Latest news with #Moroccans
Ya Biladi
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Ya Biladi
King Mohammed VI calls for early preparation of Morocco's 2026 legislative elections
Estimated read time: 1' In a speech delivered on Tuesday, July 29, on the occasion of Throne Day, King Mohammed VI addressed the upcoming legislative elections scheduled for 2026. «With just over a year remaining before the next legislative elections, set to take place within the constitutional and legal deadlines, we underscore the need to finalize the General Electoral Code within the House of Representatives. This code must be adopted and made public before the end of this year», the Sovereign declared. «To this end, we have given our High Instructions to the Minister of the Interior to rigorously oversee preparations for the 2026 legislative elections. It is essential to initiate political consultations with all concerned stakeholders», he added. Several political parties, including the Justice and Development Party (PJD), have already called on Interior Minister Abdelouafi Laftit to begin preparations for the electoral process. They stress the importance of inclusive dialogue with all political forces wishing to take part in the elections. Key issues expected to be on the table include electoral redistricting, the electoral threshold, and the long-debated question of allowing Moroccans residing abroad to vote directly from their countries of residence.
Reuters
18 hours ago
- Business
- Reuters
Morocco's king calls for addressing regional inequalities
RABAT, July 29 (Reuters) - Morocco's King Mohammed VI urged on Tuesday the government to elaborate a new generation of reforms to ensure equal development between the country's regions. "It is not acceptable for Morocco – today or at any time in the future – to be a two-speed country," the king, who has final say over the country's strategic policies, said in an annual speech marking 26 years of his reign. While the level of poverty has dropped in Morocco from 11.9% in 2014 to 6.8% in 2024, some inner regions show above-average poverty levels, according to the national statistics agency. Morocco has attracted industrial investments in sectors such as aerospace and car manufacturing, which now top its exports. However, most of the country's GDP, industry and critical infrastructure are concentrated in the northwestern areas, leaving the rest of Morocco dependent on farming, fisheries and tourism. "Some regions - particularly in rural areas - are still suffering from poverty and vulnerability, due to a lack of infrastructure and basic facilities," the king said. The new reforms should aim at improving social services, education, health care and water management as well as promoting employment, he said. Morocco created just 82,000 jobs last year, which falls short of reducing the country's high unemployment rate at 13.3%, according to the central bank. In his speech, the king also reaffirmed Morocco's readiness for "a frank, responsible, fraternal and sincere dialogue on the various issues pending" with Algeria. Algeria cut ties with Morocco in 2021, halted the flow of gas, banned Moroccan flights from crossing its airspace and imposed visas on Moroccans, after the kingdom resumed ties with Israel. The two most populous countries in the Maghreb are at loggerheads over the status of Western Sahara. Morocco considers the territory its own, while Algeria hosts and backs the Polisario Front, which seeks its own state there. The king also thanked the UK and Portugal, the most recent Western nations to back Morocco's autonomy plan for the territory.
Reuters
a day ago
- Business
- Reuters
Morocco's first half trade deficit expands by 18.4%
RABAT, July 29 (Reuters) - Morocco's annual trade deficit widened by 18.4% to 162 billion dirhams ($17.8 billion) in the first six months of this year, the foreign exchange regulator said on Tuesday. Imports were up 8.9% from a year earlier to 398 billion dirhams, outweighing exports at 236 billion dirhams, up 3%, the regulator said in a monthly report. Energy imports dropped 7.4% to 53 billion dirhams, while wheat imports fell 9% to 9 billion dirhams. Morocco's automotive industry, which includes Stellantis and Renault factories, was the leading export sector at 77 billion dirhams, despite a 3.6% drop. Morocco also has the world's largest phosphate reserves, and reported a 19% increase in exports of the mineral and its derivatives, including fertilisers, to 46.5 billion dirhams. Remittances from Moroccans abroad, key to its inflow of hard currency, dropped 2.6% to 55.8 billion dirhams, while tourism revenue was up 9.6% to 54 billion dirhams. Foreign direct investments stood at 16.8 billion dirhams, up 59%.
