The Alawi kingdom's potential to generate sustainable energy through seawater, as well as to take advantage of the country's marine biodiversity, are not going unnoticed at the global level, says the entity

El Banco Mundial califica a Marruecos como un actor comprometido

photo_camera PHOTO/FILE - World Bank

Morocco continues its quest to become one of the world's major powers through challenges related to sustainability and renewable energy. The Moroccan government is facing a series of challenges that are leading to great benefits for the Kingdom's national economy. Internationally, they are realising the great potential of the North African nation. The World Bank (WB) has considered the Alawi kingdom as a committed and involved actor in global and regional agendas.

The World Bank notes that Morocco "can contribute to the development of a sustainable and inclusive blue economy (BE)". This is defined as a strategy that most countries are adopting to start grouping all sectors that are related to economic activities that come from the sea. These include fishing, coastal tourism, maritime transport, species farming, among others. All of them are related to sustainable development and to obtaining clean and safe energy.

AFP/ERIC BARADAT  -   Sede del Grupo del Banco Mundial en Washington, DC

In this way, Morocco is joining with the World Bank to establish a joint partnership that will strive to increase the blue economy. This will be done through a Programme for Results (PRR) that aims to strengthen the Alawi Kingdom's institutional and financial framework for the sustainable development of Morocco's coast and sea. The WB assures that if the approach to this project is specific, the Maghreb country will achieve a strengthening of its entire economy.

Morocco is beginning to capitalise on this economy. Among its main economic activities are the exploitation of marine biodiversity and the production of sustainable energy from seawater. In addition, they address the technological challenges the country is facing.

PHOTO/FILE - Nadia Fettah Alaoui, ministra de Economía y Finanzas de Marruecos y Ferid Belhaj, vicepresidente en la región MENA del Banco Mundial (BM)

The Kingdom has started to become fully aware of the importance of exploiting these natural resources, as well as the opportunities offered by the blue economy for economic growth. This has begun to be embraced following the establishment of the New Model for Development (NMD) and the Blue Economy Development Programme, Environmental and Social Systems Evaluation (ESES) which is included in the former.

It is a plan driven by the Executive of Aziz Akhannouch, as well as all the people who make it up, which aims to increase the economic capacity of Moroccans and strengthen their skills. It is a project that has only recently been implemented in the national economy and has the mission to achieve all its goals in 13 years' time. It is developed on the basis of the expectations of the Moroccan population. The plan will be developed through the reinforcement of its economic stability, foreign relations and, in addition, the improvement of the nation's image in the eyes of its international partners and in the search for new ones.

AFP/ FADEL SENNA  -   Los pescadores descargan cajas de pescado en el puerto de la principal ciudad del Sáhara Occidental controlada por Marruecos, El Aaiun

To this is added the use of its geostrategic position to attract investment, as it is the gateway for the powers to access the African market, as well as for them to travel to other places and invest there. It is also intended to create large infrastructures to attract business and entrepreneurs to the Kingdom.

The North African nation is beginning to develop the blue economy and the World Bank says Morocco needs to accelerate the implementation of improvements and developments in the country's coastal regions. The entity stresses that by doing so, it will attract investments that are dedicated to this sector and that will be able to generate wealth, as well as establish a concern for preserving the marine and coastal ecosystem

AFP/ FADEL SENNA  -   Un barco de pesca navega frente a la costa de la ciudad marroquí de Larache

The Moroccan government, for its part, has already announced a new national programme that will aim to define all these marine activities through the objective of protecting them and obtaining more resources. It has several central aims, such as the development of employment in the areas to start growing this blue economy and also the protection of environmental resources. Also, companies have been offered to cooperate to work on innovation in this part of the economy, whether they are public or private organisations, industries, etc.

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