The Feast of the Throne in Morocco is a day held in honor of the Ascension of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the Throne.
Throughout history, the celebration of Throne’se’s Day in Morocco has been an occasion to renew the pledge of allegiance that embodied the Kingdom Morocco’so’s strong ties uniting Moroccan people with their monarchs “s “Commanders of the faith “ul” (Amir Mu’mininnin) and as symbol Nation’sn’s unity. It is indeed a yearly opportunity to enumerate numbers of achievements built steadily, with unfailing relevance and voluntarism, that the Kingdom has reached over the past years under HMajesty’sy’s wise leadership.
Among the most challenging ongoing projects to whom His Majesty the King awards most interest and importance are the governing and managing the COVID crisis, the Morocco-Africa continent multifaceted cooperation, the social protection project, the Newest Development Model, and the Investment Charter.
To mitigate the deadly coronavirus setbacks, Morocco launched very early the vaccination campaign, which covered the entire Moroccan territory and concerned a population over 18 years of age, with priority given to health professionals, public authorities, security forces, national education personnel, and then, in a progressive manner and by age group, to the rest of the population, by the recommendations of the World Health Organization.
Morocco has taken a proactive approach to combat the spread of the virus and dealing with the resulting health, social and economic impact throughout the country. The measures taken to deal with the pandemic are part of an approach that respects the cardinal principles of human rights, right to life, and dignity.
To ensure group immunity and therefore mitigate the transmission of the virus, it was necessary to vaccinate at least 80% of the target population, which is around 25 million people. Morocco has dedicated an official online platform to the daily follow-up of the vaccination campaign called “d “li9ahcor “na.” This portal offers a clear and updated vision of the ongoing battle against the Coronavirus. Nowadays, morocco has thanks to HMajesty’sy’s clear guidance, successfully carried out the vaccination operation reaching 25 million (first dose), 24 million (second dose), and almost 7 million (booster). The number comprised first, second, and third doses, with 64 % of the population fully vaccinated. Morocco is one of the leading countries in the COVID-19 vaccination drive worldwide and on the African Continent.
As part of implementing the High Royal Guidelines, the Government is committed to generalizing social protection for the benefit of all Moroccans. This societal project represents a real social revolution, given its direct and concrete impact on improving citizens’ living conditions, preserving the dignity of all Moroccans, and protecting vulnerable categories, particularly in times of economic turbulence, health risks, and various emergencies.
It intends to be the cornerstone and the referential framework for implementing the Royal Vision in the field of social protection, the realization of the noble objectives such as supporting Moroccan households’ purchasing power and achieving social justice.
This ambitious project also aims to define the principles and objectives relating to the reform of the social protection system over the next five years and the commitments of the State, local authorities, public institutions and enterprises, private sector, civil society, and citizens.
The implementation of this large-scale societal project constitutes a starting point to meet HMajesty’sy’s aspirations in favor of all Moroccan society’s components in responding to the challenge of the generalization of social protection. It is a simple lever for integrating the informal sector into the national economic fabric to guarantee the protection of the working class.
The renovation of t “e “development mo “el” constitutes a new stage in consolidating the social project led by the His Majesty the King. It is to be recalled that the Development Model aims to strengthen the attachment to the values of positive and active citizenship, as well as the feeling of belonging to a nation and the affirmation of the historical and cultural Moroccan personality, rich with its millennial history, its tradition of openness and its multiple components.
Thus, the Development Model Committee has adopted a multidimensional approach and rigorously framed its work. It explored the new challenges and changes brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic in many strategic areas such as health, agriculture, food security, energy, and industry and tourism development.
It is to be recalled that the project above was done through a participatory approach where all political parties, economic and social organizations, NGOs, think tanks, and citizens participated, across the national territory, in the hearings organized by the Committee.
His Majesty the King called for using the findings of the Committee in the service of the development of Morocco and the well-being of its citizens. He ordered carry out by the Committee a vast operation of presentation and explanation of its conclusions and recommendations to citizens and the various stakeholders across all regions of the Kingdom.
In addition, the Government and the different actors and institutions would, each in their area of expertise, participate actively and contribute to implementing the relevant recommendations of this report to serve the new ambition and the new development course.
In this regard, the innovative proposal of the Committed aimed at turning the strategic elements of the new model into “a “National Pact for development” should be retained and implemented in a constructive and consensual spirit, with a high sense of responsibility and the general interest, as a typical frame of reference for all living forces in their diversity.
Last year, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco launched a new Investment Charter to enhance its competitiveness, incorporating social protection for Moroccans and improving investments in health reform in the Kingdom for various purposes.
The new Investment Charter plans to increase the share of private investment, representing only nearly a third of kingdoms’ total investment, to two-thirds by 2035. Due to this Charter, Morocco will become more competitive with the primary objective to improve the industry’s impact. The aim will also be to boost permanent job creation and thus reduce the economic inequalities between cities and regions.