Morocco World
a day ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
Handala Ship: Moroccan Journalist Mohamed El Bakkali Arrives in Morocco After Release
Rabat – Moroccan journalist Mohamed El Bakkali has arrived in Morocco today following his release by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF). El Bakkali has been among the activists and journalists detained in the Mediterranean Sea aboard the Gaza-bound Handala ship, seeking to assist Palestinians suffering from a genocidal starvation strategy launched by the IOF for months. Several people wearing the keffiyeh and waving Moroccan flags welcomed the Moroccan journalist at the Mohammed VI Airport in Casablanca upon his arrival. During his reception, he expressed gratitude to Moroccans for their solidarity following his arrest. On Monday, the journalist's brother, Mustapha El Bakkali, confirmed that Mohamed El Bakkali arrived at the Paris airport evening following his release. 'Thank God, welcome back among us, hero,' El Bakkali's brother wrote on X. El Bakkali, a correspondent for Al Jazeera, has earned international support, demanding an international intervention to end his and other activists' detention. Many have joined an online campaign, calling on the Moroccan government to intervene to guarantee his release. On Monday evening, activists who were on board the Gaza-bound Handala aid ship refused to sign documents related to forced deportation. Several reports said the activists decided to continue their open-ended hunger strike. Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) said on Tuesday that Chris Smalls, a human rights defender from the US, was 'physically assaulted by seven ununiformed individuals.' 'They choked him and kicked him in the legs, leaving visible signs of violence on his neck and back,' the organization said. The Handala ship sought to reach Gaza, which is facing a catastrophic famine staged by the IOF, which has been carrying out a genocidal war on civilians in the region since October 2023. Since Tuesday's dawn, the IOF has killed at least 62 civilians, including 19 aid seekers. This adds up to a death toll that reached 59,921 citizens, as well as 145,233 others wounded. Tags: Handala shipmohamed el bakkali
Euronews
a day ago
- General
- Euronews
The world loves argan oil but Morocco's trees are paying the price
Argan oil runs through your fingers like liquid gold, hydrating, luscious, and restorative. Prized worldwide as a miracle cosmetic, it's more than that in Morocco. It's a lifeline for rural women and a byproduct of a forest slowly buckling under the weight of growing demand. To make it, women crouch over stone mills and grind down kernels. One kilogram, roughly two days of work, earns them around €2.60, enough for a modest foothold in an economy where opportunities are scarce. It also links them to generations past. 'We were born and raised here. These traditions come from nature, what our parents and grandparents have taught us and what we've inherited,' cooperative worker Fatma Mnir said. Long a staple in local markets, today, argan oil is in luxury hair and skin care products lining drugstore aisles worldwide. But its runaway popularity is threatening argan forests, with overharvesting piled on top of drought straining trees once seen as resilient in the harshest of conditions. Hafida El Hantati, owner of one of the cooperatives that harvests the fruit and presses it for oil, said the stakes go beyond the trees, threatening cherished traditions. 'We must take care of this tree and protect it because if we lose it, we will lose everything that defines us and what we have now,' she said at the Ajddigue cooperative outside the coastal town of Essaouira. A forest running out of time For centuries, argan trees have supported life in the arid hills between the Atlantic Ocean and the Atlas Mountains, feeding people and animals, holding soil in place and helping keep the desert from spreading. The spiny trees can survive in areas with less than an inch of annual rain and heat up to 50°C. They endure drought with roots that stretch as far as 35 metres underground. Goats climb trees, chomp their fruit, and eventually disperse seeds as part of the forest's regeneration cycle. Moroccans stir the oil into nut butters and drizzle it over tagines. Rich in vitamin E, it's lathered onto dry hair and skin to plump, moisturise and stave off damage. Some use it to calm eczema or heal chicken pox. But the forest has thinned. Trees bear fewer fruit, their branches gnarled from thirst. In many places, cultivated land has replaced them as fields of citrus and tomatoes, many grown for export, have expanded. Communities once managed forests collectively, setting rules for grazing and harvesting. Now the system is fraying, with theft routinely reported. What's wrong with the forest? A forest that covered about 14,000 square kilometres at the turn of the century has shrunk by 40 per cent. Scientists warn that argan trees are not invincible. 