Mr. Mohammed BOUSSAID, Minister of Economy and Finance, and Mrs. Hildegard GACEK, Director General of the Mediterranean South East Region (SEMED) of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) signed Wednesday, September 24th in Rabat 2014 "headquarters Agreement" between Morocco and the EBRD.
During this event," Mr. BOUSSAID expressed his satisfaction with the outcome of the finalization process of this Agreement, which follows Morocco’s accession, in November 2013, to the status of EBRD's countries of operations, marking a turning point in the relations of our country with this institution.
The Minister of Economy and Finance also reported that the headquarters agreement demonstrates both parties commitment to further strengthen cooperation in various fields and provides leverage to strengthen the involvement of the EBRD in financing different priority fields in Morocco. He also reiterated our country’s wish to implement as soon as possible, the "Country Strategy" between Morocco and the EBRD, considered to be in line with the priorities of Morocco.<
In this context, Mr. BOUSSAID stressed that the areas set out in the Country Strategy, namely the strengthening of regionalization, infrastructure development, support for investment and business and the promotion of energy efficiency and renew?able energy are key priorities of our Government’s policy.
In addition, the Minister called the EBRD, which has a recognized expertise as regards transition and the promotion of the private sector, to boost the sector in Morocco together with the banking sector, particularly through new and innovative financial instruments as well as appropriate technical assistance.
For his part, Director General of the Mediterranean South East Region of the EBRD, therefore, welcomed the signing of this Agreement with Morocco and stressed the commitment of the bank to accompany Morocco in its national strategy to develop the country and improve the living standards of citizens.
Mrs. Hildegard GACEK stated that this agreement is a significant step in the partnership between Morocco and the EBRD, noting in this regard that this "Headquarters Agreement" will enable the Bank to implement the strategy for Morocco which is the subject of a joint development effort and which should be approved by the EBRD Board of Directors by the end of the year.
The bank’s official suggested that the EBRD- Morocco partnership took a completely different scope when the Kingdom expressed its wish to become a country of operation in 2011, granted in September 2012.The first investment projects were signed in Morocco in November 2013, when the Kingdom of Morocco was granted the status of Country of Operation?