The World Bank considers Morocco one of its most reliable partners, ensuring assistance and aid to help the North African country achieve its development goals.
Rabat – Morocco and the World Bank have signed three financing agreements with a budget worth $800 million.
Morocco’s Minister of Economy, Finance, and Administration Reform Mohamed Benchaaboun and the World Bank’s Director of Operations for the Maghreb, Jesko Hentscel signed the package earlier today.
The agreements, which come to further the already strong partnership between the World Bank and a country it considers one of its best partners, cover social protection for a budget of $400 million, the Green Generation program for $250 million, and urban transport and modernization initiatives for $150 million.
Green strategy
The signing of the agreement comes a few weeks after the World Bank approved the $250 million loan to support Morocco’s 2020-2030 Green Generation Strategy.
Morocco launched the strategy in February, seeking to repopulate 133,0000 hectares of forests destroyed in Morocco over the past three decades.
The program also seeks to plant 50,000 to 100,000 hectares of trees every year
In addition to the environmental purposes, the project will create 27,500 direct jobs in the field of ecotourism. Morocco seeks to see the sector reach an added value of $563 million by 2030.
Urban transport
Morocco and the World Bank work together in different fields.
On November 3, the World Bank announced that its executive directors board approved a $150 budget to assist Morocco develop its urban transport program.
The program, which started in 2015, seeks to strengthen the country’s capacity to offer quality service in public transport.
The World Bank’s budget also plans to support the local infrastructure for transport and investments.
“The main purpose of the additional financing to adapt the program to address new priorities of mobility — including those related to the impact of COVID-19 — and to scale it up,” the World Bank said.
Social protection
Earlier this month, the World Bank also expressed satisfaction with Morocco’s use of the funds, saying it was proud of supporting the country’s reforms.
The bank also announced it approved a $400 million program to support Morocco’s social protection system, lauding the country’s involvement to aid the most vulnerable Moroccans during the COVID-19 crisis.
When the bank’s executive board approved the budget to support Morocco’s social protection system, Jesko Hentschel said: Morocco is “now accelerating reforms to strengthen its social protection system that we, at the World Bank, are proud to support.,”
According to the World Bank, the $400 million project “fully supports the government of Morocco’s efforts and ambitions to strengthen its social protection system.”
