MOROCCO - 20 YEARS OF MOHAMMED VI'S REIGN

Whilst the thousand-year-old learnings of Islam are handed down in the classrooms of Rabat’s Institute for the Training of Imams (at the forefront of efforts to counter radicalization), the first high-speed train in Africa speeds from Casablanca to Tangiers in just over two hours.

This is Morocco as it appears under King Mohammed VI, the sovereign who will be celebrating 20 years on the throne at the end of July. The country today acts as a bridge between tradition and innovation, but it is also so much more than just that.
 
***Nasser Bourita – Foreign Minister
Morocco’s vocation is to act as a bridge between Africa and Europe

Economic progress, as seen in Tanger Med Port, a leading Mediterranean import-export hub, does not ignore the issue of sustainability. MASEN, the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy, is a renewables project which was actively supported by the King. 
 
***Fatima Hamdouch – Director of Strategy for MASEN
What was decided at the time was the setting up of an agency devoted to the development of solar energy. Our objectives were extremely ambitious right from the start, namely that 42% of our electricity should come from renewables by 2020.
 
However, major challenges remain.
 
***Abdelhak Khiame – Director of the Central Office of Judicial Investigations and Head of Antiterrorism 
Morocco understands the scourge of terrorism only too well. We have realized that by focusing on security alone we won’t be able to combat what drives young people to become radicalized. 

***Driss Guerraoui – Chairman of the Competition Council
Morocco has grown far wealthier since gaining independence. Nonetheless, social, territorial and gender inequality has continued to grow. This is one of the leading challenges facing Morocco today.

As for immigration, Morocco has not forgotten its experience as a country of origin and is unafraid of the phenomenon - quite the opposite, in fact.  

***Khalid Zerouali – Director of Migration and Border Control (Ministry of the Interior)
Immigration can only be a source of wealth. Just as a young European has the right to travel the world, so must a young African have the same right, although he must also be protected to keep him from falling into the hands of criminal networks.