'Because argan trees acted as a green curtain protecting a large part of southern Morocco against the encroaching Sahara, their slow disappearance has become considered as an ecological disaster,' said Zoubida Charrouf, a chemist who researches argan at Université Mohammed V in Rabat. Shifting climate is a part of the problem. Fruit and flowers sprout earlier each year as rising temperatures push the seasons out of sync. Goats that help spread seeds can be destructive, too, especially if they feed on seedlings before they mature. Overgrazing has become worse as herders and fruit collectors fleeing drier regions encroach on plots long allocated to specific families. The forests also face threats from camels bred and raised by the region's wealthy. They stretch their necks into trees and chomp entire branches, leaving lasting damage, Charrouf said. Liquid gold and dry pockets Today, women peel, crack and press argan for oil at hundreds of cooperatives. Much makes its way through middlemen to be sold in products by companies and subsidiaries of L'Oréal, Unilever, and Estée Lauder. But workers say they earn little while watching profits flow elsewhere. Cooperatives say much of the pressure stems from climbing prices. A 1-litre bottle sells for 600 Moroccan dirhams (€57), up from 25 dirhams (€2.38) three decades ago. Products infused with argan sell for even more abroad, and cosmetics companies call argan the most expensive vegetal oil on the market. The coronavirus pandemic upended global demand and prices and many cooperatives closed. Cooperative leaders say new competitors have flooded the market just as drought has diminished how much oil can be squeezed from each fruit. Cooperatives were set up to provide women a base pay and share profits each month. But Union of Women's Argan Cooperatives President Jamila Id Bourrous said few make more than Morocco's minimum monthly wage. 'The people who sell the final product are the ones making the money," she said. Some businesses say large multinational companies use their size to set prices and shut others out. Khadija Saye, a co-owner of Ageourde Cooperative, said there were real fears about monopoly. 'Don't compete with the poor for the one thing they live from," she said. "When you take their model and do it better because you have money, it's not competition, it's displacement." One company, Olvea, controls 70 per cent of the export market, according to data from local cooperatives. Cooperatives say few competitors can match its capacity to fill big orders for global brands. Representatives for the company did not respond to requests for comment. Mounting challenges with limited solutions On a hill overlooking the Atlantic, a government water truck weaves between rows of trees, pausing to hose saplings that have just started to sprout. The trees are a project that Morocco began in 2018, planting 100 square kilometres on private lands abutting the forests. To conserve water and improve soil fertility, argan trees alternate rows with capers, a technique known as intercropping. The idea is to expand forest cover and show that argan, if properly managed, can be a viable source of income. Officials hope it will ease pressure on the overharvested commons and convince others to reinvest in the land. The trees were expected to begin producing this year, but haven't during a drought. Another issue is the supply chain. 'Between the woman in the village and the final buyer, there are four intermediaries. Each takes a cut. The cooperatives can't afford to store, so they sell cheap to someone who pays upfront,' Id Bourrous, the union president, said. The government has attempted to build storage centres to help producers hold onto their goods longer and negotiate better deals. So far, cooperatives say it hasn't worked, but a new version is expected in 2026 with fewer barriers to access. Despite problems, there's money to be made. During harvest season, women walk into the forest with sacks, scanning the ground for fallen fruit. To El Hantati, the forest, once thick and humming with life, feels quieter now. Only the winds and creaking trees are audible as goats climb branches in search of remaining fruits and leaves. 'When I was young, we'd head into the forest at dawn with our food and spend the whole day gathering. The trees were green all year long,' she said. She paused, worried about the future as younger generations pursue education and opportunities in larger cities. 'I'm the last generation that lived our traditions. Weddings, births, even the way we made oil. It's all fading.'
