Mr. Fouzi LEKJAA, Minister Delegate in charge of the Budget, His Excellency Mr. Kuramitsu Hideaki, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to the Kingdom of Morocco and Mr. Kawabata Tuyumuki, Resident Representative of the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Morocco, signed, September 20, 2024, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Economy and Finance, an Exchange of Notes and a Loan Agreement for an amount of 27.76 billion Japanese yen (approximately 1.85 billion DH). The aim of this event is to finance the Development Policy program for the achievement of Universal Health Coverage (UHC).
The program signed seeks to accelerate progress towards Universal Health Coverage in Morocco by improving the delivery and quality of maternal and child health and nutrition services, particularly in rural areas, as well as enhancing financial health protection, thus helping to promote economic stability and development efforts in Morocco.
The Development Policy program for achieving Universal Health Coverage is perfectly in line with the reference frameworks and strategies of the health sector, namely Health Plan 2025, Framework Law No. 09. 21 on social protection, and the main thrusts of the New Development Model, namely thrust no. 2 "Quality health services and health protection as fundamental rights of citizens" and thrust no. 3 "Ensuring a social protection base that strengthens resilience and inclusion, and materializes solidarity between citizens" and its targets for 2035.
JICA, which has been based in Morocco for over 50 years, contributes to various cooperation programs, including yen-denominated loan projects, non-repayable financial cooperation and technical cooperation, including the dispatch of Japanese volunteers. More than 39 concessional loans have been granted since 1976 in various sectors (education, water, health, infrastructure, agriculture and sea fishing), totaling a budget of around 334 billion Japanese yen (almost 25.6 billion dirhams), with the aim of supporting sustainable development, promoting economic competitiveness and helping to reduce socio-spatial disparities.
At the ceremony, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of the Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, the Japanese Ambassador and the JICA Resident Representative in Morocco welcomed the quality of the partnership relations between the two countries, and reaffirmed their willingness to work together to consolidate and further strengthen them.