Highlights

Signing in Rabat of two financing agreements between Morocco and (AFESD) in an amount of 2.2 MMDH.

03/03/2010
Signing in Rabat of two financing agreements between Morocco and (AFESD) in an amount of 2.2 MMDH.

On Wednesday, March 3rd, 2010, the Arab Fund for Economic and Social Development (AFESD) held, in Rabat, its board of directors` meeting. On this occasion, Mr. Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Economy and Finance, welcomed the decision of (AFESD) Board to hold its meeting in Morocco and stressed the pioneering role played by the fund in supporting the socio-economic development in the Arab world.    

Mr. Mezouar also reviewed the development process initiated by Morocco to achieve strong and sustainable economic growth, consolidate macroeconomic stability and accelerate structural reforms and sectoral policies.

Moreover, the Minister discussed the various structural programs launched by Morocco to strengthen productive infrastructures and sectoral policies. These projects offer a clear vision for economic operators and induce (AFESD) to intensify its financial support to such development projects.

On the other hand, Mr. Abdellatif Youssef, President and CEO of (AFESD), welcomed Morocco-(AFESD) partnership and expressed the availability of the fund to support Morocco`s development process.

During this ceremony, headed by Mr. Salaheddine Mezouar, Minister of Economy and Finance, Mr. Karim Ghellab, Minister of Equipment and Transport and Ms. Amina Benkhadra, Minister of Energy, Mines, Water and the environment, two agreements amounting to 270 million dollars (2.2 billion dirhams) were ratified between Morocco and (AFESD) to finance the highway construction and the drinking water supply projects.

The first agreement, signed by Mr. Othmane Fassi Fihri, President of the National Company of Motorways in Morocco (ADM), and Mr. Abdellatif Youssef El Hamed is meant to contribute to finance the construction of Berrechid Beni-Mellal Highway with an amount of 200 million dollars.

Ratified by Mr. Ali Fassi Fihri, Director General of (ONE), and CEO of (AFESD), the second agreement amounts to 70 million dollars to contribute to the financing of the drinking water supply project in Tangier and Tan Tan cities.

These projects which are in line with the high directives of HM King Mohammed VI are part of an ambitious agenda that the government shall implement namely strengthening motorways network in Morocco and promoting drinking water sector through improving, from dams , the production facilities of water.

It is worth noting that (AFESD), founded in 1971, is a financial institution which aims to participate in economic and social development in the Arab countries through soft loans, technical assistance and institutional support.

The global contributions of (AFESD) in projects initiated by Morocco amounted to 3.2 billion dollars during the period 1975-2009. These donations have focused mainly on financing sectors like agriculture, irrigation, dams, access to drinking water, social housing and the motorway network.