IFC loans €197 million to expand Morocco's Tanger Med Port Complex  (Read more...)

Venezuela's ambassador to Algiers reacts to Morocco’s support for Juan Guaido

Venezuela has reacted to Morocco’s support for Juan Guaido. Speaking to an Algerian newspaper, Caracas’ ambassador to Algiers said that the Kingdom «is not entitled to comment on democracy in Venezuela and Latin America, because it knows perfectly the position of Hugo Chavez and Nicolas Maduro on the Western Sahara issue». The diplomat told the same source that «Morocco is trying to take advantage of the situation in Venezuela. It is seeking the support of any

Casablanca Mohammed V Airport : Three Tunisians arrested over drug trafficking

Policemen at the Mohammed V Airport of Casablanca arrested, Tuesday, three Tunisian nationals, including two women, for their alleged involvement in drug trafficking (chira), said national police (DGSN). The first two suspects, aged 36 and 50, were arrested at a check point at the entry to the boarding area, the police said in a statement, adding that the search operation helped to seize 745g of chira filling 132 pills hidden in their underwear. The third one was nabbed for concealing cocaine

Morocco's Najat Maalla M'jid appointed at the civil society board on prevention of sexual abuse

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Tuesday that he has appointed seven distinguished experts as members of the Civil Society Advisory Board on the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, including Morocco's Najat Maalla M'jid. The Board is intended to foster cooperation with civil society, experts and organizations as part of the United Nations efforts to combat sexual exploitation and abuse. The Civil Society Advisory Board, comprising leading civil society

In Morocco, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will visit a school in the Atlas Mountains

The itinerary of the British royal couple’s tour in Morocco has been revealed. Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex will be having a busy three-day trip in the Kingdom, where they will be visiting a couple of facilities and attending a series of events. According to the Daily Mail, Prince Harry and pregnant Meghan Markle will arrive in the Casablanca airport on Saturday, February the 23rd, where they will be greeted by the British ambassador to Morocco and his wife. On their

Morocco’s boycott campaign did harm to Danone’s profits and sales in 2018

The viral boycott campaign launched online by Moroccans in 2018 has affected the profits and sales of the French multinational food-products corporation Danone, reports AFP quoting a statement by the firm. On Tuesday, Danone announced that its net profit decreased by 4.1 percent to 2.35 billion euros in 2018. Meanwhile, the company’s sales fell by 2.1 percent in the last three months of last year, «driven by a 35 percent plunge in Morocco», wrote the same source. The

Venezuela : Juan Guaido hails Morocco’s support

Speaking to Emirati TV channel Al Ghad, Venezuelan politician who has been partially recognized as Interim President of Venezuela Juan Guaido thanked Arab countries, especially Morocco, for supporting opposition forces in the country. The Kingdom is, so far, the only state in the region to back Guaido’s actions since he declared himself interim president of Venezuela in January 2019. On January the 29th, Guaido spoke to Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita, stressing that he

Returning to Riyadh, Moroccan ambassador Mustapha Mansouri meets a Saudi Minister

On February the 14th, Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita announced in a joint briefing with his Spanish counterpart that Morocco’s ambassador to Saudi Arabia Mustapha Mansouri returned to Riyadh. On Monday, Mansouri was received by the Saudi State Minister for African Affairs Ahmed Kattan, who posted a photo from the meeting on his Twitter account. This is the first official meeting between officials from Morocco and Saudi Arabia after Rabat denied having recalled its

Swedish thermal power specialist Azelio to open a new office in Morocco

Swedish thermal power company Azelio AB announced on Monday, February the 18th, that it is opening an office in Morocco, reports Renewables Now. The firm’s office in the Kingdom will be a testing facility for product verification. The facility will be built by the end of the year with the help of Morocco’s agency for sustainable energy Masen. The latter will be working closely with Azelio’s new office in the Kingdom, in addition to other Moroccan suppliers. According to the

French-Moroccan footballer Adil Rami opens up about his burnout after the World Cup

French-Moroccan central defender Adil Rami said that he went through burnout after playing for the French team at the 2018 World Cup, held in Russia. Speaking to French premium television channel Canal +, the footballer explained how he lost his motivation after the international tournament. «Even the smell of the field, I couldn’t feel it anymore», Adil Rami admitted, adding that he did not feel like «hitting attackers anymore». According to AFP,

