King Mohammed renews call to ease red tape

King Mohammed VI on Tuesday renewed calls on the government to ease administrative procedures to lower obstacles hindering investments.

"We expect (the government) to see to easing administrative procedures, reduce their complexity (...) eliminate obstacles hindering investments, especially those conducted by the small and medium enterprises," the king said, adding that these obstacles annihilate innovation and discourage initiative.

This came in a royal message read out by Mohamed Moatassim, advisor to the king, before a seminar in Rabat on "the development of small and medium enterprises: engine of economic growth."

The message carried King Mohammed VI's determination to see Morocco endowed in the near future with a national charter that will be the basis for a contractual strategy to identify the rights and duties of the different partners involved in the sector of small and medium enterprises.

The king added that he expects the government to "persevere in the promotion of the institutional frame of our economy and to see to the preservation of the national macroeconomic balance."

He underlined that the sustained development of small and medium enterprises that Morocco seeks to reach depends on the awareness by all of the economic actors of the vital role played by these firms, King Mohammed VI said on Tuesday.

The development of these firms also depends on their commitment to see to the adaptation of their working methods, the king said, before urging the financial institutions to grant more importance to these enterprises.

He equally underlined the importance of small and medium enterprises in Morocco's progress and stability.

"We rely on these firms' active and efficient participation in our society's progress and stability," the king said.

He recalled that Morocco was among the first countries that opted for market economy at a time such a choice represented a difficult stake. This choice was made under the reign of Late King Hassan II, "thanks to his wisdom, far-sightedness and accurate approach," King Mohammed VI said.

The Rabat seminar is assessing the Moroccan government's policy in the development of small and medium enterprises. Participants will come out with a new approach that will help draw a charter for these enterprises.

The encounter is attended by representatives of the World Bank, the chambers of Commerce of Milan (Italy), of Barcelona and of Paris and the US Small Business Administration and other foreign institutions.