Mr. Mohammed BOUSSAID , Minister of Economy and Finance , headed Thursday, December 5
th 2013 at the Ministry of Economy and Finance , the signing ceremony of the financing agreements of " Modernization of public action - Hakama " Program and support Programs to " Job creation- SMEs in Morocco "," Literacy " and" Support to agriculture Council " in the presence of Mr. Rupert JOY , Ambassador and Head of the Delegation of the European Union in Rabat and the Minister of Industry , Trade , Investment and the Digital Economy , the Minister of Agriculture and Marine Fisheries , the Minister of General Affairs and Governance , the Minister of Employment and Social Affairs , and the Minister of National Education and vocational Training.
On this occasion , the Minister of Economy and Finance stressed the importance of these programs which have been allocated a total of € 166 million, 1827 MDH , and indicated the quality and density of cooperation links between Morocco and the EU. Mr. BOUSSAID noted that the Hakama Program is part of the National Indicative Program 2011-2013, the other three programs are part of the program "Support for partnership , reforms and inclusive growth " (SPRING),a new tool introduced by the European Union for the southern region within the European Neighborhood Policy , for a total budget of 1.002 million dirhams (€ 91.13 million ) .
The Minister of Economy and Finance stated that the support for the modernization of public action " Hakama " Program, amounting to € 75 million, aims to move more towards the establishment of the principles of accountability, transparency and improving the quality of public services, mainly via the review of the organic budget law, because of its reform potential and its impact on public administrations' management and action.
Regarding "SPRING", the Minister of Economy and Finance noted that the program aims to address the urgent challenges the southern Mediterranean partner countries face on the socio –economic level and to support them in this transition phase . In this context, Mr. BOUSSAID stated that the " Job creation- SMEs in Morocco " program , with a budget of € 40 Million , aims to contribute to job creation and the balance between labour demand and supply through strengthening job creation of the very small businesses ( micro-businesses ) and increasing the quality of labor supply.
The Minister of Economy and Finance recalled that for the " Literacy " program, amounting to € 35 million, the overall goal of this new support is to contribute to a better integration of citizens in their social, economic, political and cultural environment through sustainable literacy, and to achieve the illiteracy rate to about 20% by 2016 and 15 % in 2020 .
Finally, the Minister of Economy and Finance reported that the support of the European Union to Agriculture Council , amounting to € 16 million will contribute to promote a local agriculture council mechanism that meets the needs of small farmers as regards the professionalization of production processes and marketing .
Mr. BOUSSAID thanked Mr. Rupert JOY, Ambassador and Head of the European Union Delegation in Rabat for the continued support of the European Union to Moroccan economic and social development priorities and expressed the will to see the European Union facilitate the adoption of the next multiannual Financial Framework 2014-2017 while advocating for an increase in the financial allocation intended for our country.