Tunisia ranked first in North Africa in a report on good governance

Tunisia continues to receive favourable ratings in international reports. Following the latest World Economic Forum Global Competitiveness Report where Tunisia was ranked first in Africa and in the Maghreb, Tunisia is ranked first in North Africa, in the annual report on good governance recently published by the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. The report credits Tunisia with an overall score of 71.5 points out of 100.

Tunisia is credited with excellent scores on the strength of its performance in terms of “human development,” “transparency and rule of law” and the “climate of security”, with scores of 89, 70.5 and 100 points respectively. Tunisia comes ahead of Algeria (7th), Morocco (12th), Egypt (18th) and Libya (21st).

The third annual report published by the Kennedy School of Governance which is part of Harvard’s school of political sciences, focuses this year on “Strengthening Governance in Africa”. The rankings were established on the basis of 57 indexes of good governance centred on such determinants as security, transparency, rule of law, participation and human rights, economic stability and human development.

The report stresses the correlation between good governance, on the one hand, and development and security of each country, on the other.

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Morocco needs UNHCR to overcome status quo in Tindouf

Rabat - Morocco has requested the input of the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) to change the status quo in the Polisario-run Tindouf camps. The remarks were given Friday by Foreign Minister, Taib Fassi Fihri at a joint press conference with the high commissioner for refugees, Antonio Guterres, on a visit in the north African country.

"We need the UNHCR, not only to carry out the humanitarian mandate of the agency, but also to help us find a lasting solution" to the situation in the Tindouf camps, Fassi Fihri told reporters. The Algerian-backed Polisario separatists have been holding thousands of Moroccan civilians in the desert Tindouf camps on the Algerian soil for over three decades now.

The FM said the real situation in the camps is not know by anyone. He denounced the human rights breaches in the territory, and the impossibility for the people held there to leave and join Morocco, their homeland. The Moroccan official pinned the political and legal responsibility of this persisting situation on the country's eastern neighbour, Algeria, saying the situation is "unbearable" from the humanitarian viewpoint.

He insisted on the importance Morocco attaches to conducting a census in the camps in order to identify the native Sahrawi and enable the UNHCR to play its institutional role of opening dialogue with the Tindouf populations so they can express their wish to stay there, come to Morocco or go elsewhere.

For his part, Guterres underlined that "the habitual practice of census conducted in the framework of the humanitarian operations has nothing to do with the political considerations." It is rather "a tool for the humanitarian assistance." He noted that Algeria has requested augmenting the aid given to the camps, but the UNHCR says that this increase hinges upon counting the camps' populations. He deplored that "Algeria did not accept conducting this census," insisting that the UN refugee agency has not changed its estimation on the number of people living in the territory.

Guterres announced that his proposal of opening a land route for family exchange visits (between Tindouf and Morocco's southern province) was accepted by all the parties, saying that 8,000 people have benefited from the exchange programme, and another 42,000 are registered to take part. With the present rhythm, it would be impossible to carry out this programme through air lines, he said.

The UN official voiced satisfaction over what he termed as a "qualitative leap" in the UNHCR-Morocco relations, voicing hope that the north African country "would, as part of this cooperation, put in place a legal framework for asylum," and to create an institution for issuing the status of refugee on its territory."

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Two Mediterranean Olive Oil Families Unite

Two of the largest olive oil producing families in the Mediterranean --Devico of Morocco and Moreno of Spain-- have joined together to bring more quality olive oils to the United States by giving Pompeian Inc. of Baltimore, Maryland exclusive distribution rights in the USA.

Over 90% of all the olive oil in the world comes from groves in the Mediterranean region. Now two of the most prominent families from the region, Devico of Morocco and Moreno of Spain, have formed an alliance to bring more high quality olive oil to the United States and the world. Among the key beneficiaries of the alliance is Pompeian, Inc. of Baltimore which began importing the product in 1906 and has been owned by the Moreno family since 1975.

