energy output fell from 74% in 1995 to 61% today, through developing the use of coal, introducing natural gas in the production of electricity and promoting renewable energies," he added. (Map, L’Economiste)
http://www.magharebia.com/cocoon/awi/xhtml1/en_GB/features/awi/newsbriefs/general/2007/05/13/newsbrief-05
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‘Run for Life’ breaking the mold for women in Morocco.
Saturday 19 May 2007 Casablanca, Morocco - An enthusiastic crowd of excited young Moroccans yesterday (18) welcomed Morocco’s IAAF Council Member Nawal El Moutawakel, Britain’s Decathlon legend Daley Thompson, and boxing great Marvelous Marvin Hagler (USA) on their visit to a ‘Courir Pour La Vie’ project near Casablanca.

Courir Pour La Vie (Run For Life) is an innovative programme, which focuses on promoting and developing sports activity among teenage girls, enabling them to increase their confidence and independence and fight against gender inequality. El Moutawakel, who became the first Moroccan, African and Muslim woman to win an Olympic gold medal, when she won the 400 metres Hurdles gold medal in Los Angeles in 1984, has championed women’s rights in Morocco and has been a leading supporter of the project.

With Thompson, the 1980 and 1984 Olympic gold medallist and inaugural World champion in the Decathlon, and Hagler, arguably the greatest middleweight champion of all time, El Moutawakel - all three are Laureus World Sports Academy members - met participants and teachers from the project and also wished luck to several girls from the project who will be running in the world-famous Courir Pour Le Plaisir (Run For Fun) Women’s Race in Casablanca - founded by Nawal El Moutawakel – which is one of the biggest female sporting events in the world. The race on Sunday, 20 May is expected to attract 25,000 runners.

“While there has been great progress in Morocco to improve women’s rights, there is still a lot of work to do and projects like Courir Pour La Vie are critically important in addressing the problem where it can do the most good - with young girls at school,” commented El Moutawakel.

“If we can break the mold that inhibits so many young people, we can make a profound change both in my country and around the world. I am especially pleased that my Laureus Academy colleagues Marvelous Marvin Hagler and Daley Thompson have been able to come here today to see the work that is being done and to offer their support.”

The Moroccan Sport and Development Association, the Laureus Sport for Good Foundation and the Regional Ministry of National Education jointly launched the Courir Pour La Vie project which focuses on actively encouraging rural Moroccan girls to take part in sport. The objective is to increase the confidence and independence of the girls through sporting activities and workshops so that they have the resources to continue their education rather than following the traditional pattern of leaving school early and undergoing arranged marriages.

A pilot version of the project began in January 2007, targeting six schools and involving 180 girls. The girls, aged 12-15, took part in a programme that consisted of five and a half hours per week of sporting and citizenship activities, covering subjects such as women’s health, women’s hygiene and nutrition. The culmination of the scheme comes when girls from the project compete in the Courir Pour Le Plaisir on May 20.

Following successful completion of the pilot scheme, the full project is shortly to be launched by the Moroccan Sport and Development Association, who will train teachers to administer sport and life-skills activities in schools. The project will run for ten months each year during which fitness and physical agility are promoted during the sporting activities. Equally important are the life-skills of teamwork, independence and self-determination that the project gives to those girls who participate. In total it is estimated that the project could impact on the lives of as many as 20,000 girls over three years.
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Spain grants Morocco USD 135Mn loan to build windmill park North .
Madrid, May 18

The Spanish government on Friday granted Morocco a USD 135Mn-loan to build a windmill park in Tangiers (north). The loan, to be financed by the Spanish Fund of Aid to Development, provides for building a 140MW- windmill park south of Tangiers. This utility will consist of 165 wind-power generators with an annual production capacity of 526.5 giga-watts per hour. The goal is to meet the increasing demand on energy in Morocco, which is on the rise every year by 8%, and also to boost production to a 1,000 MW by 2012. The project is part of a Memorandum of Understanding signed between Morocco and Spain on May 6. The MoU also provides for establishing a USD 135Mn thermo-solar plant in eastern Morocco. The Spanish companies “GAMESA EOLIA” and “ABENGOA” will respectively carry out the two projects.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_economy/spain_grants_morocco/view
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Agricultural added value plummets 10% in 2006-2007 agricultural campaign.
Rabat, May 17

