Morocco says it relies on itself to develop northern areas
Morocco, Politics, 10/30/1998

Morocco said on Thursday it relies above all on its own means to develop its northern provinces, notoriously reputed as being cannabis-growing areas.

In Morocco, "We rely above all on ourselves and it is necessary that we mobilize our own means" before benefitting from the assistance of friendly countries, Moroccan Prime Minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, said.

Youssoufi, who was speaking to reporters at the end of the meeting of the Orientation Council of the Moroccan Agency for the Northern Provinces' Development, also hailed the contribution of the European Union (EU) to the development effort in the region.

In this regard, he lauded the EU decision to allot most of its 1999 assistance to Morocco to the development of the northern areas.

Some 91 percent of EU assistance to Morocco, 1.3 billion dirhams (nearly $142.9 million) will be earmarked to the region.

The decision was announced during the Orientation Council's meeting that was attended by EU countries' ambassadors to Morocco.

Director-General of the Northern Provinces Development Agency, Hassan Al-Amrani, stressed the need to break the isolation of the region and reduce cannabis culture.

The official noted that in view of the difficulty of exploiting the arid mountainous lands, the local population resorted to cannabis growing, which presently stretches over 65,000 to 70,000 hectares.

It was convened in 1993 that the solution of the problem goes necessarily through a development effort, taking into account the peculiarity of the region, Al-Amrani said.

In a final communique, made public at the end of its meeting, the Agency Orientation Council expressed backing for the Moroccan government's efforts to launch priority projects in the region.

The council stressed the need to associate all local actors in the fight against the illegal cannabis culture.

The development of alternative activities cannot be crowned with success without the direct involvement of all the components of the civil society and the local authorities, the communique said.

The Orientation Council of the Northern Provinces Development Agency is an advisory body set up in 1995 by King Hassan II.

The Council is chaired by the Moroccan Prime Minister and includes the ambassadors of the 15 EU member countries to Morocco in addition to the head of the EU commission in Rabat.

It is meant to be a frame of dialogue and consultation, with the major objective of ensuring the development of the Moroccan northern regions.

Previous Stories:
  Prince of Belgium to dedicate waste water treatment plant in northern Morocco   (10/19/1998)
  Tangiers to have leading role in Morocco's openness to international arena   (9/21/1998)
  World Bank to sponsor cultural, development projects in Morocco   (9/7/1998)

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

Search