On Friday April 18th ,2008, Mr. Salaheddine MEZOUAR, Minister of Economy and Finance, received at the headquarters of the ministry Christine LAGARDE, French Minister of Economy, Industry and Employment. Two agreements were ratified during this meeting. Mrs. Christine LAGARDE?s visit was convened as part of the high level Franco-Moroccan meeting held in Rabat on April 18th ,2008.
In his speech, the minister described relations between Morocco and France as excellent. He pointed to the pragmatic nature of these relations and the kind of agreements that would strengthen ties between the two countries and push cooperation programs to a higher level.
Mr. Salaheddine MEZOUAR was pleased with the French government decision to assist Morocco with its ambitious project of equipping the Department of Treasury and External Finance with a trading floor for the management of debt and Public treasury. The minister was also delighted that the French government had agreed to finance the Action programme of the General Department of Local Councils (DGGL) that aims at consolidating the managerial skills at the regional level.
Mr. MEZOUAR also talked about other facets of the cooperation between the two departments and mentioned the recent visit of an inter-departmental delegation conducted under the aegis of the ADETEF for the period running from 9th through 11th of April,2008.
For her part, the French minister, Mrs. Christine LAGARDE expressed her thanks and partnership agreement relating to the active management of internal debits and the public treasury. She spoke favourably of trade relations between Morocco and France and called for developing and strengthening them further. She pointed to the reforms launched by the Kingdom of Morocco in various domains and highlighted their similarity to those implemented by France. Mrs. Christine LAGARDE urged that actions plans relating to these reforms be carried out in spite of the fact that the overall international economic situation is not favourable.
During this meeting, the two ministers presided over the signing of two agreements:
- Partnership agreement relating to the active management of internal debts and public treasury. This agreement was signed by zouhair CHORFI, Director of Treasury and External Finance and Mr. Philippe MILLS, Managing Director of Agence France Tresor.
Support from Agence France Tresor will help the setting up at the Department of Treasury and External Finance of the trading room for the active management of internal debts and public treasury. The partnership agreement comprises the following actions:
1- Defining the actions and measures to take in order to improve the treasury forecasts.
2- Setting up a trading room.
3- Choosing an adequate information system for the trading room.
4- Financing Agreement involving a Euro 1.5 million subsidy provided by the AFD. This agreement was signed by Noureddine BOUTAYEB, Wali and Director of the department in charge of Local Councils at the Ministry of Interior; Mr. Abdellatif BENNANI, Budget Director at the Ministry of Economy and Finance and Mr. Jean-Michel DEBRAT, Assistant Managing Director of Agence Francaise de Développement.
The subsidy in question should contribute to financing action programs conducted by the General Department of Local Councils. Through this subsidy, the AFD proposes to offer direct support to certain components of this program such as the following: local finance, management of real estate assets, project management, contractualisation, planning and piloting.