The Devico family also has been involved in olive oil for decades through the Aïcha brand. Based in the city of Meknes, Aïcha is the third best-known brand in Morocco, after Coca-Cola and Tide. Chairman Mardochée Devico, who launched the Aïcha making fruit jam, has grown the business into one that now refines more than 120 tons of edible oils per day. His vision has helped make Morocco become one of the top seven olive oil producing countries.

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Algeria woos investors to unlock tourism potential

Algeria announced on Monday it was slashing taxes on tourism projects to persuade investors that the country, emerging from years of violence, could become a hot new holiday destination. Algeria has thousands of kilometers (miles) of Mediterranean coastline a short flight from Europe and vast tracts of Saharan desert wilderness -- yet only a trickle of foreign tourists. Attacks by Islamist militants, though dramatically reduced in the past few years, have kept many visitors away, along with a lack of investment that has left oil-producing Algeria with a shortage of high-quality restaurants, resorts and hotels.

Tourism and Environment Minister Cherif Rahmani unveiled reforms that included tax cuts for tourist firms, low-interest bank loans for tourism investments, reduced customs tariffs, subsidised land and streamlined bureaucratic procedures. "Of course we are aware that we are not yet at a world-class level, but we are in the process, little by little, of building Algeria as a destination," he told a conference. "We are going to put ourselves in a competitive position in relation to our neighbors, in terms of Algeria's attractiveness," he said.

Despite increases in tourist numbers in the past few years, Algeria lags far behind neighboring Tunisia and Morocco. Eight million people visited Morocco in 2008, while Tunisia recorded 7 million tourists. The two countries have attracted millions of dollars in foreign tourism investment, much of it from Europe and the Gulf states. Algerian government figures show that in 2006, the latest year for which data was available, there were 1.64 million tourists. Only 29 percent were foreigners, while the rest were Algerian emigres visiting relatives.

Algeria's government is keen to diversify its economy away from oil and gas, which accounts for 97 percent of its exports. It also wants to create jobs -- 7 out of 10 people under the age of 30 are unemployed.

Reuters

Morocco sets up carbon trading fund

Morocco's state-run pension fund Caisee de Depot et de Gestion (CDG) has set up a carbon trading fund with capital of MD300m ($35m). CDG will hold 50 per cent of the capital of Fonds Capital Carbone Maroc (FCCM). The European Investment Bank will hold a 25 per stake.

Caisse de Depots et Consignations, which heads up sustainable development in the country, will also hold 25 per cent. FCCM will promote and participate in projects connected with implementing the clean development mechanism of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change, which was agreed in 1997.

Under the mechanism, countries can trade their carbon credits on an international market. The fund will also support developers by buying their carbon credits from them. It will focus on projects in the renewable energy, energy efficiency, waste management and reforestation sectors.

Growing trade in services and investment between EU - MPCs

The EU has been a driving force in trade in services with the Mediterranean Partner Countries (MPCs), which grew between 2000 and 2005 faster than trade in goods - 45% compared to 23% for exports and 77% compared to 37% for imports – according to a new publication from the MEDSTAT II project titled “European Union – Mediterranean countries: growing trade in services and investment”.

Regarding services, Europe is a dominant trading partner of Turkey, Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia. However, its importance as a trading partner is clearly lower in the case of Israel and Lebanon.

Foreign direct investment (FDI) flows from Europe have also accounted for a significant share of total FDI in this region for several years now, with Turkey in particular having attracted considerable investment in 2005 and 2006.

The publication, available in English, French and Arabic, is part of the Eurostat collection "Statistics in Focus" (SiF), presenting key data and limited analysis on a specific theme.

MEDSTAT II, funded by EuropeAid's Regional Programme, aims at strengthening the capacity of the Partner Countries' National Statistics Institutes and each country's own National Statistical System in order to provide updated, timely, reliable and relevant high-quality statistical data necessary for political decision-making and to ensure good governance.

Moroccan expats return as economy grows

Employment ministers from 43 European and Mediterranean countries are meeting this week in Marrakech to talk about boosting jobs across a region increasingly tied together by the forces of globalisation.

