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Rabat – France Development Agency (AFD) General Director Remy Rioux has renewed the importance of Morocco’s development projects in the country’s southern provinces in Laayoune and Dakhla, noting that these regions deserve investment from development institutions like the French agency.
“These dynamics highlight the potential for regional cooperation,” he said, citing several sectors like the blue economy, port greening, renewable energies, job creation, and water and sanitation infrastructure.
“The AFD Group has expressed its readiness to ambitiously support sustainable and inclusive development in these regions for the benefit of their inhabitants,” Rioux said as he concluded his four-day visit to the region.
The visit is the first mission by an AFD Director General to Morocco’s southern provinces, AFD said in a statement, noting that Rioux held several meetings with senior officials from the government in Rabat as well as local administrations in southern provinces.
He met in Rabat with Morocco’s Minister of Economy Nadia Fettah Alaoui, Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita, and Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit.
“These meetings reaffirmed AFD’s support for Morocco’s advanced regionalization,” AFD said.
In addition to the government, Rioux also held talks with executives from several institutions, like Omar Lahlou, Governor of the Communal Infrastructure Fund, as well as the leadership of Morocco’s fertilizer giant OCP.
He further met with the executives from the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University-affiliated African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), which specializes in sustainable agriculture, desertification control, and the development of the camel sector.
“Discussions with researchers and local actors emphasized the need to develop innovative solutions tailored to the region’s fragile ecosystem, particularly in water management and sustainable agriculture.”
Following several meetings with local officials in Dakhla, the French delegation visited major projects like the construction site of the major Dakhla Atlantic port and the ANP fishing port of the city.
AFD’s final statement on Rioux’s delegation visit comes a few days after the French agency reaffirmed its commitment to making major investments of €150 million in Morocco’s southern provinces.
“AFD Group will now invest in the southern regions by bringing in investments and financing,” Rioux told the press last week, noting that he was “very impressed” by the investments and the quality of infrastructure the region has seen in recent years.
AFD’s interest in the region comes in line with France’s newfound position, with Paris having recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over its southern provinces.
