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Human Rights Group Accuses Morocco of Mistreating Sub-Saharan Migrants

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Rabat – While Morocco prides itself on its “humane and responsible” migration policy, a recent Gadem report has dealt a serious blow to Morocco’s immigration record. In a damning report titled “Gratuitous Expulsions,” Gadem, a Moroccan human rights advocacy group focused on migration, accused Morocco of mistreatment and discrimination toward its growing number of sub-Saharan […]

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Gulf States Support Morocco’s Autonomy Plan in Western Sahara

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Rabat – During discussion on Western Sahara at the 4th Committee of the UN General Assembly, Gulf states lent their “uncompromising and brotherly support” to Morocco. At the conclusion of the UN fourth committee earlier yesterday, Casablanca-based Akhbar Al Yaoum reported that “Morocco’s principled neutrality” in the latest Gulf crisis played a vital role in […]

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Choiseul Institute Ranks 10 Moroccans in Africa’s 100 ‘Economic Leaders’

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Rabat- Choiseul Institute has ranked 10 young Moroccan business leaders among Africa’s top 100 young trend-setters and leaders in the business sector. Monitored and published by the Paris-based Choiseul Institute for International Politics and Geo-Economics, the Choiseul 100 takes into account nominees’ profiles, contribution to country’s socio-economic performance, and impact on their communities. Africa’s growth […]

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Low National Output Deepens Morocco’s Trade Deficit in January-September

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Rabat – Despite efforts to increase national production and boost economic competitiveness, Morocco’s trade deficit continues to expand. With Moroccan imports (MAD 358.8 billion) markedly higher than its exports (MAD 201.5 billion), an assessment by Bank Al Maghrib, the central bank, shows figures of an economy severely hit in almost all major income-generating activities. Although […]

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South Sudan Supports Morocco’s Autonomy Plan, Denies Ties with SADR

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Rabat – South Sudan voiced support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western Sahara on Friday. Speaking at a joint conference in Rabat with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita, Nhial Deng Nhial, South Sudan’s foreign affairs minister, reiterated his country’s “total support” for Morocco’s territorial integrity. The South Sudanese official praised Morocco’s autonomy plan for Western […]

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King Mohammed VI Receives Akhannouch to Examine Agricultural Employment

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Rabat – King Mohammed VI has received Minister of Agriculture Aziz Akhannouch to discuss agricultural employment in rural areas especially for youth. The King received Akhannouch Friday at the Royal Palace in Marrakech. “During the reception, His Majesty renewed his hopes and ambitions for rural areas by creating new activities that generate employment and income […]

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EU Gives €1.5 Million for Morocco-EU Twinning on Prison Reform

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Rabat – Morocco and the European Union will conduct an institutional twinning to improve the Moroccan penitentiary system.    The General Delegation of the Penitentiary Administration (DGAPR) launched a ceremony for the institutional twinning on Thursday, October 18, in Rabat, according to state-owned media outlet Maghreb Arab Press. The DGAPR initiative, supported by the EU, […]

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Amazigh Troupe Theater Global Tour to Launch Monday

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Rabat – The Ministry in charge of Moroccans Residing Abroad and Migration is launching an Amazigh (Berber) theater tour throughout the world on Monday. The launching ceremony will take place on Monday at the international conferences center in Skhirat, near Rabat, at 6 p.m. Over 12 Amazigh troupes will give 50 performances on the tour […]

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South Africa’s National Assembly Speaker Visits Morocco

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Rabat – South Africa’s National Assembly Speaker Baleka Mbete visited Morocco for the second time to meet her counterpart, Habib El Malki, Friday in Rabat. Mbete and El Malki aimed to reinforce bilateral relations between the two countries. The meeting built on last year’s interaction between King Mohammed VI and former South African President Jacob […]

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Striking Truck Drivers Cause Fruit, Vegetable Prices to Rise

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Rabat – Truck drivers who transport fruits and vegetables to wholesale markets have been on strike, causing prices to skyrocket, since Friday. The supply of fruits and vegetables has decreased by 33 percent, according to Moroccan media outlet Assabah. Casablanca, which typically receives 1,400 truckloads of produce daily, only received 540 on Friday, driven in […]

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Morocco Wants to Join ECOWAS to Promote South-South Agenda

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Rabat – Government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi has said that Morocco’s ECOWAS bid is proof of Morocco’s genuine desire to further a South-South agenda. Speaking at the maiden News Directors Forum of the Atlantic Federation of African Press Agencies (FFAPA) on Thursday, October 18, El Khalfi stressed Morocco’s African impetus, especially since the country’s return […]

