King of Morocco to Confront Drought and Support Investment
In a proactive step to contain the drought and the weak rainfall in Morocco this year, Moroccan King Mohammed VI held an important meeting in Bouznika, near the kingdom’s capital Rabat.
According to a statement issued by the Moroccan Royal cabinet and published by the Maghreb Arab News Agency, the Moroccan monarch stressed the need for the government to take all necessary urgent measures, to confront the effects of the lack of rainfall on the agricultural sector.
“Pursuant to the proactive Royal High Directions in this regard, the exceptional program elaborated by the government aims at mitigating the effects of the delayed rainfall, alleviating the impact on the agricultural activity and providing assistance to the affected farmers and herders.
His Majesty the King has given His high instructions for the Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development to contribute an amount of 3 billion dirhams to this program, which will require an amount estimated at 10 billion dirhams.
This program focuses on three main aspects:
- The first deals with the protection of animal and plant capital and the management of water scarcity.
- The second aspect concerns agricultural insurance.
- The third relates to the reduction of financial burdens on farmers and professionals, the financing of operations to supply the national market in wheat and fodder, in addition to the funding of innovative investments in the field of irrigation”. Said the statement.
Morocco is one of the closest friends of the United States in Africa and the Arab world, and we have a free trade agreement with Morocco. Our relationship with this friendly country is the longest and oldest, as Morocco was the first country to recognize the independence of the United States of America.
Friends of Morocco in Washington, DC, stress the need for the Biden administration to support the Kingdom of Morocco in facing these natural challenges, which would affect the development path led by the King Mohammed VI, with the support and backing of the popular will and a liberal government that chose competitiveness and the free market as an approach.
Despite the harsh effects of nature on the Moroccan economy this year, Morocco is considered one of the strongest economies in the African continent and the most important investment gateway towards it. A position reinforced by Morocco’s image as a country of tolerance, freedom and coexistence of all races and beliefs.
In line with this free economic approach, the Moroccan monarch held a meeting devoted to studying of a new competitive investment charter. Said the Moroccan royal Cabinet in a separate statement:
“During this meeting, a presentation of the main lines of the project of the new investment charter was presented to the Sovereign.
The project, which is in line with the spirit and ambition of the New Development Model, aims to reverse the current trend where private investment represents only about one third of total investment, with public investment representing two thirds. It thus intends to increase the share of private investment to two-thirds of total investment by 2035.
The major objectives assigned to the new investment charter are the creation of employment, the promotion of an equitable development of the territories and the prioritization of the carrier sectors for the national economy. To this end, the draft of the new charter includes a main support system consisting of:
- common premiums, in support of investments in line with the High Royal Orientations, the objectives of the New Development Model and the priorities set by the government.
- an additional territorial bonus to encourage investment in the least favored provinces.
- an additional sectoral bonus, granting incentives to boost growth sectors.
The project also provides for exclusive support measures for projects of a strategic nature such as the defense or pharmaceutical industries, within the framework of the National Investment Commission, as well as a specific support mechanism for very small, small and medium-sized enterprises, in addition to a mechanism for the development of Moroccan investments abroad.
His Majesty the King, may God assist him, encouraged the government for the work done, and gave His High Instructions for the preparation of the implementation details of the new investment charter.
The Sovereign also emphasized the role that the national private sector should play in this project, inviting the government to actively involve private operators, including the CGEM and the GPBM, in the implementation process of the charter.
His Majesty the King also recalled that the renovation of the legal and incentive schemes remains dependent on their proper implementation and regular monitoring of their implementation on the ground, in order to give a new impetus to private investment and to enshrine the Kingdom as a privileged land of investment at the regional and international level.”
