Rabat – The Moroccan banking group Al Barid Bank inaugurated on Tuesday its first branch at the Guerguerat border post in southern Morocco.
The move is in line with Morocco’s strategy to promote economic development and urbanization in its southern provinces.
Al Barid Bank’s newest branch was inaugurated by the governor of the Aousserd province, Abderrahaman El Jaouhari, and the chairman of the board of Al Barid Bank, Al-Amine Nejjar.
Also attending the ceremony were a number of high-profile officials, including the president of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab Regional Council, El Khattat Yanja; the CEO of the National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), Abderrahim El Hafidi; and the CEO of the Agency for the Promotion and Socio-Economic Development of the Southern Provinces, Jabrane Reklaoui.
Speaking on the sidelines of the inauguration, Al-Amine Nejjar said that the opening of the first Al Barid Bank branch at the Guerguarat border post actively contributes to the region’s development.
The initiative “fully aligns” with the Barid Al Maghrib Group’s commitment in all its components (Al Barid Bank, Barid Cash at Amana) to stand by all Moroccans as a trusted partner, providing access to quality services, Najjar explained.
Al Barid Bank Group operates over 2,000 service facilities across Morocco, two-thirds of which are located in rural and peri-urban areas.
Beyond boosting financial inclusion, Morocco has been heavily investing in infrastructure projects in the southern provinces.
In a speech he gave on Monday in commemoration of the 48th anniversary of the Green March, King Mohammed VI called for intensifying private and public investments into the Southern Provinces to build an “integrated economy.”
Last year, Morocco funded massive developmental projects in its southern provinces with a budget cover of more than MAD 77 billion ($7.1 billion).
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