By Mohammed Ouhemmou
Casablanca- The Abu Dhabi Fund for Development has dispatched a special delegation to Morocco to study funding possibilities for a new set of development projects proposed by the Moroccan government.
According to Mohammed Saif Al Suwaidi, the director-general of the ADFD, “The proposed initiatives of the Moroccan government will drive socio-economic growth across all key sectors and create new job opportunities. This latest round of talks highlights the ADFD’s commitment to facilitating the UAE government grants to meet Morocco’s development goals,”
The delegation conducted a fruitful high level meeting with representatives from a number of Moroccan ministries including the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Training and the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries. Moroccan officials presented the delegation with an overview of the Moroccan strategy to promote sustainable development in key sectors such as health, education and energy.
Reports indicate the ADFD has already given $952 million to Morocco in the form of concessionary loads. The funding was used to finance projects in transportation, housing, water, healthcare and education.
The visit took place within the framework of the UAE government grant contribution as part of the Gulf Development fund, a grant program designed by the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC grant program is an ambitious endeavor to fund development projects in Morocco and other Arab states.
The autonomous foreign aid agency was initially established by the government of Abu Dhabi in 1971 and since then has successfully managed UAE government grants, which amounted to AED5.5 billion in value across 55 projects in Morocco.