Morocco orders a Dutch journalist to leave the country after reporting on Rif

A Dutch journalist was «ordered» to leave Morocco after he was covering the Rif region, reports Dutch News. The reporter, Gerard van der Aa, was arrested by the authorities in Morocco four days after his expulsion and was told that he was «working illegally». He then had to return to Europe through Melilla on Monday, February the 18th. The journalist works as a freelancer for Dutch News and other news outlets in the Netherlands. According to the same source, the

Morocco and India sign four cooperation agreements

Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and his Indian counterpart Sushma Swaraj signed, on Monday in Rabat, four agreements in several areas aimed at strengthening bilateral cooperation. Inked after Bourita's talks with Swaraj, these four memoranda of understanding involve the areas of counterterrorism, housing, youth and the facilitation of the movement of businessmen between two countries. A memorandum of understanding, on the establishment of a working group on security cooperation and

Third of Britons see Islam as a threat to their lifestyle

More than a third of Britons see Islam as a threat to the British culture, according to a report by the anti-fascist group Hope not Hate, reports the Guardian. Out of the 10,000 people interviewed by the group, 35% of them said that Islam threatens the British «way of life». Meanwhile, 49% of the people who voted for the Conservative Party in the 2017 general election believe that the religion contradicts the British values. The survey reveals that 32% of the people interviewed

Morocco is reportedly planning to purchase a submarine for its Ksar Sghir naval base

Morocco is planning to purchase a submarine for its new naval base in the northern city of Ksar Sghir, reports Spanish online newspaper El Confidencial Digital. Quoting high-ranked officials from the Royal Navy, the newspaper stated that the Kingdom wants «to buy, at least, one submarine for the Ksar Sghir base». Reports on Morocco’s future purchase comes, according to El Confidencial, after Rabat reached out Greece, in 2017, for the purchasing of a second-hand Greek

Benjamin Netanyahu and Nasser Bourita reportedly held a «secret meeting» in New York

Quoting a source close to the Israeli Prime Minister, Israeli free-to-air television Channel 13 reported that Benjamin Netanyahu and Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita held a «secret» meeting in September, 2018, in New York. According to the Times of Israel, which relayed the report, Bourita and Netanyahu met on the 73rd session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 73), opened on the 18th of September 2018. Reportedly, the two officials discussed ways of

Tangier to host a meeting of the North African coalition

Tangier is preparing to host, on February the 23rd, a new meeting of the Coordination of Political Parties in North Africa. The Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), the host of the event, announced that it is pleased with the number of formations joining the body. Launched in March 2018 in Algiers by PAM, Libya’s National Front Party, Tunisia’s Republican Party and Algeria’s Rally for Culture and Democracy, the coordination has attracted seven other formations in the

Abdelaziz Bouteflika asks king Mohammed VI to evaluate the Arab Maghreb Union

While, the Arab Maghreb Union was commemorating its 30th anniversary, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika took the opportunity to respond, implicitly, to the initiative made public on November the 6th by King Mohammed VI. During his Green March speech in November, the Moroccan sovereign invited Algeria to create a «joint political mechanism for dialogue and consultation». In his message to the King of Morocco, relayed on February the 16th by APS, Abdelaziz Bouteflika stated

Abu Dhabi : Morocco participates in the IDEX-NAVDEX defense exhibition

The International IDEX-NAVDEX Exhibition, leading event in the defense and security sector in the Middle East, opened on Sunday in Abu Dhabi, with the participation of high-ranking government and military officials from 62 countries, including Morocco. Morocco is represented in this double event, Idex (the International Defense Exhibition) and Navdex (the Naval Defense and Maritime Security Exhibition), by minister delegate for national defense administration Abdellatif Loudiyi and attended by

Killed in a shooting, Dutch-Moroccan rapper Feis wanted to build a well in the Kingdom

Moroccan-Dutch rapper Faisal Mssyeh, known by his stage name Feis Ecktuh, who was killed on January the 1st in a shooting, had plans for his grandparents hometown in Morocco. Last week, in an interview with Dutch newspaper Volkskrant, rapper Winnee recalled that his friend was a «patron». «Feis used to feel happy when other people were happy», he said adding that «he was more than a friend to him, he was a family member». Dutch-Moroccan rapper Faisal