Last month, growth projected at 5.8 per cent next year helped prompt the European Union to offer Morocco greater access to the EU market and emboldened Morocco’s finance ministry to propose a 2009 budget that trims income tax, raises government worker salaries and increases spending on health care and education.

Morocco still struggles with unemployment that the government estimates at 14 per cent in the cities. But while many young Moroccans seek their future abroad, a few are looking back at their country and seeing opportunity, reversing decades of endemic brain drain.

Morocco lost many emigrants in the 1960s and early 1970s, when guest-worker programmes in European countries allowed Moroccans to settle there easily. As European immigration policies have tightened, Moroccans have continued to flee their country – on student visas, tourist visas or on flimsy boats crossing the Strait of Gibraltar by night. Today some three million Moroccans and their descendants live abroad, mostly in western Europe.

“Now the tide is turning,” said Taji Eddine el Houssaini, an economics professor at Mohammed V University in Morocco’s capital, Rabat. “Moroccans abroad are deciding to come back. And these people bring their money and experience.”

“Young people are even beginning to go abroad with the intention of returning,” said Mohammed Mghari, a demographer at Morocco’s Centre for Demographic Research and Study. The trend is so recent that no firm data yet exist.Mr Amrani, the pilot, spotted the chance to make use of knowledge of the airline industry he has gained during nine years with American Airlines.

Morocco’s largely agricultural economy has been bolstered by the rising price of phosphates, of which it is the world’s top exporter, remittances and investment from Moroccans abroad and a booming tourism industry, said Mr Houssaini, the economics professor.

Morocco has so far weathered the global economic crisis but is bracing for a downturn in tourism, now one of the country’s key industries, said Faouzia Zaaboul, a senior finance ministry official.

In 2006 the government introduced a microcredit scheme aimed at university graduates that will be broadened to graduates of technical schools under the proposed 2009 budget. But so far only around 1,200 people have taken loans.

The National

Morocco orders military aircaft

Morocco has ordered four military transport aircraft in a deal worth €130m ($167m). Rabat has purchased the C-27J Spartan tactical air transport planes from the Italian group Alenia Aeronautica, a subsidiary of the aerospace and defence giant Finmeccanica.

The C-27J Spartan is capable of multiple roles, from troop transport and medical operations, to search and rescue missions, and humanitarian assistance.

Finmeccanica and Alenia Aeronautica recently agreed a partnership with Mubadala Development Company in Abu Dhabi. Finmeccanica will partner Mubadala to manufacture aerospace components for civilian aircraft, with Alenia Aeronautica providing technology, technical assistance and specialised training.

YourDefenceNews

Morocco to record 6.8% growth rate

The Moroccan government said it was optimistic about the economic growth of the Kingdom, which should record about 6.8% in 2008, despite the international financial crisis.

Speaking at the council of the government on Thursday, Moroccan Finance Minister Salaheddine Mezouar gave the assurance that the country was "safe" from the sub-prime crisis that has been shattering the American market, for a few months, then extended to other money markets, taking "alarming" proportions since Monday.

Morocco is not connected to the financial institutions or international investment funds involved in the sub-prime crisis, the Minister stated, all the more so as fixed rates dominate the credit system in the Kingdom.

Since last week, the Casablanca Stock Exchange suffered a real "cataclysm", which translated into a fall of some 15% in four days of trading, so much so that the business media of the country had asked the authorities to set the records straight to avoid "panic".

The Moroccan Finance Minister said that the drop is "a simple correction" which has nothing to do with the recent international financial instabilities.

In spite of the price hikes of oil, which Morocco entirely imports (over 6 million tons per annum) and the price hike of foodstuffs, the government is banking on a GDP growth rate exceeding 6% (which adds up to about US$ 70 billion) in 2008.

Morocco signs NATO anti-terrorism patrols

Morocco agreed Monday to contribute to NATO's anti-terrorism operation in the Mediterranean Sea, the first North African nation to do so.

