EIB releases €100 million in emergency funding to help Morocco combat COVID-19

The European Investment Bank has released a first tranche of €100 million out of a total emergency funding of €200 million destined to support Morocco’s efforts against the COVID-19 virus crisis.

This is the first EIB financing in the EU’s Mediterranean neighborhood to help national authorities fight the pandemic, the bank said in a press release.

Moroccan Minister of Economy and Finance, Mohamed Benchaaboun, and Vice-President of the European Investment Bank, Emma Navarro, announced this Monday that €100 million have been paid to finance the most urgent needs of the Kingdom of Morocco to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first payment out of a total funding of 200 million euros.

Benchaaboun stressed the importance of this payment that will make it possible for Morocco to meet urgent needs in terms of medical equipment and materials. It will strengthen health and hospital capacities and thus help fight the pandemic more effectively.

This funding translates the special partnership existing between Morocco and the EIB, he said.

For her part, the Vice-President of the EIB welcomed the funds release, achieved in record time because, she said, it is crucial to act quickly in order to limit the health impact of such a pandemic on the population. The EIB continues to mobilize its expertise, resources and skills to provide concrete solutions to meet the challenges of COVID-19, she said.

The financing is part of the EIB’s support to the Moroccan National Response Plan to the COVID-19 pandemic, and of the European Union’s “Team Europe”, a €20 billion package to support partner countries in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and its consequences.