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Africa Sounds: Morocco’s Hicham Lahlou Celebrates Africa with Art

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Rabat – Africa Sounds, a design project conceived to “honor Africa’s artistic wealth,” is being celebrated at the Medinit Expo in Casablanca. According to organizers, Medinit Expo is an annual exhibition that convenes 80-100 brands representing the “excellence of Made in Italy in the Design sector (interior / exterior decoration, decoration, lighting, etc.) which are […]

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Western Sahara: US Should Promote Diplomatic Breakthrough

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Rabat – As the Western Sahara conflict shows signs of improvements under newfound UN resolve, Washington should both push for diplomatic breakthrough and vouch for Morocco. That recommendation is the takeaway of a recent analysis by Dr. Sarah Feuer, a Near East and Arab politics specialist at the Washington Institute. Feuer wrote that the Trump […]

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Generation Boza: Why Morocco Can’t Stop Migrants Heading to Europe

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Rabat – One migrant, failing to reach Spain twice, explained his determination this way: “Like many fellows, we are just waiting for the fervor of Moroccan coast guards to calm down a bit.”

And what then? “And then we will try again.”

The comment illustrates the tough times a well-organized network of traffickers and middle-men are giving to Moroccan and EU authorities, limiting their success in preventing irregular migration to Europe.

In a recent report on the flow of migrants crossing to Europe from Morocco, the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) established that the human flow that passes through Morocco has outpaced that of Libya in the past months. Morocco is now the most-used transit route to Europe.

In most cases, migrants are from countries like Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mali, or Senegal among others, whose citizens do not need visas to enter Morocco. Migrants from other sub-Saharan countries pass through Algeria, from where they journey on foot to Morocco, according to BND.

Morocco toughens controls

Morocco’s attraction to Europe-bound immigrants is caused not only by the ease of paperwork to reach Moroccan territory. It is proximate to Europe, and there are several possible routes to complete the journey. The migrants also consider Morocco more friendly than Algeria.

According to German news outlet Bild, migrants have been using three sea routes to cross to Spain from Morocco. They cross via the Alboran Sea, the roughly 170-kilometer-wide body of the Mediterranean between southern Spain and northeast Morocco “in big rubber boats, holding up to 58 migrants each; via the Strait of Gibraltar in small rubber dinghies; and via the Atlantic Ocean in small wooden boats.”

Starting in late July this year, however, Morocco tightened control on migrants’ sea convoys. Police in northern Morocco, the region closest to Spain, started patrolling in predominantly sub-Saharan neighborhoods, relocating migrants by the thousand to cities like Agadir, Rabat, and Casablanca.

“The police in Tangier were brutal. They entered our homes, cracked down on sub-Saharans, and arrested us regardless of whether you are a [legally resident] student or irregular migrant,” said Alpha, a Guinean migrant now living in Casablanca.

Determined to ‘reach final destination’

But regardless of the crackdown and the unprecedentedly tough deterrents that Moroccan authorities have resorted to of late, the majority of migrants are nowhere near relinquishing their “European dream.”

The BND’s findings went as far as saying that the large majority of sub-Saharan migrants dreaming of reaching Europe have developed a “naively” romanticized notion of Europe.
Europe, in the imagination of migrants, the report claimed, has become synonymous with instant success.

“Their idea of Europe is hopelessly naive. They believe that it will be easy for them to become professional footballers there and drive big cars,” Bild quoted the BND files as saying.

Underground organization and migrants’ resolve

When asked what his plans are after failing twice to reach Spain, Alpha told Morocco World News he would try again after“the fervor of Moroccan coast guards” calms down.

Perhaps sensing a mix of disbelief and empathy, Alpha added: “You know, even right now some are crossing. A friend told me yesterday that more than 60 people from our group that failed in my latest attempt have made it to Spain this month. So I am just waiting a little bit to clear my mind from the latest failure and its negative energy.”

But how, despite recent police crackdowns and reports of brutality and heightened discrimination, did Alpha’s friends succeed in crossing? How did they manage to get around all the security apparatuses of both Rabat and Brussels?

“Because they had a reliable and well-connected ‘chairman,’” he said.
The chairmen, generally sub-Saharans who have been living in Morocco for 5-15 years, have built a juicy business smuggling migrants to Spain.

