Category: Industry

Casablanca – The producer price index of the “Manufacturing industries excluding oil refining” sector posted a rise of 0.7% in March 2022 compared to the previous month, according to the High Commission for Planning (HCP).

This increase is due to the rise of 0.9% in prices of “Food industries”, 1.3% of “Manufacture of other non-metallic mineral products”, 8.8% of “Woodworking and manufacture of wood and cork products”, 2.6% of “Manufacture of beverages”, 2.4% of “Manufacture of textiles”, 1.2% of “Manufacture of metal products, excluding machinery and equipment” and 4.8% in “Manufacture of Furniture”, said the HCP in its recent note on the index of producer prices in industry, energy and mining (IPPIEM).

It is also explained by the decline of 0.3% of prices recorded in the “Metallurgy” and 0.1% in the “Industry of leather and footwear”, added the same source.

On the other hand, the producer price index of the sector of “Mining and quarrying” has experienced an increase of 0.1% during the month of March 2022, said the HCP.

In addition, the producer price indices of the sectors of “Production and distribution of electricity” and “Production and distribution of water” have stagnated in March 2022.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

Rabat – Morocco and the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) have signed the legal documentation on the partial funding of the second phase of the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline (NMGP) project’s Front End Engineering Study (FEED).

“Through an exchange of correspondence with OFID Director-General Abdulhamid Al Khalifa and with Amina Benkhadra, Director-General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), the Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah signed the legal documentation relating to the $14.3 million financing granted by the OPEC Fund to ONHYM as part of its contribution to the financing of the second phase of the Front End Engineering Study of the gas pipeline linking the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the Kingdom of Morocco,” the ministry said in a statement on Friday.

Co-funded by the Islamic Development Bank (IDB), the study consists in preparing the documentation for the implementation of the NMGP project and in finalizing the related technical, financial and legal analyses, according to the same source.

The NMGP Strategic Project was initiated by His Majesty King Mohammed VI and President (Muhammadu) Buhari. A cooperation agreement was signed in that regard in May 2017. The project is intended to be a catalyst for the economic development of the North-West African region. It carries a strong desire to integrate and improve the competitiveness and economic and social development of the region, through the development of the NMGP project.

It also aims to boost the regional economy through the promotion of economic development in North West Africa, the development of job-generating industries, the reduction of gas “flaring” and the use of reliable and sustainable energy.

Through its support for this project, a model of South-South cooperation, OPEC Fund strengthens, by the same token, its financial cooperation relations with Morocco and contributes to the economic and social dynamics of the Kingdom, the statement concluded.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

Speaking at the high-level meeting on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, held at the initiative of the United Nations General Assembly, El Mansouri stressed that the Kingdom has undertaken major infrastructure projects, under a far-sighted Royal vision, and achieved remarkable social, economic, green and institutional progress, by choosing to place the Human at the heart of all its public policies.

In that regard, she mentioned flagship projects such as the Tangier MED Port, the High Speed Railway linking Tangier to Casablanca, and the Noor Ouarzazate solar power plant.

In accordance with the commitments made to the international community, Morocco has prepared and published its first national report on the implementation of the New Urban Agenda, the official recalled.

The minister also pointed out that under the 2011 Constitution, Morocco has embarked on a project of advanced regionalization which aims to achieve harmonious economic development in all regions. Regional plans for land use have been developed to define the general framework of public policies converged, and adapted to each region, she added.

According to the official, Morocco has revised its development model to align it with developments in the country and the world, in compliance with the high instructions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

This model, which outlines a road to achieve sustainable development by 2035, aims to ensure inclusion, sustainability, and regional leadership, she explained.

The guidelines of the new development model provide appropriate responses to the expectations of citizens and territories impacted by the effects of climate change and Covid-19, a crisis that Morocco has been able to manage with courage, boldness and anticipation through preventive emergency measures, El Mansouri said.

The Kingdom has set as a goal the promotion of urban and sustainable development through the implementation of a new model of spatial planning fostering a prospective understanding of the territories by 2050, she added.

On the issue of housing, El Mansouri said that Morocco has implemented over the past two decades State-supported programs (Cities without slums, conventional program of social housing …), to facilitate access to decent housing with a view to improving the living environment of citizens.

