First Independent Mena Newspaper
Morocco’s Foreign Exchange Office has introduced groundbreaking reforms allowing accredited agents to utilize electronic payment terminals for currency purchases against dirhams using international bank cards. Clients can also receive dirham-loaded prepaid cards, creating seamless circuits between international payment methods and the domestic economy. The measure responds to sustained international payment growth. According to the Foreign […]
The Alliance of Sahel States (AES), comprising Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger, has created a regional investment bank with an initial capital of 500 billion CFA francs (about $820 million), aimed at financing infrastructure and development projects across the three countries. The institution, named the Confederation Bank for Investment and Development (BCID-AES), is designed to […]
Morocco’s central bank kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 2.25% on Tuesday, citing contained inflation and steady economic recovery, while projecting growth to reach 5% in 2025 before easing to an average of 4.5% in 2026 and 2027. Bank Al-Maghrib’s board, meeting for its fourth quarterly session of the year, said agricultural output is […]
Morocco’s leading port operator Marsa Maroc has acquired 45 percent capital and voting rights in Spain’s Boluda Corporacion Maritima (BMT) for €80 million, establishing strategic presence across the Strait of Gibraltar. BMT operates nine ports spanning the Iberian Peninsula and Canary Islands. This strategic partnership “opens pathways to synergies” between both groups, “pooling complementary expertise […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) celebrated record contract signings with Morocco totaling approximately $1 billion in 2025, marking unprecedented collaboration between the development institution and the North African kingdom. The bank’s First Vice President Greg Guyett, who is on a visit to the Kingdom this week, attributed this positive momentum to close […]
Morocco’s government has prioritized public investment performance and its tangible impact on economic growth, job creation, and territorial equity, according to Budget Minister Fouzi Lekjaa. This orientation aligns with royal directives calling for transition from quantitative to qualitative approaches in public investment management. Speaking at the parliament question time, Lekjaa emphasized that sectoral studies demonstrate […]
Morocco is one of only two countries in the African sample, alongside Zimbabwe, where local education authorities work with clear, measurable learning goals and formal performance contracts with schools, according to a UNESCO education report. The report, relayed by Hespress news outlet, looks at how African countries are progressing on basic education completion and foundational […]
Royal Air Maroc (RAM) said on Dec 15 it will launch nine new direct routes next year across Europe, Africa and the Americas, advancing its strategy to position Casablanca as a global hub and deepen Morocco’s international connectivity. RAM confirmed, in a statement, it will start Casablanca–Saint Petersburg in January 2026 and Casablanca–Los Angeles in […]
Policymakers and former officials from Africa, Europe, and Latin America who participated in the various panels held as part of 14th Annual International Conference “The Atlantic Dialogues”, organized by the Policy Center for the New South, have hailed the initiatives launched by King Mohammed VI which have strengthened Morocco’s Leadership in Africa. In this connection, […]
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) provides Morocco a €150 million loan to finance the third phase of Saïss Water Conservation Program. The package also includes a $7.5 million grant from the UK under the EBRD’s High-Impact Partnership for Climate Action (HIPCA) multi-donor fund. Recognising the project’s strategic importance for Morocco, the Bank […]