“Some chairmen take your money and disappear. Others do not disappear, but dealing with them gives you no guarantee of reaching your destination. It is too risky with them. They are not connected enough to get you a pass through all the security hurdles. And when they do succeed, the poor state of the wooden boats they use is another source of worries. It is all about desperation and surrendering until you get to your destination.”

“Generation Boza,” as the German files called the sub-Saharan migrants, a reference to the Spanish word for victory they use once they reach Spain, have a well-organized network of traffickers and middlemen through whom all is negotiated. From fees to the type of journey that each migrant requests, all is diligently thought-out in advance and carried out as planned, barring unforeseen occurrences like shipwrecks.

According to the German intelligence, 20 “bosses” control the flow of migrants between Morocco and Europe. They often delegate their duties and a share of their revenues to less influential and connected chairmen.

Each chairman has on average a dozen helpers who collect sums from “candidates” and can smuggle about 600 migrants per month.

Like in a formal market setting, chairmen charge according to the comfort and security of the type of journey. There are, like with air companies, business and economy classes.

“The higher the price you pay, the more your chance of getting to your destination,” Alpha explained.

“When you pay VIP fees, which cost between €3000 and 4000, you are guaranteed getting to the EU in less than a week. And it is fulfilled or reimbursed.”

Ineffective deterrence

The German files, which give painstaking details of some of Alpha’s explanations to Morocco World News, clearly show that there is little Morocco and the EU can do to curb the human flow at their borders. They have extremely limited room for maneuver against a well-organized underground network, the files suggested.

“With €2000, the chairman guarantees you entry in EU or reimbursement of a substantial amount of the fee you paid.” In this case, however, the smuggling is not VIP.

But could there be another force behind the unrelenting flow of irregular migrants who, for all the alarms sounding in Rabat and Brussels, seem unperturbed in their resolve to live their European dream? And what about the alarming figures of migrants who have died at sea?

“Those of us who pay between €800 and 1000 are the ones who face trying times while crossing. And many have died, unfortunately. But we are aware of the risks when we take this road,” Alpha offered.

“Besides, do you really think that death and pictures of corpses retrieved from deep seas or dispersed on European beaches can deter a whole bunch of people who knew what they were getting themselves into when they decided that living conditions in their respective home countries are unbearable?”

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Marrakech Air Show: Making Morocco a Continental Leader in Aviation

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Rabat – “They have trusted us since 2008,” reads the advertising line of this year’s International Marrakech Air show.

While the message may come across as another catchy slogan that eulogizes more than it delivers, the reality on the ground at the International Marrakech Air Show usually matches the sentiment conveyed in the slogans.

The 2018 Marrakech Air Show, which opened its doors on Wednesday, October 24, at the RMAF military base in Marrakech, is set to end on October 27. This year the four-day show expects 300 exhibitors, proof it has grown considerably to become a global sensation in the aviation industry.

While Morocco’s aerospace industry has gone through positive bouts between 2010 and 2016, this year’s Marrakech Air Show, as it inaugurates the event’s 10th anniversary, is set to attract more investors and exhibitors.

Participants range from military to civil aviation companies, including Boeing, Airbus, Air France, Turkish Aerospace, Gulf Stream, and the US Air Force, among many others.
Taking to Twitter after yesterday’s opening ceremony, the American embassy noted the event’s success and Morocco’s rapidly growing aviation industry.

“Aerospace is now the largest sector in Morocco’s economy. That’s why the Marrakech Air Show is growing every year, and why the USA is proud to have been part of this tradition since it began in 2008,” the embassy tweeted.

Since its inception in 2008, the International Marrakech Air Show has annually convened the leading names of the aeronautical ecosystem.
Gradually securing the trust of hundreds of exhibitors and investors that have been accompanying the show since its conception a decade ago, Marrakech Air show has taken Morocco’s then embryonic aeronautical industry to a level of maturity.

The show has outgrown its modest aspirations at the origin and is now “part of Morocco’s vision to develop an aviation base and strengthen the aviation sector.”

The vision is to propel Morocco’s aviation as the best in the African continent and a top performer on the global stage. At the same time, organizers hope to channel Morocco’s geostrategic location and emerging industry-focused policy into branding and marketing Morocco as an invaluable host for investments in aeronautics.

Booming industry, African turn, and Global aspirations

Earlier this month, Morocco and Canada agreed to cooperate on aeronautics. With Morocco’s profitable market and Canada’s well-proven knowhow in the aviation industry, the Morocco-Canada aeronautical cooperation is expected to increase Morocco’s output in the sector and help establish it among global trailblazers.