She also pointed out that the Kingdom has undertaken a broad program of preservation of its heritage through the rehabilitation and safeguarding of medinas, Ksour and Kasbahs. Morocco has also established a comprehensive program of digital transformation of cities and functional urban areas, the minister added.

“As a member of the Executive Board of UN-Habitat, the Kingdom will further strengthen its cooperation with all member states and stakeholders of the New Urban Agenda, especially in our African region,” El Mansouri underlined.

The High-level Meeting on the Implementation of the New Urban Agenda seeks to assess the progress in the implementation of the New Urban Agenda and facilitate an ongoing exchange of experiences among the Member States, Local and Regional Governments, and other constituencies of the New Urban Agenda such as professional associations, grassroots organizations, and business leaders.

The New Urban Agenda was adopted at the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development (Habitat III) in Quito, Ecuador, on 20 October 2016. It was endorsed by the United Nations General Assembly at its sixty-eighth plenary meeting of the seventy-first session on 23 December 2016.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

Developed in consultation with the ministerial departments concerned, the legislation aims to define the terms of application of Article 7 which stipulates that in order to benefit from the direct subsidies granted by the State, the beneficiaries must have met their obligations in terms of taxes, duties and fees payable under the General Tax Code, said the Minister Delegate for Relations with Parliament, Government Spokesperson, Mustapha Baitas, at a press briefing following the weekly Cabinet meeting.

This draft decree, introduced by the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, also aims to establish a mechanism for consolidating the principles of financial governance.

The provisions of this draft decree determine the nature of direct state subsidies for investment and the individuals and entities covered and not covered by these subsidies, Baitas said.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

The available supply largely covers the needs of products and consumer goods, said the Directorate in a statement on the fourth meeting of the Interministerial Commission for monitoring the supply, prices and operations of price control and quality, held Wednesday under the chairmanship of the Ministry of Economy and Finance.

Regarding the prices observed, those of several products remained stable during the fourth week of Ramadan compared to those observed the third week of the holy month, although the prices of some products have begun to decline including those of some vegetables and fruits, the same source said.

However, an increase in prices was observed for edible oils due to successive increases in global crude oil prices, triggered by the low supply, the increase in demand and the impact of the conflict in Ukraine on world markets, the statement added.

This meeting took place in the presence of the ministerial departments responsible for the Interior, Agriculture, Fisheries, Industry and Trade, the Energy Transition and Public Institutions concerned.

The commission will continue to hold regular meetings after the holy month of Ramadan to monitor market developments, the level of supply and prices and the outcome of interventions of control commissions to address any form of fraud, monopolization, speculation or price manipulation.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

The booming sector of health is favored by the evolution of the regulatory framework, public-private partnerships and the rise of telemedicine, they explained at the event on “Morocco’s health sector opportunities: Between ambitions and challenges.”

On this occasion, Azeddine Ibrahimi, professor of medical biotechnology at the Mohammed V University of Rabat, highlighted the advantages of setting up in the Moroccan health sector, such as the country’s privileged geographical position which allows smooth access to African markets.

He also highlighted the major projects underway in the sector, led by the industrial unit for the manufacture of anti-Covid-19 vaccines and other vaccines in Benslimane, noting the importance of the emergence of an ecosystem able to produce medical technologies centered on Morocco and foreign markets.

In the Kingdom, there is a will to promote Moroccan-made vaccines and drugs, he said.

For his part, Hassan Belkhayat, co-founding partner of Southbridge A&I stressed the remarkable growth of many start-ups operating in the health sector, recalling the boost given to this sector by the New Development Model (NMD).

The stakeholders of this sector benefit from a favorable climate for their growth, given the evolution of the regulatory framework including the law on telemedicine and the establishment of the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment, he stated.

For his part, Hassan Ghazal, president of the Moroccan Association of Telemedicine and eHealth, deemed it necessary to implement more training programs for health professionals, to meet the increased need for skills in the sector.

