Rabat – Morocco and Spain have reached an agreement on €11.6 million to fund Morocco’s reconstruction program in the wake of the devastating September 8 earthquake.
The deal was announced on the sidelines of the IMF-World Bank Meetings in Marrakech.
According to a joint statement, Spain’s First Vice-President and Minister of Economy and Digital Transformation Nadia Calvino, and Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah Alaoui sealed the agreement.
The statement explains that the initiative is “part of the Spanish government’s desire to express its solidarity with the population of the Al Haouz province.”
The €11.6 million loan will be mobilized through the Debt Conversion Program to finance reconstruction and rehabilitation projects in the areas hardest hit by the earthquake that struck the Al Haouz province on September 8, the statement adds.
Following the deadly earthquake that struck central Morocco, the country pledged to spend $11.7 billion over five years to reconstruct the demolished areas.
The program covers the six provinces and prefectures affected by the earthquake including Marrakech, Al Haouz, Taroudant, Chichaoua, Azilal, and Ouarzazate.
In addition to rebuilding the destroyed areas, the program aims to enhance socio-economic development in the targeted areas.
To raise funds for the earthquake relief program, Morocco launched a special fund.
The solidarity fund has collected MAD 12 billion so far, or $1.15 billion, Morocco’s Central Bank Governor Abdellatif Jouahri announced during the IMF-World Bank Annual Meetings.
The earthquake claimed nearly 3,000 lives and left over 2,900 villages in ruins. The tragedy is estimated to have wiped out 8% of the country’s annual Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
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