Morocco bridges Africa and Europe, making it, from the perspective of aircraft manufacturers and investors, “a gateway to the promising African market” for both military and business aviation.

The overarching goal is to capitalize on Morocco’s fast-growing industry to strengthen the country’s position as a continental leader while ensuring its gradual emergence as a global go-to destination for aeronautics.

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Mohcine Jazouli: Morocco Committed to a Pan-African Migration Agenda

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Rabat – Morocco’s deputy minister in charge of African cooperation has stressed that Morocco views immigration as a gain rather than a threat.

Jazouli made the remarks at this year’s Forum of African Women Journalists in Casablanca on Friday, October 26.

Titled “African Migrations, an Opportunity for the Continent, a Responsibility for the Media,” the forum discussed images often associated with human flows across and from Africa.

At issue was also the responsibility of African media and political leaders to rise to the persisting challenge of African mobility. Meeting the challenges includes countering stereotypes and giving a balanced account of the reality of immigration, panelists concurred.

While echoing the sentiment of stereotype-countering, Jazouli emphatically spoke of Morocco’s pan-African outlook in dealing with migration. He said that Morocco does not subscribe to the approach of countries that perceive migrants as threats to social and cultural identity.

“Study after study have established that migrants play a vital role in sustaining the economy and society of their host countries,” Jazouli said. In countries that have historically relied on the flow of people, he explained, the importance of migrants “is palpable in all sectors.”

But, the Moroccan official maintained, in times of doubt and crisis, “Migrants quickly become scapegoats. They are unjustly and sometimes shockingly, accused of threatening social stability and national identity.” Migration and security go hand in hand in a number of countries.

Morocco, however, wishes to “reverse the current trend.” As Morocco goes beyond the “migration as insecurity” trend, its engagement with migration-related matters is to help “deconstruct stereotypes” and actively contribute to the emergence of a prosperous and respected Africa.

Committing to an African agenda

At the 30th AU summit in January this year, King Mohammed VI presented his “African Agenda on Migration,” a fulfillment of his duties as the chair of the body’s policy framework on migration. The agenda prescribed cohesion and “unity of action.”

Referring to the AU agenda on migration, Jazouli said: “The goal of the agenda is to propel Africa into a paradigm that sees migration as an opportunity for economic growth and a chance for the future of our continent. The creation of an African observatory on migration is consistent with that logic.”

The mission of the observatory, Jazouli noted, is to define an African framework to “understand, anticipate, and act.”

Jazouli’s comments come at a time when Morocco is being accused of racially profiling and discriminating against its growing sub-Saharan population.

Gadem, a human rights advocacy group, recently published a report that pointed an accusatory finger at Morocco’s treatment of irregular migrants. According to the report, Moroccan police violently cracked down on migrants in northern Morocco, “gratuitously” expelling them in thousands.

“All the testimonies we recorded spoke of violence and mistreatment,” a Gadem representative said at a press conference earlier this month in Rabat.

Others have suggested that Morocco’s unprecedented brutalization of irregular sub-Saharans has its origins in the recently-signed Morocco-EU deal on migration. As Brussels has pledged €70 million to Rabat to help secure EU borders, Morocco had to keep its end of the bargain.

But Jazouli was insistent on the pan-African foundation of Morocco’s immigration policy.
Dismissing the narrative that Rabat’s migration policy is grounded in agreements with external partners, he said, “Morocco’s strategy with regards to migration sought to break away from any external diktat … Morocco’s national strategy [on migration] falls within the framework of the global compact on migration and the African agenda.”

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Essaouira Atlantic Andalusia Festival Celebrates Judeo-Arab Shared Culture

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Rabat – The Essaouira Atlantic Andalusia Festival will feature Said Belcadi, Sanaa Marahati, Andalucious and Hapiyout, and Haja El Hamdaouia and Raymonde El Bidaouia tonight.

The festival, which opened earlier this week on October 25, continues to celebrate the “glorious and harmonious” past of the Judeo-Arabic memory and will galvanize fans and first time festival-goers in the last two days, organizers noted in an email shared with Morocco World News.

Essaouira, a coastal city south of Casablanca, has long been a symbol of tolerance and socio-religious coexistence. According to Essaouira Mogador, the festival organizers, the city was the epitome of cultural exchange and religious dialogue.

