Tunis — The African Development Bank (AfDB) and the Kingdom of Morocco have signed a € 66 million loan agreement to finance the third phase of the country's Public Administration Reform Support Programme (PARAP III) which was approved on Wednesday, 25 June 2008, in Tunis, by the Board of Directors of the Bank Group.

The agreement was signed on Thursday in Tunis by the Bank's Vice President in charge of Sector Operations, Zeinab El Bakri, and the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco in Tunisia, Najib Zerouali Quariti, in the presence of the country's Executive Director in the Bank, Mohamed Mahroug, among other senior Bank staff.

Speaking during the ceremony, Mrs. El-Bakri noted that the funding was a continuation of previous operations in support of the new government's development efforts to achieve the objectives of its public administration reforms approved by the parliament in October 2007.

"The Bank commends Moroccan authorities for these efforts. We will maintain the excellent collaboration with the government in continuation of the administrative reforms and the improvement of the wellbeing of the Moroccan people," she emphasized.

For his part, the Moroccan ambassador expressed his country's appreciation for efforts by the Bank's management and staff to strengthen cooperation between the institution and his country "which is among the very first clients of the Bank and the latter, to become Morocco's premier development partner".

Mr. Quariti said completion of the programme will, without a doubt, strengthen transparency and efficiency in economic governance and accelerate the country's decentralization efforts.

The Programme aims at achieving four key objectives: Strengthen public finance management, improve efficiency in human resources management, control the civil service wage bill and streamline procedures and introduce e-government. The overall goal is to promote strong economic growth and sustainable development, thereby strengthening the competitiveness of the economy while ensuring medium-term macro-economic viability.

The Bank's budget support covers the 2008-2009 period. PARAP III is jointly financed with the World Bank and the European Union. The objectives of the PARAP are aligned with Morocco's priorities as well as with the Bank's strategic orientations and policy on good governance for 2008-2012.

The Bank started its operations in Morocco in 1970. To date, its cumulative approvals in the country stand at €5.54 billion in 96 projects and programmes.

* 1 UA = USD 162069 = EUR 1.04507 = 11.9601= MAD 11.9601 as at 25/06/2008

CONTACT: Felix Njoku - Tel. : +216 71 10 26 12 - E-mail : f.njoku@afdb.org