Given their expertise, the UK operators can contribute to the training of the national sector marked by an increasingly intense digitalization, he explained.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

Organized by the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Morocco (CCSM), and the CCIG, this meeting entitled “Focus Morocco”, was marked by presentations highlighting the opportunities offered by the Kingdom to investors including political and institutional stability, the control of macroeconomic balances, the strategic geographical position at the crossroads of Europe and Africa and a diversified economy.

The participants in this event also mentioned the free trade agreements signed with some 50 countries allowing access to a market of more than one billion consumers, as well as the adoption of strategies that give more visibility to investors. They also discussed Morocco’s solid macroeconomic fundamentals, including a positive growth rate and controlled inflation.

Emphasis was placed on the development of infrastructure to international standards including the Tangier Med port, the establishment of several industrial zones, and the performance of Casablanca Finance City (CFC).

In a presentation on “Morocco: Land of investment and gateway to Africa”, Ali Mehrez, from the Moroccan Agency for the Development of Investment and Exports (AMDIE), highlighted the stability enjoyed by Morocco, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI.

For her part, Lamia Merzouki, Deputy Director General of the CFC, emphasized the assets that make the City of Casablanca an “economic and financial hub, and a platform to project itself to Africa”.

Speaking at the event, Tangier Med’s General Manager, Mehdi Tazi Riffi, referred to the unique assets, vocation and growth prospects of Tangier Med as a hub for African and global logistics.

In his speech, DG of the CCIG, Vincent Subilia, stressed that “Morocco is a key economic partner for Switzerland, a market of the first rank, and a relay of growth especially for an exporting economy like that of Switzerland”.

For his part, President of the CCSM, Christophe De Figueiredo, said that this focus on Morocco is intended to present the wide range of investment opportunities that the Kingdom offers in different areas and to establish contacts between economic actors of both countries.

The Swiss ambassador to Morocco, Guillaume Scheurer, welcomed the holding of this event to “go a little further and closer to the reality of the Kingdom”. He highlighted the excellent level of diplomatic relations between the two countries, recalling the signing last December of an “ambitious” joint declaration that “paves the way for increased cooperation in all areas”.

Speaking on this occasion, the Moroccan Ambassador to Switzerland, Lahcen Azoulay, noted that the organization of this meeting is an additional milestone demonstrating both the excellence of relations between Morocco and Switzerland and their willingness to move forward and explore all possible areas of cooperation.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

“The draft decree cannot be narrowed down to an arrangement of relations between the seller and the buyer and between the administration and the company. It is of paramount importance insofar as it is an important pillar in building a healthy economy and fighting against various forms of corruption,” Lekjaa said at a meeting held at the request of the government, by the Committee on Finance and Economic Development at the House of Representatives and the Committee on Finance, Planning and Economic Development at the House of Advisors.

“If the fight against corruption has become a recurring objective in the debates, at the international level and in all institutions, the fulfillment of this ambition requires political boldness, besides a set of measures and clear legislation to turn transparency into a rule and a culture among citizens,” he stated.

Public procurement is the powerhouse of economic and social development, with 70% of turnover in the construction sector and public works and 80% in architecture, he further noted.

The Ministry has developed the draft decree about which talks started nearly three months ago, as part of a participatory approach based on openness on all ministerial departments, public institutions and professional sectors, Lekjaa recalled.

He stressed the need to establish a new legislation. “The decree in force has not undergone any change since 2013, while several internal and external developments have taken place,” the minister said.

For his part, Morocco’s Treasurer General, Noureddine Bensouda, made a presentation detailing the various reforms carried out between 2013 and 2021, as well as the proposed measures to reform the decree on public procurement.

Members of both committees highlighted the participatory approach adopted by the government to develop this draft decree.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

“The Moroccan government is now undertaking a set of targeted measures, including support for the transport sector of people and goods to relieve the rise in energy prices on production,” said Director of the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Department at the IMF, Jihad Azour, who was speaking at a press conference on the Regional economic outlook for MENA.

Mr. Azour also pointed out the measures deployed to “expand the range of support put in place during the pandemic to alleviate the impact on certain social categories, in addition to the work underway to upgrade social policy and actions to revive the economic sectors most affected by the health crisis, including aviation and the automotive industry”.

In 2022, Morocco had to face a drought that had a “negative impact” on the agricultural campaign whilst suffering, like the rest of the world, the consequences of the Ukrainian crisis, which caused a surge in commodity prices, including oil, said Azour.

