Crown Prince says information is vital development sector

Moroccan Crown Prince Sidi Mohammed hailed Thursday information as one of key factors in human development.

Information is one of the most important factors in the development of human societies, helping them "to shift from the status of production societies to that of societies of knowledge and communication," the Crown Prince said during a ceremony on the occasion of the National Information Day.

The level of development is henceforth measured by the amount of knowledge acquired, the amount of capital invested and the competition to master the reins of information, he said.

He noted that information has become one of the most important tools of development and represents a great potential towards a better management of technological evolution and opening the way for competencies in the cultural, educational and training fields, he said.

The crown prince urged for bridging the gap between developed countries, that hold the reins of communication, and the developing nations.

Touching on the decisive turning point in Morocco's democratic life, the crown prince stated that Morocco is going through a new stage in its modern history, a stage marked by the advent of a democracy open to the future, pregnant with a spirit of progress likely to favor the construction of a free and harmonious society.

He noted that information and the press will play within this context an efficient and responsible role as a fourth power, in the respect of ethics dictated by the duties of citizenship and the relevant rights, and requiring professional skills and professionalism.

The Crown Prince also recalled that since the promulgation of the Dahir (Royal decree) on public freedoms (November 15, 1958) there were huge strides towards the consolidation of democracy.

Speaking during the same ceremony, Moroccan Prime Minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, underlined that it will not be possible to protect human rights without a free press.

The right to information is necessary for the consolidation of human rights, he said, before noting that an information meeting the requirements of quality, ethics, professionalism and morality is the appropriate channel for disseminating culture and national mobilization.

Youssoufi also stressed the need to adapt the 1958 text to the provisions of Morocco's constitution and international conventions.

He announced that draft laws, aimed at perfecting the gains of the 1958 Dahir will be submitted to the parliament.

For his part, communication minister, Mohammed Larbi Messari, called for earmarking an "important share" of Morocco's gross domestic product (GDP) to the development of information.

"In order to enable the national information sector take up the challenges, the state and the society should allot an important part of the GDP to its development." "We are convinced that this will be profitable," Messari said.

The minister also stressed the need to work out appropriate legal and political mechanisms to govern information "before it is too late." He noted, in this regard, that the professionals of the sector are working to solve the problem.

He called for modernizing the law on the press to adapt it to the political, cultural and social progress achieved in Morocco.