At the beginning of this ceremony, the Minister of the Interior, Mohand Laenser, presented to the Sovereign the progress report of the second phase of the INDH since its launch in June 2011 and outlined the main actions carried out under the territorial upgrading programme which concerns 587 rural communes falling under 22 provinces.

The PMAT, which aims to promote the living conditions of the populations of 3,300 douars located in mountainous, landlocked, and difficult-to-access regions, will also allow for the reduction of disparities in terms of access to basic infrastructure, equipment, and local services, as well as the inclusion of the targeted populations in the dynamic triggered by the INDH, the minister stressed.

The management of the said programme is done according to the principles of good governance and on the basis of a participatory approach and long-term planning, the minister affirmed, noting that such an approach is capable of ensuring its full success and making it a model. On the "improvement of basic health services" component, this programme, he added, has to date seen the acquisition of 50 ambulances, the construction or launch of work to build 69 staff housing units for doctors, nurses, and midwives, and the programming of the construction of eight rural dispensaries during the 2013-2015 period.

Regarding support for education, Mr. Laenser made it known that the number of staff housing units, completed or under construction for the 2011-2013 period for teachers, has reached 651 units (3,008 housing units programmed for the 2011-2015 period).

As for the "Roads, paths, and access structures" component, the minister affirmed that 423 kilometres of roads or paths have been completed or are under construction and that 23 engineering structures have been built out of the 68 programmed. Some 2,432 douars are concerned by the "Generalisation of rural electrification" component, the minister continued, noting that 1,425 of these douars have been connected to the electrical network during the 2011-2013 period. On the "Improvement of access to drinking water" component, some 252 water points have been completed or are under construction.

And to conclude that the PMAT has allowed, thanks to the personal follow-up of H.M. the King, the improvement of the living conditions of the targeted populations, notably through the strengthening of health infrastructure, the improvement of access to basic social infrastructure and services, the fight against school dropout, the development of the electrical network and drinking water supply, in addition to opening up the populations of mountainous regions. This ceremony was also marked by the screening of an institutional film highlighting the concrete achievements of the INDH territorial upgrading programme. At the end of this ceremony, H.M. the King posed for a souvenir photo with the members of the INDH coordination committee. Taking part in this ceremony were advisors to H.M. the King, members of the government and the diplomatic corps accredited to Rabat, elected officials, donors, and representatives of civil society.