Morocco and the EU signed on March 10 a new agreement, seeking to boost cooperation on different levels related to the Link Up Africa project.
The Link Up Africa project is the first of its kind within the framework of the partnership between Morocco and the EU. The project will prioritize employment and socio-economic integration of youth who benefited from Moroccan know-how, as well as intra-African mobility and contribution to the development of Africa.
Link Up Africa seeks to strengthen technical cooperation, academic and economic ties between Morocco and other African countries, with the support of the EU.
Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Naser Bourita signed the agreement with the European Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement Oliver Varhelyi.
According to state media MAP, the project is based on a triangular Morocco-EU cooperation approach for the benefit of the African continent.
The project involves the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) and Belgian Cooperation Agency ENABEL.
The agreement, which starts the initiative that spreads over a period of four years, includes two projects with a budget of € 4.15 million.
The first covers a project that will benefit from the EU-Morocco bilateral budget financed by the European Neighborhood Instrument ( €3.15 million).
For the second €1 million project, it complements a pre-existing EU program, aiming to support entrepreneurship and innovation in Morocco and other African countries.
The agreement seeks to offer tools and services adapted to meet employment and or business creation projects, among others.
An additional objective is to strengthen the AMCI’s capacities to implement its objectives of academic and technical cooperation.
