Casablanca — The African Development Bank Group (AfDB) and the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco on 28 July 2015 in Casablanca signed one loan and two grant agreements amounting to $114.5 million (about 1.13 billion dirhams) to improve the country's economic competitiveness.

The signing ceremony was co-chaired by the economy and finance minister, Mohammed Boussaid and the President of the AfDB, Donald Kaberuka.

The US$112.5 million loan for the Programme to Support the Competitiveness of the Moroccan Economy (PACEM) is a first response by the Bank would enable Morocco to overcome constraints identified in a jointly conducted Growth Diagnostic. The reforms will enable the improvement of the environment for private investment (the legal framework, business environment and entrepreneurship) as well as the effectiveness of public investment (governance and procurement).

The two grants will finance two institutions that are critical to the reforms.

The first grant of approximately US$1.1 million will be used to finance the creation of a pilot business intelligence unit to strengthen the service coordination role of the Head of Government Office.

'85% of Morocco's Foreign Direct Investment is in Africa' - AfDB

Morocco is not only in line with the African Development Bank's High 5 priorities, the Kingdom is also "one of the Bank's best performing portfolios on the continent," said AfDB president Akinwumi Adesina during his first official visit to Morocco as AfDB president. He also hailed Morocco's role on the continent: "85% of your foreign direct investment is in Africa" and applauded the wish expressed by Morocco a few days before his visit to re-join the African Union (AU). Read more. More about AfDB in this BRIEFING.

The second grant in the same amount will go to the Treasury and External Finance Department which coordinates foreign finance and debt management to better meet new global challenges.

The AfDB stressed that the authorities have put significant structural reforms in place that have improved the macroeconomic fundamentals and sustained growth. This is why the AfDB has every confidence in Morocco's ability to implement these reform programmes and institutional capacity-building, in order to promote stronger, more resilient and more inclusive growth.

The Bank's portfolio in Morocco consists of 33 current operations with a net commitment of 21.3 billion dirhams. The average value of each of these operations is estimated at US$197 million. The portfolio is predominantly within the infrastructure sector (including transport, energy, water and sanitation) and governance.