Development of northern provinces a priority, Youssoufi

The promotion and development of Moroccan northern provinces has become a national priority, said in Larache (northern Morocco) Tuesday premier, Abderrahmane Youssoufi.

The prime minister, who chaired the 4th session of the orientation council of the agency for the promotion and economic and social development of northern regions, said the endeavor is part of a choice to gradually integrate the Moroccan economy in the Euro-Mediterranean and Euro-African space. He added the orientation council is meant to find ways to maximize the existing cooperation instruments in order to better support Morocco's efforts to break the isolation of these regions.

He further explained that Morocco's development efforts in the northern regions consist of consolidating the road network, promote production and job-generation and improve population access to infrastructure and basic services, such as drinking water, energy, education, culture and health.

He added that the goal is to ensure to populations still living on illegal drug growing, an alternative income through the promotion of productive activities both in farming areas and in areas enjoying a strong industrial, tourism or mining potential.

After he recalled that the United Nations International Program for Drug control, after a visit in Morocco in May 1999, called for further coordination between Morocco and European partners, he cited the cooperation pilot project for the development of alternative farming that got a 880,000 Euro subsidy from the European Commission and co-financed by the Moroccan agency.

He added that the European Union has earmarked in its 1996-99 Euro-Med financial program 630 million Euro, of which 45% went to meeting most urgent needs of drinking water supply, basic education, roads and health in the Moroccan northern provinces.

The agency, he went, has a budget of 432 million Dirhams ($ 39.2 million) for this year and was empowered to get loans. It will therefore get a 53 million Euro loans from the European Investment Bank to build 1,400 km of roads.