NATO's Operation Active Endeavor was launched after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in the United States. Under the operation, NATO ships and aircraft monitor and escort shipping across the Mediterranean to deter terrorist activity.

NATO officials said more talks were needed between Moroccan and NATO military commanders before a decision could be taken on the level of Morocco's contribution. "This agreement testifies in an indisputable way to our common determination to fight terrorism, which affects both your country and the countries of the alliance," said NATO Secretary General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer after he signed the agreement with Morocco's ambassador Menouar Alem.

Morocco is one of seven nations in North Africa and the Middle East that participate in the NATO outreach program, launched in 1994 to build closer cooperation. In 2004, NATO invited them to participate in the anti terrorism patrols in the Mediterranean, but until now only Israel has signed up. Israel does not have ships serving with the NATO operation, but reached agreement in June 2007 to share information with NATO.

NATO officials say other north African nations have expressed interest in contributing to the mission. Morocco already has 220 troops serving in the NATO-led peacekeeping force in Kosovo.

A largely moderate Muslim kingdom and a strong U.S. ally, Morocco has seen a rise of radical Islam in recent years and has jailed hundred of suspected Islamic militants under anti-terrorism laws passed in 2003. That legislation was adopted after a string of terror bombings in Casablanca killed 45 people.

IHT

Lockheed builds jets for Morocco

Lockheed Martin Corp. has landed a $233.6 million contract with Morocco to build F-16 fighter jets for that country's air force, the company said today.

Lockheed's Texas-based fighter jet division won the deal to upgrade Morocco's military aircraft fleet. The Moroccan deal also provides prospective business for Lockheed's Orlando missiles and simulation training operations, which provide key technologies for the F-16 aircraft.

Morocco will also pay for logistics management, maintenance and other support services from Lockheed and its subcontractors.

Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean

Projects to clean up the Mediterranean Sea, establish new sea routes and highways, and harness solar energy could be at the heart of new European efforts to engage with southern neighbors, according to the first set of concrete proposals published Tuesday.

Less than two months before the debut of a new Union for the Mediterranean, pioneered by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, the European Commission sought to put its stamp on the plan with a series of recommendations.

While its call for big spending projects in the region will be welcomed in Paris, the document issued Tuesday also proposes a further dilution of Sarkozy's original aim of giving the European Union's southern states a bigger role in the venture than northern EU counterparts. ...

What is not disputed is the thinking behind the plan: that previous initiatives have largely failed. Since 1995 the EU has engaged with southern neighbors through the so-called Barcelona Process but with few tangible results.

The new document concedes that the Barcelona Process suffered from "weak visibility and the perception by citizens that little is done to tackle their daily problems and real needs." European diplomats hope the new organization, known officially as the "Barcelona Process: Union for the Mediterranean," will give southern Mediterranean countries a greater stake because they will be on a level of parity with the EU.

Critics point out that a central problem will remain: the diverse southern Mediterranean membership, which includes Syria and Israel.

The commission said the new union should hold summit meetings every two years, but avoided endorsing any location for its headquarters. Tunis, however, has emerged as a prime candidate. The commission called for two parallel sets of co-presidencies - to be held by France for an initial six months on the EU side. Thereafter this would be held by the new president of the European Council or high representative for foreign affairs - posts established under the new Treaty of Lisbon.

The document released Tuesday called for improved maritime and road infrastructure, including new sea routes and upgraded port facilities, and a new road to link the Arab states of North Africa - Mauritania, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia and Libya.

The new body should reinvigorate a plan approved in 2006 to clean the Mediterranean Sea of pollution, a 2007 program to develop solar power, and a proposal for a Euro-Mediterranean free trade zone by 2010, the document said.

IHT

France, Morocco economic partnership deals

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon on Friday announced the signing of a raft of economic tie-ups with Morocco, alongside the sale of a naval warship to aid defence coordination.

"France is to sell a FREMM (European Multi-Mission Frigate) to Morocco," Fillon told a press conference in Rabat. "It is identical to those in the French fleet, which will make cross-naval cooperation straightforward." The agreements were originally reached in October during President Nicolas Sarkozy's visit, with the frigate contract compensating Paris after the collapse of a deal to buy Rafale fighter aircraft from French manufacturers Dassault.

