Morocco arms move may hit Sahara talks-Polisario

Morocco has launched an arms buildup in a worrying move that could hurt U.N.-backed talks on the Western Sahara, Algeria's APS news agency quoted the territory's independence movement as saying.

Polisario Front President Mohamed Abdelaziz added that people in the disputed territory were concerned about Morocco's "aggressive impulse" because they did not want a return to conflict, the official agency reported late on Saturday.

"It's an arms race is a significant worry for the Saharawi people, at a time when Moroccan-Saharan conflict lies in the hands of the United Nations," APS quoted him as saying. "The intention to do harm is the basis of current policies Morocco receipt of all weapons and the redeployment of troops in the territory of Western Sahara," he said.

A fourth round of U.N.-brokered talks between Morocco and Polisario to settle the status of the phosphate-rich desert territory of 260,000 will start on March 16 near New York.

Peacekeepers have watched over Western Sahara since 1991 when the United Nations brokered a ceasefire to end a guerrilla war between Polisario and Morocco, which annexed the northwest African territory in 1975.

Morocco poured money and people in this area, bounded on the west by the Atlantic, and to the east in the sand defensive wall protected tens of thousands of troops and reinforced by mines. No country formally recognizes that the rule of Morocco over Western Sahara and the UN Security Council is more than a solution.

Morocco's Meditel 2007 profit more than doubles

Morocco's second-biggest telecoms company Meditel said its net income increased more than two times, last year as its client base grew 29 percent, in spite of tough competition from leading player Maroc Telecom.

Meditel's gross sales grew 13 percent to 6.8 billion dirhams ($912 million) while net profit leaped 132 percent on a comparable basis to 541 million dirhams, said the company, a 50-50 joint venture between Spain's Telefonica and Portugal Telecom PTEL.LS.

Meditel revenues have soared during the past two years during heavy network investments have paid off and its subscriber base expands.

The operator said the latest results were boosted by strong demand for pre-paid services. Earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) rose 12 percent and represented 46 percent of net sales, up from 44 percent in 2006.

"These results position Meditel as one of the best-performing subsidiaries of the Telefonica and Portugal Telecom groups," Meditel said in the statement emailed on Thursday, which was dated March 4.

Maroc Telecom said last month that the use of mobile phones in the north African country grew by 30 percent in 2007, despite a severe drought that low incomes, and airtime prices near 25 per cent.

Morocco has resources that enable the country to become a producer of new energies, particularly wind, hydro, thermal and solar energies, American Ass

Morocco can produce renewable energies and become an important actor in the sector, Mr. Karsner said at a meeting on Morocco's strategies to promote renewable energies, held by Morocco's embassy in Washington on the sidelines of Washington International Renewable Energy Conference, WIREC 2008.
The United States official stressed that in the north African country is in a position to become an energy exporter, mainly in Europe, stressing that such exports will have a greater impact on the country's receipts, the trade balance deficit reduction and prosperity.
While expressing his country's readiness to accompany this activity in the kingdom, he urged the American private sector to invest in Morocco to take most of the major opportunities.
Moroccan Minister of Energy, Amina Benkhadra, who attended the meeting, said that Morocco is seeking to make profitable use of its natural resources, and opportunities for partnership in the framework of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States to increase investment in the country. In an FTA between the two countries, entered into force on 1 January 2006.

Tourist arrivals up 11% in January 2008

Tourist arrivals in Morocco, in January registered an increase of 11% compared with the same period last year, according to figures released by the Ministry of Tourism and the National Tourism Observatory.
Some 409,146 tourists visited the North African kingdom during this period with the French topping the list with 134,875 tourists, followed by the Spaniards (105,994), the British (22,039), the Italians (20,000), the Belgians (18,724), the Germans (15,406) and the Dutch (12,509).
These figures also show that guest nights in classified hotels posted a 5% decrease, reaching some 1 million bed nights, against 1.14 million nights last year.
This decrease was offset slightly by a 17% increase in guest nights spent by local tourists, which reached some 232,456 guest nights in January.
Except for the city of Marrakesh and Agadir, which posted a 12% and 10% lower, respectively, all other tourist destinations receiving more tourists. Rabat has exceeded the list with 12%, followed by Casablanca and Fez (center) (+5% respectively) and Tangiers (+2%).
Room occupancy rate declined by 4 percentage points, to 38%, compared with 42% for the same period in 2007.
Travel revenues reached about 566 million dollars in January to 642 million dollars in the same period last year, that is, at 11.8% decrease.
Morocco has developed an ambitious strategy known as "Vision 2010", aimed to attract 10 million tourists by 2010. The strategy provides for the creation of 160000 beds, bringing the national capacity to 230000 beds. It also aims to create some 600,000 new jobs.