Agricultural added value plummeted 10% in the 2006-2007 agricultural campaign due to drought, said, here Wednesday, Agriculture minister, Mohand Laenser. Presenting the preliminary balance sheet of the 2006-2007 agricultural campaign, Mr. Laenser said the latest rainfalls have had a positive impact on fruit tress and vegetation cover, which helped attenuate the drought effects on animal production and improve the average filling rate of dams for agricultural use that has reached 56%. Quoted by Government Spokesman, Nabil Benabdellah, at a press briefing following the weekly Cabinet meeting, Mr. Laensar noted that cereals production could reach 20.5 million quintals in the current agricultural campaign, i.e. a 77% decrease compared to the pervious campaign. The minister said sugar agriculture would increase by 4%, while early fruit and vegetables and citrus fruits would increase by 5% and 14% respectively. Some 45% of Moroccans live in the countryside and mainly work in the farming sector, which represent 12 to 20% of the gross domestic product and is the main provider of jobs in the country. http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/agricultural_added_v/view
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Privatization yielded over USD 10Bn since 1993, official.
Rabat, May 18

Fourty seven State-owned companies, and 26 hotels were sold totally or partially by the government to the private sector yielding some MAD 83Bn, over USD 10Bn, since the privatization operation was first launched in 1993. The figures were revealed by Director of Privatization at the Finance Ministry, Abdelaziz Talbi at a conference on "Sectorial Liberalization and Privatization Policy in Morocco". The official pointed out that the companies that were sold to the private sector represent half of the companies registered at the Casablanca stock exchange whose capital increased 100 fold reaching thus MAD 498Bn, about USD 60Bn. He insisted that the privatization policy improved Morocco's attractiveness to foreign investors placing it at the first rank among Arab states and the third rank in Africa.

Mr. Talbi stressed the need to overhaul the public sector that operates in merchant activities in order to succeed the changes dictated by globalization. The official added that several companies will be privatized in 2007, citing especially 4% of the State’s share in the telecommunication company, Maroc Telecom, 100% of the seed company, Somacos, coal and wood company, Sococharbo, and textiles factory, Cotef.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/privatization_yielde/view
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AfBD lent Morocco USD 6Bn since 1970.
Shanghai, May 17

The African Bank for Development (AfBD) has granted Morocco loans totalling USD 6Bn between 1970 and 2007 to help it finance 94 development projects- 10 of which are under way, revealed Minister of Finances and Privatisation, Fathallah Oualalou. "The AfBD was the main donor to Morocco in 2006," Mr. Oualalou told MAP during the 42nd annual meeting of the bank's Board of Governors, held under the topic: "Africa and Asia: Partnerships for development," which wrapped up on Thursday in Shanghai, China. Reforms and upgrading projects funded by the bank touched chiefly on the administration (23%), transport (17%), finances (11%), drinking water, agriculture and energy, the minister said.

Mr. Oualalou pointed out that the ongoing AfBD-funded projects concern administration reforms (USD 114Mn), drinking water (USD 109,3Mn), and the Marrakech-Agadir highway (USD 159Mn). He said a loan to be granted in 2007 will be allocated to roads, opening up the rural world and other regional development projects. Development and African-Asian relations issues were at the top of the AfBD’s annual meeting agenda, the Moroccan official stated. “China has a clear strategy towards Africa, notably natural resources research and enhancing trade and investment ties,” he underlined. According to Mr. Oualalou, “African countries need the Chinese expertise and Morocco can play a key role in this regard due to its strategic location.”
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Morocco eyes increasing to 10% contribution of renewable energies to energy output, official.
New York (United Nations), May 11

Developing renewable energies is a priority in Morocco's energy strategy, said the Kingdom's Deputy Permanent Representative in the United Nations, Hamid Chabar. The Northwest African country is eying to hoist the contribution of renewable energies in the national energy output to 10% by 2012, that is 20% of the demand for electricity, said the diplomat before the15th session of the UN Commission for Sustainable Development. To do so, Morocco has set up a center for the development of renewable energies, and is considering an energy-specific action plan, with the launch of three large windmill parks and the dissemination of solar energy among households and community institutions, as well as in certain industrial units.