The other major element was a grant of 75 million euros (120 million dollars) for a feasability study on a high-speed rail line between Tangiers, across the Gibralter Straits from Spain, and Casablanca on the Atlantic coast. The line would plug into France's TGV network, already extended across European borders, and Fillon said that during their lunchtime meeting, King Mohammed VI expressed his desire to see it extended inland to Marrakech.

France will also loan Morocco 150 million euros for the installation of a tram network in the capital Rabat, with two French companies -- Alstom and Colas -- having been chosen for the engineering project.

Judicial and social conventions make up the remainder of the package signed in the presence of Fillon's counterpart, Abbas El Fassi. Fillon said the ninth Franco-Moroccan intergovernmental seminar had shown that there is "not the slightest disagreement between France and Morocco" and that the two countries had a shared outlook which was "perfect".

AFP

Morocco launches solar energy plant

King Mohamed VI on Friday, 28 March, laid the foundation stone of the Ain Beni Mathar thermo-solar electricity plant at a ceremony attended by many people, including the AfDB's Resident Representative in Morocco, Nono Matondo-Fundani. The ceremony, held at the site of the project, 86 km to the south of Oujda in eastern Morocco, signified the official commencement of works on the two-phased combined and integrated power station with an installed capacity to generate 472 MW of electricity, including 20 MW from the solar component.

The cost of the project is estimated at € 400 million. The Bank will partially finance the project with two loans amounting to € 287.85 million, of which € 36.45 million was approved in March 2005 and € 151.40 million in December 2007.m Other sources of funding include $ 43.20 million from the Global Environment Fund (GEF), a loan of € 43 million from the Spanish Development Agency (ICO) and the National Electricity Corporation (ONE) of Morocco.

Allafrica

Morocco jails Facebook royal imposter

A computer engineer accused of posing as a member of the Moroccan royal family on the social networking Web site, Facebook, has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Mourtada was charged with stealing the identity of Prince Moulay Rachid, the younger brother of the Moroccan king, and of forging computer documents. Lawyers for Mourtada, who said he created the profile as "a joke, a gag," said they would appeal the sentence.

FEMIP finance contracts in Mediterranean Partner Countries

Finance contracts worth 6,957,707,957 euros were signed between FEMIP and Mediterranean Partner Countries in the last five years, according to the latest figures from the European Investment Bank. A country-by-country breakdown, updated today, is available on the Bank’s website.

Algeria 255,498,958
Egypt 2,067,312,240
Palestine 55,000,000
Israel 395,000,000
Jordan 215,896,759
Lebanon 575,000,000
Morocco 1,221,000,000
Syria 715,000,000
Tunisia 1,379,950,000

Regional - North Africa 10,000,000

Mediterranean Countries 68,050,000

Egypt, too choses nuclear

Egypt's president announced plans Monday to build several nuclear power plants — the latest in a string of ambitious such proposals from moderate Arab countries. The United States immediately welcomed the plan, in a sharp contrast to what it called nuclear "cheating" by Iran.

President Hosni Mubarak said the aim was to diversify Egypt's energy resources and preserve its oil and gas reserves for future generations. In a televised speech, he pledged Egypt would work with the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency at all times and would not seek a nuclear bomb. But Mubarak also made clear there were strategic reasons for the program, calling secure sources of energy "an integral part of Egypt's national security system."

In Washington, State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said the U.S. would not object to the program as long as Egypt adhered to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and International Atomic Energy Agency guidelines.

Jordan, Turkey and several Gulf Arab countries have announced in recent months that they are interested in developing nuclear power programs, and Yemen's government signed a deal with a U.S. company in September to build civilian nuclear plants over the next 10 years.

Algeria also signed a cooperation accord with the United States on civil nuclear energy in June, and Morocco announced a deal last week under which France will help develop nuclear reactors there.