'Morocco on the right path,' HRW

"Morocco is on the right path" in the field of human rights, said Human Rights Watch (HRW) representative in the United Nations Office at Geneva, Julie De Rivero.
"Morocco is a good example for other countries," Ms. De Rivero said after a meeting with Moroccan Justice Minister Abdelouahed Radi, commending the openness of the Moroccan government, which accepts debates with NGOs, including Human Rights Watch.
The HRW official also commended Morocco's action within the Human Rights Council through "the important role" of Morocco's ambassador in the UN Geneva office Mohamed Loulichki who, in his capacity as facilitator of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) Working Group, has "constructively contributed during negotiations."
She said that the achievements in the field of human rights and the problems remaining to be discussed in Morocco in the presentation of its report in April next year, as part of the UPR, a new international institutional mechanism established on the basis of an instrument the human rights situation in UN member states.
During the meeting, held at the periphery 7 session of the Human Rights Council, Mr. Radi stressed that the choice of Morocco to promote democracy, human rights and openness to civil society stems from the unwavering conviction.
The evidence, he said, is that the report Morocco will submit to the UPR is the fruit of a participative process to ensure the success of this experience.
On this occasion, the minister reiterated Moroccos readiness to engage into dialogue with HRW on various issues, within the framework of rule of law and laws in force.

180,000 people benefited from housing financing program, ministry

Over 180,000 people from unprivileged social classes had access to housing thanks to the government's funding program, FOGARIM, a press release of the Housing Ministry said on Tuesday.
Some 31,785 housing loans, amounting to over USD 628Mn, were granted up to late February 2008, the press release said, adding that interest rates have plummeted compared to recent years to reach as down as 3.53%.
FOGARIM was created in 2005 as part of state power that bid to facilitate access to generic housing for people with low incomes or wrong.
This cheap housing provided to the 350000 housing units around two million inhabitants, the Minister of Housing, Ahmed Tawfik Hejira shown recently.
He said sixty cities across Morocco benefited from the program is also known as social housing, and that the tax cuts agreed in 2002, were aimed at speeding up the production rate and affordable social housing.
This move was apparently allowed a number of secondary wage gains to buy an apartment, as well as 70% of buyers get a monthly salary of about $ 450, he said.

Tourism sector propels economic success in Morocco, publication

Morocco's tourism strategy, dubbed Vision 2010, devised with the aim of boosting national tourism, begins to yield its fruits, notably in infrastructure improvements, British online publication "Easier.com" wrote, stressing that "the future is looking brighter than ever in Morocco."
The Vision 2010, which aims to attract 10 million tourists by 2010, provides for creating 160,000 beds, thus bringing the national capacity to 230,000 beds. It also aims at creating some 600,000 new jobs.
Investors who chose a luxury resort property in six events in buying rock solid and fast-growing tourism market, the publication said, noting that the north African country welcomes tourists who are looking for that unmistakable Arabic culture, together with the outstanding natural beauty where they can enjoy a wide range of entertainment and activities.
Recalling that Morocco has attracted prominent investors from 1970 such as Malcolm Forbes, founder of the well-known magazine Fortune, the publication emphasizes that the north African country is witnessing today, unprecedented growth, in terms of its infrastructure and the number of visitors, with tourism demand increases 6% in 2006, according to the United Nations World Tourism Organization (UNWTO).
“Morocco is … a unique location for property investors and offers the opportunity to purchase property early in an emerging market at very favorable prices,” Sara Romero, product analyst at the British company propertyshowrooms.com, said, adding that “what is unique about the market for property in Morocco is the sense of security for investors.”
According to Moroccan Tourism and Craft Industry Ministry, around 7.45 million tourists visited Morocco in 2007, which represents a 13% rise from the year 2006.