Morocco to enforce IT strategy, PM says

Morocco said Tuesday it will implement a national strategy to integrate the country in the World information and knowledge society.

Premier Youssoufi, who was addressing a symposium on the national strategy, lauded the meeting which helped shape the new information technology strategy that will help Morocco be well prepared to face the challenges posed by the new innovations.

Morocco will continue efforts to reform its IT sector and open it for more competition, pending the generalization of the IT use, Youssoufi said.

He added that the government will democratize the use of Internet through ensuring a free access to it.

The two-day symposium wound up its works with a prime recommendation to generalize information and communication technologies.

Experts, who attended the meeting, called on the government to develop by 2005 a national IT industry through involving private operators, promoting infrastructure, enforcing a stronger liberalization and re-defining the state's role in the sector.

In a message to the meeting, King Mohammed VI called on the government to train, by 2005, some 5000 medium and high executives in the field. He also instructed the government to convert 10,000 Holder of BA in Science into IT jobs.

He insisted on the need to exploit the vast opportunities offered by the new information technologies, saying "it is our wish to ensure to our people a global and integrated development."