The significant progress of the territorial integrity issue is concretized, since the proposal of the Moroccan initiative for the autonomy project for the Southern provinces in 2007, through an innovative Moroccan approach based on national consensus and the effective involvement of local actors. More than twenty countries worldwide have tirelessly supported and joined the Moroccan thesis by opening their diplomatic representations in this region of Morocco (Laayoune and Dakhla).
It should be noted that Moroccan diplomacy is making enormous efforts for peace in different areas around the globe, especially in the Middle East, through the wise policy of His Majesty the King. The Abraham and Al-Quds Agreements are an excellent illustration of Morocco’so’s willingness to play a significant role in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli pending conflicts peacefully through establishing two states’ solutions and preserving the special status of the Holy city of Al Quds. The part of Moroccan diplomacy is clearly illustrated by the mediation efforts carried out by Morocco in Skhirat roundtables to assist different actors on the Libyan issue towards a negotiated political solution.
Moroccan diplomacy’s neutral and objective position shows professionalism regarding the recent conflict between Russia and Ukraine, which is in line with that of many other African countries.
As an emerging African power, the Kingdom of Morocco has given more attention to its partnership with Africa, primarily through initiatives in South-South Cooperation. In this respect, Morocco, being an African reference in the Agricultural sector, shares knowledge, know-how, experiences, and lessons learned with many African countries, further contributing to achieving food security in Africa by supporting sustainable agricultural production to benefit local farmers.
Henceforth, carrying multiple meanings and reflecting the strong attachment of the Kingdom, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to its home continent Africa, and its concern to accompany the stability and economic and sustainable development of the Continent, Morocco adopted a new and practical approach towards its partnership with African countries.
The Moroccan-African strategic partnerships, thanks to their development at the bilateral level, contribute directly and effectively to security and stability in other geographical areas. In this regard, Morocco has made South-South cooperation a priority of its foreign policy. As stated in the preamble of its new Constitution of 2011, Morocco, based on an ambitious and forward-looking Royal vision, has multiplied initiatives and actions to promote cooperation, particularly with its African partners, and raised it to the level of a true partnership in the service of the cause of development.
In this perspective, His Majesty King Mohammed VI made numerous visits to the African Continent since His ascension to the Throne, which has created a new dynamic in relations with many African countries and given a solid impetus for South-South cooperation. Morocco has made the South-South association a strategic choice to contribute to the establishment of peace, security, and stability in Africa.
Over the last two decades, Morocco has developed more than 2000 cooperation agreements in several fields by promoting the development of Moroccan companies in Africa, thanks to the improvement of its legal framework and investment climate, thus encouraging the installation of Moroccan operators in many African countries.
The success of Morocco-Africa’sa’s partnerships is not measured through the number of programs and meetings but through the number of concrete projects that arise and their actual impact on the continent’s development.
In this regard, Morocco has always given particular importance to the financing of tiny businesses, established a monitoring mechanism for the implementation of projects from the partnership, and the creation of facilities for access to funding, by an approach that ensures the efficiency and effectiveness in the processing of projects of tangible results, which will strengthen the fruitful economic relations between Morocco and African countries.
On the bilateral side, Morocco and Ethiopia continue gradually enriching and diversifying their bilateral cooperation. On the sideline of the last AfricUnion’sn’s Summit, held on February 2022, in Addis-Ababa, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita held direct bilateral talks with Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, Mr. Demeke Mekonnen Hassen, while which they both noted the upward level of bilateral ties, particularly since the historic visit of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to Ethiopia in 2016. The two ministers agreed to maintain momentum in priority areas such as education, vocational training, infrastructure, agriculture, and renewable energy. They also highlighted the crucial importance of the Morocco-Ethiopia Joint Commission as a mechanism to advance the existing partnership and explore new areas of cooperation, agreeing to hold the first session in October this year.
Morocco is proud to establish a strong partnership in the fertilizers supply and expertise sharing in the agriculture field, mainly through the OCP Company. HMajesty’sy’s 2016 Visit to Ethiopia allowed the signature, among others, of an MoU to set up a factory for fertilizers production, Dire Dawa Fertilizer Complex. Aiming to be a model of ambitious and mutually beneficial South-South cooperation, the plant is set to support Ethiopia in reaching self-sufficiency in fertilizer production, with prospects of investing in its potential for exportation too.
There is enormous untapped potential for bilateral trade, investment, and economic cooperation. In this regard, both countries are committed to further developing their economic partnership by creating a more favorable environment for mutual investment and encouraging the business communities of both countries to fully explore and take advantage of the opportunities offered by their expanding markets and developing infrastructure.
The Moroccan investment in Ethiopia comprises many other fields such as products of first need such as oil, water, dairies, and detergents, among others manufactured by Moroccan company “Capital” 54″. The Moroccan investment also targets the educational system through the Moroccan school gro “p “International Education Gr “up” represented through “Flippers International Sch” ol” with five operating schools (almost 08 million USD).
There is also a mutual engagement to intensify interaction and further harmonize positions in relevant multilateral institutions, such as the African Union and the United Nations. The two countries agreed to coordinate and support eaother’sr’s candidacies in Regional and International Organizations.