The IMF expert also mentioned “the indirect impact of this crisis on markets with which Morocco has close trade ties, like European countries”.

According to the IMF, these factors have prompted the Bretton Woods institution to lower, in its semi-annual report on the “World Economic Outlook” published last week, its growth projections for the Moroccan economy to 1.1% in 2022 against 3% previously expected.

During his press briefing, the IMF director for the MENA region was keen to point out that the Moroccan economy, which was “very affected” by the pandemic in 2020, was able to recover quickly in 2021.

“It is probably one of the countries that has experienced one of the fastest recoveries,” he said, stressing that this recovery is the result of “important measures undertaken by the Moroccan government.”

“Morocco was one of the first countries in the region, outside the Gulf Cooperation Council, to succeed in its vaccination campaign, while the government and Bank Al-Maghrib have initiated a series of measures to protect economic sectors to secure the ability of institutions and companies to resume their economic activities,” he said.

For the IMF official, these actions have facilitated the resumption of economic activity while allowing the Kingdom to access global financial markets at “very favorable” rates.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

Launched in June 2021, this initiative aims to help address skills shortages in many key sectors in the EU and “to strengthen mutually beneficial partnerships in migration with third countries.”

The European Executive has thus announced its “intention […] to launch the first talent partnerships with Maghreb partners, including Morocco, Egypt and Tunisia for implementation by the end of 2022.”

The Commission explained that the work on talent partnerships will build on successful pilot projects developed with these partners, broadening their scope and level of ambition.

This partnership will also accompany them with a broader framework of cooperation, to be defined with Member States and partner countries and mobilizing all relevant stakeholders in the process.

As a second step, it plans to start assessing the feasibility of launching talent partnerships with Pakistan, Bangladesh, Senegal, and Nigeria as one of the key components of cooperation on migration management with these countries.

Specifically, the EC proposes to set up a European talent pool, the first EU-wide platform and matching tool, to make the EU more attractive to third-country nationals seeking opportunities and to help employers find the talent they need.

On the other hand, the Commission says it is exploring the possibilities of new legal migration routes to the EU in the medium and long term. It believes it is useful to focus on forward-looking policies in three policy areas: care, youth and innovation.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

The operation allowed the seizure of 39 bales of drugs, with a total weight of about one and a half tons of chira, handed over to the local Royal Gendarmerie for investigation and usual procedures, the same source said.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

During the week of April 14-20, 2022, Bank Al-Maghrib injected 90.6 billion dirhams.

As for the interbank rate, it has remained at 1.5%, the source added in a release.

In the same period, the Dirham remained almost stable against the Euro and the U.S. Dollar.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

“The recruitment proposal in the subsidiary matches the salaries offered in competing international companies, but these salaries are still relatively lower than those offered before the pandemic,” the minister said in response to an oral question on the situation of RAM trainee pilots at the House of Representatives.

In 2015, RAM decided to contribute to the training of several Moroccan pilots in Toulouse (France) by guaranteeing the credits contracted by the beneficiaries of the training. RAM has given priority to the recruitment of the latter in case of vacancies.

These pilots trainees have affirmed through “documents signed by them, that the company is not required to hire them at the end of the training period,” the minister explained.

Some of them, he said, have accepted the job offer at the RAM subsidiary and other trainees, who trained in other countries, have agreed to the same offer.

Given the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, which brought the global air traffic to a halt for almost two years, RAM has adopted a plan to control its expenses to ensure its sustainability and competitiveness, Abdeljalil added.

Part of this plan, 10 aircraft out of a total of 60 were sold and a staff departure operation was launched.

The company, continued the minister, has decided to revise its recruitment policy by hiring the pilots in a 100% owned subsidiary with the aim of adjusting RAM’s expenses and strengthening its competitiveness in a highly competitive open market.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

“Indeed, the rains have helped to redress the situation of the livestock sector, which has benefited from direct support to farmers, through the distribution of subsidized feed to farmers, watering of livestock and preventive treatment and vaccination campaigns, thanks to the implementation of the program to reduce the impact of rainfall launched in February on High Royal Instructions,” said the ministry in a statement.

