First Independent Mena Newspaper
Cooper Pharma, a Moroccan pharmaceutical company launched works to build a $6-million plant at the Kigali Special Economic Zone. The plant, which was supported by Rwanda Development Bank, is part of the deals signed during King Mohammed VI visit to Kigali, in October 2016. The plant will locally produce drugs that include beta-lactam antibiotics in […]
Morocco’s exports of handicrafts exceeded 622 million dirhams between January and November 2017, Minister in charge of the sector Jamila El Mossali said. Local media reported that El Mossali said at the launch of the national handicrafts fair to run till 31 December, 2017 that the sector employs 2.5 million people and represents 7% of […]
Moroccan authorities continued their unabated crackdown on terrorists in 2017 with the busting of nine terror cells and the arrest of 189 extremists and 20 returning foreign fighters. These figures were revealed by the chief of Morocco’s counter-terrorism agency, the Central Bureau for Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), Abdelhak Khiame who said that the total number of […]
US has lifted a ban on citrus fruits originating from the fields of the eastern Moroccan region of Berkane, which was imposed on December 23, 2016, the National Food Safety Authority (ONSSA) said. The resumption of US imports of Berkane’s citrus was based on the results of an inspection conducted by US experts from the […]
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) commended Morocco for its “sound” macroeconomic policies and reforms while stressing the need for structural reform efforts. “Executive Directors commended the authorities for the sound macroeconomic policies and reform implementation that have helped improve the resilience of the Moroccan economy, upgrade the fiscal and financial policy […]
The audit report on the Morocco-EU fisheries accord, commissioned by the European Commission, concluded that the agreement has worked satisfactorily and that 75% of its socio-economic impacts benefit the Moroccan southern regions, and recommended the renewal of this agreement, which will expire in July 2018 as it stands as an instrument of in-depth cooperation with […]
The World Bank Board has announced a €172 million loan to the Moroccan city of Casablanca, hosting around 12 pc of the North African country’s population and contributing 20 pc of the national GDP. The loan, first of its kind, will enable the city’s managers to solve its growing urban challenges. It will support the […]
Members of the European Parliament adopted with an overwhelming majority the EU’s annual human rights report, which underscores the “significant progress” made by Morocco and chastizes Algeria for its “deplorable” human rights record. The EU report on human rights and democracy in the world in 2016 gives a broad picture of the EU’s human rights […]
Is the US seeking to tap into Morocco’s natural gas projects? This question rose to the fore after media reports said that chief of the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Scott Pruitt is in Morocco this week to “update” environmental cooperation under the US-Morocco Free Trade Agreement to include an option to supply the Kingdom […]
Morocco was ranked fifth largest customer of French arms industry and the third in the Arab world after Egypt and the UAE, a report of the French defense ministry said. The report, covering the 2007-2016 period, said that Morocco was placed fifth in the list of France’ largest customers after China, Singapore, Egypt and the […]