Rabat - Satirical Spanish television show Crackovia has recently aired an episode that tells a lot about the stereotypes that Spaniards have about their southern neighbors.

Morocco is being portrayed as a country where corruption is widespread and where everything can be bought. In the episode, Morocco is directly referred to as a barren desert country where it seldom rains.

The sketch begins with Real Madrid players Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas- who are impersonated by two actors from the program- as they arrived in Casablanca Mohammed VI airport to participate in the 2014FIFA Club World Cup.

The two players are shown waiting in a line to get their passports checked. Sergio Ramos tells Real Madrid's goalkeeper Casillas that he had thought Morocco was a desert. The latter then proceeds to explain that it is “indeed a desert, but with some oases.”

Ramos tells Casillas that he knew from a friend of his that ‘in Morocco one can bargain in almost everything,” implicitly indicating that corruption is prevalent in all aspects of life.

[caption id="attachment_154278" align="aligncenter" width="850"] Spain: Satirical Video Mocks Morocco[/caption]

To make his point, Ramos hands over a swimming pool access card to the border control policeman instead of a passport, in an attempt to show his teammate that one can easily bribe his way in Morocco.

When the Moroccan policeman asks Ramos once again to provide him with a passport, the Spanish defender tries another time to bribe the officer by giving him a Real Madrid membership card.

In broken Spanish, the Moroccan policeman gets annoyed with the player's mockery and calls on the guards to detain them and hand them over to the judge.

The judge then sentenced both players to five years and one day in prison. They were accused of not “respecting the authorities, lack of identity documents and detention of women worth 100 camels.”

Ramos refuses the verdict saying he only agrees to spend two and half years in prison. The sketch ended with the two players locked inside a Guantanamo-style prison.

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Tunis - Gunman shot dead 22 people — 20 foreign tourists and two Tunisians — and injured 54 today in an assault at the National Bardo Museum, near the country's parliament in Central Tunis, medical sources said on Tunisian National TV.

Chief of government Habib Essid said earlier that the attack left 19 dead and 24 were injured. This is the first time that terrorists have targeted tourism in Tunisia.

“The Tourists had come from La Goulette on buses to visit the museum,” said Chief of Government Habib Essid. “While terrorists had previously targeted police and the army, it is the first time that they have targeted tourists. 19 died and 24 (among them two Tunisians) were injured. The war against terrorism is long," Essid said, adding that 400 terrorists had been arrested recently.

The President of Tunisia, Béji Caid Essebsi, visited the scene and the victims in hospital. "This is a calamity,” he said. “Tunisia must eradicate these calamities from the map and focus on more mobilization.”

According to private radio station Mosaique FM, five terrorists, three of the men dressed in soldiers’ uniforms, participated in the action and took hostages inside the museum.

"My family was scared and shocked when they heard the news this morning. Now they are safe with the police presence and helicopters. The Bardo area is a very quiet area," said Elyes Tekaya who lives next door to the museum and who had left for work just before the event occurred.

Interior Ministry spokesman Mohamed Ali Aroui said that security reinforcements were deployed around the Bardo Museum and tourists were evacuated from the building. The attack on the National Bardo Museum also prompted the evacuation of Tunisia's nearby parliament building.

Aroui stated that injured tourists were rushed to hospital to receive necessary treatment.

The museum stands adjacent to the Assembly of People's Representatives (the national Parliament) building and includes the world's largest collection of Roman mosaics which are part of Tunisian heritage.

People are concerned about the negative repercussions of this terrorist incident on the Tunisian economy, especially on tourism. "We hope that our country remains safe," said Haifa Missaoui who lives close to Bardo.

Charles Nicolle hospital received 10 injured victims. "Among the victims there are many Italians severely injured gun shot. The atmosphere here is very sad and frightening,” said a nurse in Charles Nicolle Hospital on the condition of anonymity.

The victims are from Great Britain, Poland, Italy, Spain, and Germany.

