Arab cooperatives union maintains Morocco as assistant-secretary general

Morocco was maintained as assistant-secretary general of the Arab Cooperatives Union (UAC) for a second four-year term.

The decision was made last week at the union's general assembly, held on the sidelines of the 15th Arab Cooperatives Congress, convened in Cairo April 27-29.

The Moroccan delegation to the congress presented a paper on the cooperative movement in Morocco.

According to 2001 statistics, some 255,000 Moroccans are member to 3,958 cooperatives, which represents 2.5% of the active population. The cooperatives employ nearly 35,000 people.

The Moroccan cooperatives' global capital stood at some 7 billion Dirhams (US$608 million) in 2001.

There are nearly 30,000 cooperatives in the Arab states, mustering some 40 million members, operating mainly in the fields of agriculture, handicraft, housing and water management.