King Mohammed pledges vibrant capital and investments opportunities
Morocco, Economics, 10/12/2002

"I will resolutely continue to endeavor to dismantle hindrances to investments until Morocco becomes a large workshop of production, generator of wealth," said King Mohammed VI in a speech he made at the opening of the fall session of the parliament.

King Mohammed VI made an intrinsic link between job generation and investment. "We can provide jobs to the large layers of our youth only through achieving the necessary economic development, which remains dependent on spurring investment, and investment, and still investment," he insisted.

The king further stressed that achieving this objective requires abidance by good governance and adopting deep economic and financial reforms.

"The materialization of this objective goes through abiding by the rules of good governance of public affairs, rapid and in-depth implementation of administrative, judiciary, fiscal and financial reforms, rural development and enhancement of enterprises' competitiveness -- by putting emphasis on the sectors where we have assets and where we have an advantage in terms of competitiveness and of productivity," he said.

The king called for adopting a law on strikes and a modern labor code, "allowing the investor and the worker to be aware in advance of their respective rights and duties, within the frame of a global social contract of solidarity."

In this connection, the king underlined that to secure economic take-off and create productive jobs, Morocco needs to ensure a qualitative reform of training, the eradication of illiteracy, while starting a bold quest of new financial resources.

King Mohammed VI laid a special emphasis on the preservation of citizens' dignity through securing decent housing and speeding up the implementation of the national program of struggle against unhealthy housing and eradicating shantytowns. Unhealthy housing and shantytown "are, indeed, a threat to the cohesion and balance of the social fabric and a source of frustration, of exclusion, of deviation and of extremism," he said.

To attain these objectives, the king, said Morocco has "no other choice than general mobilization to take up this challenge, consolidate trust in the Morocco of today and of tomorrow and restore hope to the poor social layers."

Touching on Morocco's territorial integrity, the king called for fructifying "the internationally recognized democratic radiance of Morocco to definitively shelve the artificial conflict over our territorial integrity which remains our sacred cause."

"Moreover, it is up to us to comfort the security and stability that our country enjoys within a democratic system that can produce its effect fully only within the context of a State, strong by the preeminence of the law," he said.

The stake in Morocco, the king said, "is not the choice among political currents --regardless of their sensibilities," but rather "to decide between democracy and commitment, on the one hand, and anarchy, muddle and defeatism, on the other; between modernity and openness, on the one hand, and fanaticism, isolation and ostracism, on the other."

"(É) this is truly a struggle between progress and regression, in a world where the challenges and conflicts are multiplying and where a genuine race against the clock unfolds, making what is possible today, impossible tomorrow. Such are the true stakes. Morocco must win them," he said.

Previous Stories:
  Africa has 30 percent of world off-shore oil reserves, British expert   (10/11/2002)
  Morocco: Arab financial markets cooperation to exploit local resources for investment   (5/18/2002)
  Casablanca stock exchange to get two more indexes   (12/26/2001)
  Measures to reactivate stock exchange announced   (8/7/2001)
  Morocco moves to set up local investment committees to ease investments   (9/21/2000)
  Morocco announces creation of fund to list enterprises on stock market   (1/22/2000)
  Morocco studies advantages of listing phone company in New York Stock Exchange   (10/6/1999)
  Casablanca and Bahrain stock exchanges sign memorandum of understanding   (2/15/1999)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search