The number of terrorists in Tunisia has increased steadily since the so-called Arab Spring, but at the same time, Tunisia may still remain a stable country to visit. In 2014, Morocco’s King Mohamed VI walked with his family in the open on Habib Bourguiba Avenue during his visit to Tunisia,, an supporting Tunisia’s claim as a tourist destination.

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Rabat - UAE's Mubadala Petroleum Company, a subsidiary of Abu Dhabi's state-owned Mubadala Development Company, announced on Wednesday that it had signed an agreement with Morocco's Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) to explore oil and gas potentials off the Mediterranean coast of Morocco.

The agreement, signed in Casablanca during an official visit by Abu Dhabi's Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan to Morocco, grants the Emirati company an exclusive reconnaissance license to carry out a detailed geological survey of the hydrocarbon potential of an area comprising 3,433 square-kilometers off Morocco's Mediterranean coast.

Commenting on the agreement, Musabbeh Al Kaabi, Chief Executive Officer, Mubadala Petroleum, said, “We are pleased to be able to build on the strong relationship between the U.A.E. and Morocco in this tangible way. We very much hope this agreement will pave the way for further co-operation with ONHYM both on the more detailed exploration of the Mediterranean Ouest area and in other projects.”

Mubadala said it will provide ONHYM with the results of its geological evaluation on completion, without elaborating on the timetable and the prosepects for oil and gas discoveries.

The company manages assets and operations in 12 countries with a primary geographic focus on the Middle East, Africa, Central and Southeast Asia. Mubadala's working interest production is approximately 400,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day.

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Rabat - Global auditing firm Price Waterhouse consulting (PwC) has ranked Casablanca among Africa's top "cities of opportunity" based on data collected during the last quarter of 2014 and the beginning of 2015.

According to the report titled Into Africa: The Continent's Cities of Opportunity, Casablanca is ranked in the fourth place among African cities which offer the best business opportunities for investors.

The PwC report ranked 20 African "cities of opportunity" based on a number of factors, including infrastructure, human capital, economics and society and demographics.

Morocco's economic hub finishes in the top five in five of eight variables. It ranks first in both number of headquarters of top 500 companies and GDP diversity, third in financial services and fourth in GDP per capita. However, Casablanca was let down by poor diversity and population growth.

Casablanca is also among the cities ranked in the report that have concluded or initiated significant modernization projects.

The city inaugurated both the largest mall in Africa and a tram network. A new train station has also opened, which will begin high-speed rail service to Tangier. Also awaiting completion in 2015 is a new marina, another mall, and the 24,000-square-metre Grand Théatre de Casablanca.

North African cities dominated the top five thanks to strong infrastructure. Cairo ranked first mainly due to how long it has been around. According to the report, "older cities often have more extensive infrastructure because they have been long enough to address their needs."

The Egyptian capital is followed by Tunis, Johannesburg, Casablanca and Algiers. The overall ranking is the sum of performance in all 29 variables grouped under the five aforementioned factors.

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Rabat - Chief of Government Abdelilah Benkirane has validated on Wednesday the appraisal report by the Telecommunications Regulatory National Agency (ANRT) on the granting of licenses for fourth generation (4G) mobile phone technologies.

Three telecom operators Maroc Telecom, Medi Telecom and Wana Corporate have won licenses for 4G technologies in an auction that raised 2 billion dirhams ($200 million), the ANRT said on Wednesday.

According to the agency, the three bidders offered quality deals with investment commitments to contribute to the development of national telecommunications infrastructure.

Maroc Telecom, majority owned by the UAE's Etisalat , won the most sought-after radio frequencies, paying 1 billion dirhams, while French group Orange's local affiliate Medi Telecom (Meditel) and Wana Corporate paid 500 million dirhams each, the agency said.

The three operators will have to pay an additional 860 million dirhams to contribute to the costs of the redevelopment of the frequencies, ANRT added.

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Rabat - Morocco vehemently condemned the despicable terrorist attack that targeted on Wednesday the Bardo Museum in Tunis, and resulted in the death and injury of foreign tourists and Tunisian citizens.

