فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Laayoune – The Director General of the French Development Agency (AFD) Group, Rémy Rioux, announced on Saturday in Laayoune that the group intends to make significant investments totaling €150 million in the Southern Provinces of the Kingdom in the near future.
“The AFD Group will now invest in the Southern regions and provide investments and financing there,” Rioux stated in a press declaration following his meetings with the Wali of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, Governor of the Laayoune province, Abdeslam Bekrate, the President of the Regional Council, Sidi Hamdi Ould Errachid, and the President of the Communal Council, Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid.
The1 CEO of AFD, who is leading a substantial delegation as part of his working visit to Morocco, highlighted the significant investments made in the Southern Provinces, noting that the AFD can “provide complementary expertise and financing.”
Rioux also expressed being “very impressed” by the investments and the quality of infrastructure in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, which are facilitating job creation and meeting the expectations of the youth in the Kingdom’s Southern regions.
In this context, he welcomed the establishment of private companies and the development of industrial zones in Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra, emphasizing that AFD’s investment in the Southern Provinces sends a strong signal to encourage economic actors by “providing financing solutions.”
Mr. Rioux further stated that AFD will further strengthen its collaboration with the OCP Group in the field of applied research, particularly in agriculture, recalling the significant financing agreement signed in Rabat concerning the decarbonization of the Group’s value chain.
During the visit, members of the AFD delegation attended presentations on the regional development program and the communal development program. They were also briefed on the various development projects included within the framework of the New Development Model for the Southern Provinces, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in2 2015.
The meetings held in Laayoune also allowed the French delegation to learn about the comprehensive development dynamics underway in the region, as well as the programs and projects implemented to establish this region as a strategic hub.
During their visit, the members of the French delegation conducted field visits to several socio-educational and economic projects, where they witnessed firsthand the sustained efforts being made towards the integrated development of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region.
These visits included the port of Laayoune, where they received explanations about commercial traffic and the landing of fisheries products at this infrastructure, as well as the port’s expansion project.
At the African Research Institute in Sustainable Agriculture (ASARI), part of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), the French delegation received a presentation on the institute’s missions.
This visit by the Director General of AFD is part of the Enhanced Exceptional Partnership between His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron, and tangibly reflects the shared desire to strengthen the already rich bilateral cooperation between the two countries and to support inclusive and sustainable development dynamics in all regions of the Kingdom.