AP

Morocco’s tourism booming

Morocco’s tourism sector is thriving as the government announced that the number of tourists visiting the kingdom grew 10 percent in the first seven months of 2007.

Around 4.3 million tourists visited Morocco with over 1 million tourists in July alone. The French (1.7 million) form the largest number of foreign visitors, followed by visitors from Spain (795,000), Belgium (285,000), the UK (261,000), the Netherlands (211,000), Germany (182,000), and Italy (164,000).

King Mohammed VI is personally involved in meetings with foreign investors, and spearheading the drive to make the kingdom one of the world’s favourite tourist destinations. Tourism is Morocco’s biggest source of foreign currency and quintessential to helping reduce unemployment and eradicate poverty in the North African country.

The government has developed an ambitious strategy, dubbed "Vision 2010", aimed at attracting 10 million tourists annually by 2010. Revenue from tourism increased 29 percent to 52.9 billion dirhams ($6.56 billion) in 2006, helping oil-importing Morocco cope with high world oil prices.

MEDSTAT II meeting

General Directors of the Mediterranean Partner Countries' National Statistics Institutes were in Brussels on September 6-7, 2007 at the invitation of EuropeAid and Eurostat for the first Partnership Group Meeting organised within the framework of the MEDSTAT II regional programme.

The aim of the meeting was to bring together all those involved in the project for a frank discussion about the results achieved so far and future challenges, as well as to start a dialogue on future statistical cooperation in the Euro-Mediterranean region.

Euro-Mediterranean statistical cooperation began in 1996 through the regional programme MEDSTAT. Ten years later (January 2006), MEDSTAT II, a three-year, €30 million programme, was launched with ten partner countries (Algeria, Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, the Palestinian Authority, Syria, Tunisia and Turkey). It deals with statistics in nine thematic sectors (Trade, National Accounts, Social Statistics, Energy, Agriculture, Environment, Tourism, transport and Migration) and three horizontal sectors (Training, Information System and Dissemination). The programme’s main objective is to strengthen the capacity of the partner countries’ National Statistics Institutes and each country’s own National Statistical System.

Conservatives win Morocco polls

Morocco's conservative Istiqlal party won the most seats in parliamentary elections, allowing it to form the next government with its current ruling coalition allies, final results released showed.

Istiqlal (Independence), a ruling coalition member, won 52 seats, ahead of the opposition Islamist Justice and Development party (PJD) with 46 seats, the Interior Ministry said.

The final figures showed a record-low turnout of 37 per cent, an apparent snub of a political system whose leaders are widely seen as aloof and out of touch.

Islamist PJD had hoped to take the top spot and a role in the next government. When it became clear the party would only take second place it accused unnamed opponents of buying votes to skew the results.

The right-wing Popular Movement (MP) and centre National Rally of Independents (RNI) won 41 and 39 seats respectively, while the Socialist Union of Popular Forces (USFP), Istiqlal's main coalition partner, won 38.

The parliamentary polls were the second of King Mohammed's nine-year reign and saw 33 parties vie with dozens of independents for seats in the 325-member lower house. A complex voting system made it almost impossible for any group to win an outright majority, and whatever the outcome, real power will remain with the king, who is executive head of state, military chief and religious leader.

Istiqlal's Koutla alliance with the USFP and the smaller Progress and Socialism Party (PPS) won a majority of 180 seats, allowing them to stay together and form the next government.

EU Presidency praises Moroccan election process

The EU Presidency has welcomed the manner in which Friday’s parliamentary elections in Morocco took place. In a statement, it praises the government, political parties, civil society and people of Morocco for “their efforts aimed at ensuring the success and transparency of the electoral process.”

The EU also welcomes steps taken to ensure a greater representation of women in parliament and notes the measures taken by Morocco to enable monitoring of the elections as well as the “significant involvement of Moroccan associations in the electoral process.”

“The democratic conditions in which the elections were held is a testament to Morocco’s engagement in the political, economic and social reform process initiated at the highest level of the Moroccan state in recent years,” notes the Presidency.