The rains of March and April have had a very positive impact on most tree plantations that are in the flowering stage, a sensitive stage that determines the yield of these species, noted the same source, specifying that these are particularly rosaceous, citrus, olive and date palm.

Farmers seize the climatic conditions which became favorable, to catch up their crop rotation in autumn, severely affected by the significant rainfall deficit that has characterized this campaign to the end of February, added the statement.

The improvement of climatic conditions since early March with the return of good rainfall has led to a positive change in the evolution of the agricultural campaign and created favorable conditions for a good spring season, stressed the Ministry.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse

“Governments in the region, the international community, and the private sector should make concerted efforts to mobilize revenue and additional financing to support the recovery and implement needed reforms to promote inclusive and sustainable growth, achieve diversification, tackle the climate crisis, and transition to a green economy”, they underscored in a statement following the African Consultative Group (ACG) meeting held Thursday within the framework of the 2022 IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings.

The ACG comprises the Fund Governors of a subset of 12 African countries belonging to the African Caucus (African finance ministers and central bank governors) and Fund management.

In their statement, the two parties said that their discussions on Africa’s challenges and prospects for recovery have been “very fruitful”, warning that today the green shoots of the recovery that started in 2021 “are threatened by the war in Ukraine at a time when the war on COVID-19 is still not over”.

“Vaccination rates on the continent remain low and uneven, although some progress has been made in recent months. At 13.2 percent of its population, sub-Saharan Africa remains the region with the lowest vaccination rates in the world, and at 28.1 percent, North Africa’s average rate is also still below the world average”, they added.

They stated that “the surge in commodity prices triggered by the war in Ukraine has destabilized global commodity markets, exacerbating both inflationary pressures and food security concerns, especially for the most vulnerable who are already scarred by the pandemic.

“Several countries in North Africa and the Sahel are among the most vulnerable in the world to price increases or shortages of wheat since they are highly dependent on imports from Russia and Ukraine”, the statement pointed out, adding that although the continent’s fuel and commodity exporters will experience a windfall gain, the positive fiscal impact could be largely offset by additional energy and food subsidies. “In contrast, high food and energy prices are straining commodity importers’ external and fiscal balances. Capital flows are also likely to be disrupted.”

“We agreed that the top priority must be to protect the most vulnerable households from the impact of high food and energy prices. But the external shock is hitting the continent at a time when most countries have limited fiscal space, with high debt vulnerabilities and increased risks. In this challenging context, targeted, temporary, and transparent support to vulnerable households using and further developing social safety nets would be the most appropriate solution”, the two parties advised.

According to the statement, the IMF has been playing its part and reformed its concessional lending toolkit for low- income countries to provide greater flexibility to the access levels. It provided emergency financing to countries with urgent balance of payments needs, debt service relief under the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT) to the most vulnerable countries and enacted an historical Special Drawing Rights (SDR) allocation.

The SDR allocation boosted liquidity and reserves around the world. About US$34 billion were allocated to countries in Africa, equivalent in some countries to as much as 6 percent of GDP.

“The IMF has just established a Resilience and Sustainability Trust, which will be operationalized later this year, funded by SDRs voluntarily channeled from donor countries. It will complement the IMF’s existing lending toolkit by providing longer-term affordable financing to address longer-term challenges, including climate change and pandemic preparedness”, the statement added.

The ACG welcomed initial pledges of about $40 billion toward financing the RST, and encouraged other contributors to make additional pledges to ensure the RST is well-positioned to support African countries to address their long-term challenges and build resilience. The group also underscored the need to address rising debt vulnerabilities of developing countries, particularly in Africa and find effective ways to alleviate the weight of the debt service.

It also stressed the need to continue working together to strengthen the debt resolution architecture, including by improving the Common Framework for debt treatments and technical assistance within the Multipronged Approach (MPA) to address the remaining capacity requirements, according to the statement.

The ACG was formed in 2007 to enhance the IMF’s policy dialogue with the African Caucus. The Group meets at the time of the Spring Meetings, while Fund Management meets with the full membership of the African Caucus at the time of the Annual Meetings.

Source: Agency Morocaine De Presse