The two conventions, initialled yesterday, Friday, in the ochre city by Nizar Baraka, Minister of Economy and Finance, and Aly Abou Sebaa, Vice-President of the AfDB, further strengthen the exemplary partnership and the privileged relations between the Kingdom and the Bank. The first agreement concerns the use of Moroccan procurement procedures in the context of national tenders launched for projects financed by the AfDB. The agreement is likely to bring "a real advantage to the national company", affirms the Minister. The second convention relates to a donation from the bank, intended for the modernisation of the organisational framework for debt management. This donation will be used to finance the setting up of a trading room allowing Morocco to better negotiate and actively manage its debt and, consequently, obtain the best interest rate, according to Nizar Baraka.

Furthermore, another convention was signed on the same day between Morocco and the OPEC Fund for International Development. Amounting to 60 million dollars, this loan and guarantee agreement is intended for the financing of the second tranche of the Global Rural Electrification Programme (PERG) of the National Office for Electricity and Water (ONEE). According to the Minister of Economy and Finance, some 1,065 rural communes will be connected to the electricity grid within the framework of the said agreement. This electrification operation is part of the efforts made by the government for the promotion of the rural world and the improvement of the living standards of the populations. On this occasion, Mr. Baraka highlighted the excellence of the relations existing between Morocco and the Fund, as evidenced by its investments in the Kingdom, which have exceeded 281 million dollars and concerned all vital sectors of the national economy, such as agriculture, irrigation, dams, health, education, drinking water, and roads. Let us specify that the AfDB, which closed its Marrakech meetings yesterday, Friday, is Morocco's leading partner within the development community and that the Kingdom is the Bank's largest client among its regional member countries.

-* The recent AfDB Assemblies were placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and initiated under the theme "Structural Transformation of Africa".

-* These annual assemblies saw the participation of more than 2,500 delegates, including heads of state, finance ministers, central bank governors, representatives of multilateral financing institutions, development agencies, and NGOs, as well as business leaders and researchers from 78 countries.