The remaining two days of the festival are set to continue in that direction of peaceful coexistence by “celebrating the Judeo-Islamic heritage of the Maghreb region.”

Today’s program is scheduled to start at 4 p.m.. The first concert will be dedicated to the Andalusian poetic tradition. Moroccan singer Said Belcadi will immerse festival goers in the lyrically engrossing and spiritually enlivening poetry of Andalusia.

The concert is expected to deliver an exceptional commemoration of the love and mysticism-loaded Andalusian poetry, organizers noted. It will be “a celebration of love and cultural encounters” through the thrilling power of poetry.

At 5 p.m., Sanaa Marahati, a Moroccan master of traditional Melhoun and Gharnati music, will perform “a short foray into a history filled with vibrant memories of joy and sharing.”

The penultimate concert of the day, at 9 p.m., will see a blending of voices, “a mixture of genres” to give a real feel of harmony when Judeo-Arabic verses of lyrical poetry are performed at once. That part of entertaining and educating through mingling different cultural expressions will be performed by Andalucious and Hapiyout, two bands whose musical styles cross boundaries between Islamic and Jewish musical traditions.

Haja ElHamdaouia and Raymonde El Bidaouia, two strong voices in the Andalusian music genre, will give a joint performance, giving a final touch of “memorabilia” to the 15th anniversary of the first Essaouira Festival.

The event closes its doors tomorrow, October 28, at 11 a.m. with the screening of “Les Guerriers de la paix” (The Peace Warriors), a 2018 movie on Jews and Palestinians foregrounding dialogue and putting their lives on the line for peace between Palestine and Israel.

More than a mere nostalgic remembrance of a harmonious and joyous past between Muslim and Jewish Moroccans, however, organizers emphasized that the Essaouira Festival seeks to project itself in a future of peace between Jews and Arabs.

Through classics of shared musical and poetic traditions, the festival envisions celebrating the possibility of peace and dialogue though cultural forms that transcend divisive rhetoric.

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Mariam Amjoun, 9-Year-Old Moroccan, Wins Dubai’s Arab Reading Challenge

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Mariam Amjoun, a 9-year-old Moroccan girl, has won the 2018 Arab Reading Challenge in Dubai, outperforming 10.5 million participants from 40 countries.

Amjoun won AED 500,000 (nearly MAD 1.3 million) in prize money. She will use it for her university education and for her family for encouraging her to read, reported Gulf News.

The award ceremony was held at the Dubai Opera House today, October 30.

“I am extremely happy with this prize. I would like to thank his Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum for this amazing initiative which developed our cognitive curiosity and increased our love for reading books.”

“I advise Arab children to read because reading is the ‘lighthouse of civilization,’” she added.

Despite her young age, Amjoun said that she has read 200 books and participated in the challenge with only 60 books.

“If I want to describe my country in two words, I would say ‘a piece of heaven,’” Amjoun said confidently.

Amjoun was the youngest of five finalists from Egypt, Algeria, Palestine, and Jordan.

Before going to Dubai, Amjoun had beaten thousands of participants in Morocco and was chosen from among 16 semi-finalists.

Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, UAE prime minister, honored the top finalists from Arab and other non-Arab countries.

A panel of judges asked the finalists various questions before asking the audience to vote.The audience voted in an instant poll, choosing Amjoun.

Sheikh Mohammad presented the winners of the competition’s different categories with awards totaling AED 11 million (over $3 million).

“The challenge is the largest-ever Arab literacy initiative encouraging students to read as many books as possible, over 50, in one academic year,” wrote Gulf News.

The number of children participating this year increased by 26 percent since 2017, from 7.4 million to 10.5 million participants from 44 countries.

The number was described as “a record-breaking.”

The challenge included Arab students from Arab countries and non-Arab countries as well as non-native speakers of Arabic.

Tasneem Aidi from France was a top winner from a non-Arab country.

A total of 52,000 schools and 87,000 supervisors participated.

The Ekhlas School from Kuwait won an AED 1 million prize for “having the best reading initiatives in the region.” Aisha Tuwergy from Saudi Arabia won AED 300,000 for being the “best supervisor” to encourage students in the challenge, reported Gulf News.

Sheikh Mohammad launched the the Arab Reading Challenge in 2015. The challenge aims to “establish a culture of reading among the new Arab generations across the globe,” and enhance “the importance of knowledge in shaping their future as well as the future of their communities and countries.”

