The investment committee approved 199 draft agreements for 241 billion dirhams (Akhannouch)

Monday, June 10, 2024 at 9:20 p.m.

Rabat – The Investment Commission in its old version and the National Investment Commission (CNI) achieved unprecedented results with the holding of 12 sessions which allowed the approval of 199 draft agreements and amendments to agreements for a total amount of 241 billion dirhams (MMDH), making it possible to generate nearly 140,000 direct and indirect jobs, said the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, on Monday.

Speaking during the oral questions session dedicated to general policies on the theme of promoting investment and boosting employment, the Head of Government specified that the CNI, established by the new Investment Charter, held five sessions which were sanctioned by the adoption of 115 projects totaling 173 billion dirhams and allowing the creation of more than 96,000 direct and indirect jobs.

The new Investment Charter provides for a battery of integrated measures having given private investment its expected operational efficiency with an immediate impact on the dynamics of employment and Moroccan business, affirmed Mr. Akhannouch, noting that the national capital covers 69 pc of the volume of investments covered by the conventions approved during the last five sessions.

And to specify that the sectoral distribution of approved investment projects highlights a tangible diversity of targeted sectors, which are priority and with high added value and which Morocco is working to strengthen, noting that these are sectors of industry, trade, transport, logistics, renewable energies, mining and telecommunications, as well as sectors with a social dimension such as education, health and tourism.

The investment commission in its old version or the CNI (current) constitutes a major lever having made it possible to give a strong dynamic to private investment and the improvement of its governance, he noted, noting that the commission aims to fully assume the role assigned to it in terms of implementing the axes of the new Investment Charter and the establishment of a new competitive economic model and a business climate favorable to investment.

In the same context, the Head of Government stressed that the government is determined to launch a series of ambitious and integrated tools to boost entrepreneurship as a main prelude to economic acceleration and the creation of stable jobs and quality, reporting the completion of the design of the 2023-2026 strategic roadmap relating to the promotion of the business climate which is structured around three main axes including 10 priority projects and 46 strategic initiatives.

To accelerate the implementation of this structuring transformation, the National Business Climate Commission is mobilized as the main channel aimed at supporting the development of this area in perfect coordination with the various partners in the public and private sectors, he said. he indicated, noting that the commission launched 70 pc of initiatives and projects in 2023 of which 44 pc have been carried out, while the others will be scheduled in the years to come.

Among the most important achievements in consolidating the business climate in Morocco are the adoption and modernization of several legal texts to facilitate investment, particularly in terms of reducing payment terms, developing the public procurement regime, participatory financing, electronic business creation, as well as the simplification and digitalization of more than 45 pc of administrative procedures linked to investment, in addition to the reform of the Regional Investment Centers, he said.

Mr. Akhannouch noted the continued deconcentration of investment agreements through the extension of the powers of regional investment commissions by giving them powers to approve agreements and projects of less than 250 million dirhams. , and by providing them with governance and monitoring mechanisms allowing investors transparency of the legal and procedural climate governing investment contracts.

These global transformations in the governance of regional investment are likely to create a territorial environment guaranteeing convergence between major investment projects of a strategic nature and other national investments, he added, specifying that at the In favor of improving the arsenal relating to investment, 90 pc of the projects approved during the first four sessions of the National Investment Commission have actually started construction and development operations.