"Thanks to the policy of the diversification of energy sources, he said, the share of oil products in our energy output fell from 74% in 1995 to 61% today, especially through developing the use of coal, introducing natural gas in the production of electricity and promoting renewable energies.”

The diplomat stressed that with the aim of taking up the challenge of energy security, and to ward off an “almost total dependence” on external sources, Morocco has elaborated a five-fold energy policy based namely on liberalization, the diversification of energy sources, the generalization of access of the population to energy, including rural populations, the promotion of renewable energies and the efficiency of energy, Chabar enunciated.

“This policy also encourages partnerships, especially with the private sector,” he added, pointing out that the latter ensures 60% of the production of electricity, and actively participates in the country’s energy programs. The Moroccan diplomat told the commission Morocco is for the proposal to adopt, on a voluntary basis, scheduled objectives and goals, in order to increase the share of renewable energies in the energy output.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/economy/morocco_eyes_increas/view
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Saudi king donates USD 50Mn to support INDH.
Fès, May 18

Visiting King Abdallah Ibn Abdelaziz of Saudi Arabia has donated USD 50Mn to support the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH).
Launched on May 18, 2005 by king Mohammed VI, the INDH is a large-scale initiative aiming to fight poverty and social exclusion in Morocco. The Saudi head of State arrived to Morocco on Thursday on a two-day official visit to Morocco at the invitation of king Mohammed VI.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_social/saudi_king_donates_u/view
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Muslim, Christian scholars call for making religion part of HIV fight strategy, workshop.
Rabat, May 14

Muslim and Christian scholars called for placing religion at the heart of an overall strategy to fight HIV and related risky behaviours during a four-day interfaith workshop, held here Saturday. Several Muslim and Christian religious scholars from 20 countries pondered on means to alter dangerous behaviours likely to cause HIV, through a religion-integrated action plan, during a workshop held by the Rabita Mohammedia of Ulema of Morocco (religious scholars) and the United Nation Development Program (UNDP).

"The religious and spiritual aspects are of paramount importance -along side education in changing risky behaviours, notably alcohol addiction and non-protected sexual contacts," said Secretary General of the Rabita Mohammedia of Morocco's Ulema, Ahmed Abbadi. He called upon religious leaders to play a more important role in the fight against the spread of HIV. Participants called for making "more efficient" the religious discourse to target at-risk categories. They also highlighted the importance of religious guiding in the fight against HIV, and also supervision and coordination with the legislative authority, in order to protect those touched by this disease.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/social/muslim_christian_sc/view
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Ancient Roman site in Morocco classified archaeological heritage.
Tangier (north), May 17

The one thousand year-old Roman site "Cotta", located 20 km from the northern city of Tangier, has been classified by the Moroccan Culture Ministry as an archaeological heritage due to its historical importance and its architectural components. Located about four kilometers from Cap Spartel, a meeting point between the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea, just hundreds of meters from the "Hercules Caves", the site is reportedly an ancient industrial complex for fish salting, according to the officials who initiated the classification project. The drilling works carried out by a French archaeologist fifty years ago showed that the site was a Roman industrial counter.

The remains of the salting and halieutic sea products treatment unit include several installations whose size shows the huge production destined to exporting to other regions of the Mediterranean. These are a space of fish preparation including 16 salting basins, a huge underground tank, a boiler house equipped with three levels of heating for fish evaporation and warehouses for storing the products. The site also includes remains of several adjoining fittings, particularly a peristyle house, a thermal unit and a temple located in a space which dominates the whole site.

The excavations carried out by the French archaeologist enabled the updating of some fifteen graves. According to the results of his studies, the site’s life may have spanned over the period between the first century before J.C. and the third century of the Christian era.
http://www.map.ma/eng/sections/imp_culture/ancient_roman_site_i/view
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