Palestinian Afaf Raed won the title of the champion of the 2017 Arab Reading Challenge.

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Lahcen Daoudi: ‘Europe Lucky to Have Morocco as a Neighbor’

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Daoudi, a senior figure in Morocco’s ruling Justice and Development Party (PJD), made his remarks on Monday at the third EU-Arab World summit in Athens, Greece.

The Greek government launched the summit in 2016 to provide “the necessary platforms of cooperation for a more efficient future.”

Speaking to journalists at the Athens summit, Daoudi drew attention to the cultural and historical ties between Europe and the Arab world.

As a bridging country between Europe and the Arab world, Morocco has repeatedly proven an invaluable partner for the EU, the PJD official argued. Explaining that strategic alliance with Rabat is vital for Europe, he added, “Europe is lucky to have Morocco as neighbor.”

While European leaders search for ways to limit the wave of immigrants from Africa and the Middle East to European countries, the Moroccan official suggested that Europe change its perception of the non-Western world.

Global solutions to global crises

Rather than singly focusing on how threatening and chaotic the outside world can be to so-called European norms and values, European leaders and citizens should shift their focus from security to common values and crises with the non-European world.

“The Mediterranean sea should unite us,” he said, adding that Europe cannot on its own meet the ever-growing challenges of contemporary life. Be it on climate change, intercontinental mobility, or the fight against global terrorism, “We need to act together for global peace and stability,” Daoudi noted.

The Moroccan’s ideas chimed with the guiding principles of the summit he was attending. Themed “Shared Horizons,” the annual EU-Arab World summit prides itself as a venue for academics, media personalities, and policy makers to devise ways of living in harmony.

Described as “a unique bridge of communication between two rapidly changing worlds,” the summit discussed topics as wide-ranging as cultural cooperation between Europe and the Arab world, cooperative architecture to face transnational terrorism, and an array of other global crises.

When dealing with geopolitical challenges in this globalized and interconnected world, the Moroccan official argued, Europe should opt for an intercultural perspective that fosters genuine dialogue, rather than flaunting its cultural exceptionalism.

More than an interest-focused choice, “Relations between Europe and the Arab world constitute a necessity of our times,” he said. “We need to face common problems together.” Both Europe and the Arab world face a new political landscape of crises and geopolitical perturbations, and “it is now imperative to cooperate.”

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Morocco and Germany Sign Agricultural Agreement

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Morocco, an important EU ally, enjoys good relations with a number of EU member states.

During a Monday meeting in Marrakech however, Germany and Morocco decided that there was room for further cooperation and integration of their agricultural policies.

Aziz Akhannouch, Morocco’s agriculture minister, and Julia Klockner, Germany’s food and agriculture minister, signed the convention. The two ministers highlighted the need “to give a new impetus” to the bilateral ties already binding the two nations.

In addition to increased agricultural output, the long-term goals of the cooperation include channeling Germany’s technological knowhow and its human and financial resources to Morocco’s evolving food sector. The convention is set to be a “true platform of sharing and collaboration.”

According to an official statement by the Moroccan government, Monday’s convention comes as a follow-up and a reinforcement of the German-Moroccan Center for Agricultural Council (CECAMA).

Created in 2014, CEMACA was meant to help Morocco reach its Green Morocco Plan of “high-performing, modern, and ecologically sustainable agriculture.”

Together with CEMACA, the newly signed convention is expected to create more pathways to achieve the goals of the Green Morocco Plan.

Investing in Africa

While the two may not be directly linked, the convention comes at a time when Germany—and Europe in general—is giving momentum to its Africa-oriented foreign policy.

Faced with a flow of African “economic migrants,” many European leaders and policymakers have said that Europe needs to engage more with the continent. Such voices have argued that, unless African states show signs of socio-economic prosperity, European borders will not be at ease.

Speaking to German investors on Tuesday, Chancellor Angela Merkel echoed similar sentiments. The German leader told her compatriots to ditch Asian markets, where they have heavily invested in recent years, in favor of Africa, “where the future is.”

“For many years we have been focusing on Asia. I think the future is increasingly turning towards Africa,” Merkel said at the Compact Africa, a Berlin-held summit of Germany’s diplomatic and trade efforts in the African continent.

European countries would “greatly benefit” from promoting economic development in Africa, Merkel argued.

The unarticulated sentiment is that the safest bet in containing the dynamic Europe-bound African mobility is to invest in African markets and create opportunities to accommodate the continent’s many unemployed youth.

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