"Following the cowardly terrorist attack, which hit on Wednesday, March 18, 2015, the Bardo Museum in the Tunisian capital, killed and wounded several foreign tourists and Tunisian citizens, the Kingdom of Morocco vehemently condemns this despicable terrorist attack, which targeted innocents, extends its sincere condolences to the victims' families and wishes prompt recovery to the wounded," said a statement by the foreign affairs ministry.

"The Kingdom of Morocco denounces, in the strongest terms, this appalling terrorist act which seeks to undermine Tunisia's democratic model and its economy by targeting the tourism sector, reiterating anew its solidarity and full support for the sister Tunisian republic in its efforts to preserve security and stability, and eradicate extremism and terrorism which are foreign to the Tunisian culture and society which believes in the values of moderation, peace and tolerance," said the statement.

The Kingdom of Morocco, which has always rejected all forms of terrorism and violence, regardless of their motives and reasons, calls again for multiplying regional and international efforts to counter this plague which threatens world's peace and security, it concluded.

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By Nouha Habouria

Tunis- We shall not fight just terrorism. We shall fight ignorance. We shall wage a merciless war on ignorance, for ignorance is the real terrorism.

Today, the 18th of March, in our welcoming country, our peaceful land, our blessed soil, innocents were attacked in the very building that embraces the best of our glorious history. Bardo, our national museum whose name is derived from the Spanish word “prado,” meaning “meadow,” turned into a bloody field.

A few of uncivilized creatures dared to attack our national museum, the cradle of civilizations. Their attack on our glorious history, our great culture, and our honorable identity will not shake us. They ended up in tombs, yet our national pride and glory, our love for our nation, and our peaceful attitude will never be uprooted from any heart, mind, or womb.

Tunisia is a peaceful land and shall forever remain so. Blessed are those who protect it. Cursed are those who hurt it. Those who are trying to distort its image will remain in the shadows. They shall be thrown in the trash of history.

The world must know that Tunisians never attack their guests and history proves that. Terrorism has no identity. Tunisia has a noble identity. It is a loving country.

This rare incident will not end tourism in our blessed country. It will announce the end of terrorism, as our next step will be to fight this uncommon occurrence with the eradication of ignorance, the root of all evil.

The peace, safety, and security of our guests is our priority. We started our day with a bad news, yet we must end it with good news. We have this message for the terrorists: We are not terrorized, we will never be divided no matter what you do, and whomever comes to our country shall be blessed and left in peace until he or she leaves.

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Rabat - Members of the Moroccan delegation that went to Switzerland to plead its case before the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) were surprised by the presence of Hicham Amrani, the Secretary General of the African Football Federation (CAF), a Moroccan, who defended the position CAF’s imposition of sanctions against Morocco.

The Federation banned the North African country from participating in the 2017 and 2019 tournaments of the African Cup of Nations.

According to the Moroccan daily Al Massae in its Wednesday issue, the first session of arbitration lasted more than six hours. The same source added that the hearing was marked by tension because of the presence of a Moroccan who had been tasked by CAF to plead against his home country.

Faouzi Lakjaa, the President of the Moroccan football federation, was reportedly “irritated” by the presence of Hicham Amrani, who spared no effort to defend his employer in opposition to his country.

The Moroccan daily Assabah quoted a source from the FRMF, who lashed out at Hicham Amrani and expressed its disappointment in seeing him pleading against his own country without taking in consideration the feelings of his fellow citizens.

“Instead of coming here to defend Hayatou’s allegation, Amrani should not have come to the meeting and avoid upsetting his fellow Moroccans,” a representative from the Moroccan FRMF was quoted by Assabah as saying.

Last month, CAF’s Executive Committee decided to ban Morocco from participating in continental tournaments for the next four years. Morocco was also fined $1 million and will have to pay an additional $9 million in compensation following its decision to postpone the 2015 Afcon over fears of the Ebola virus.

Morocco decided to appeal the decision, which it considers “unfair.”

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Rabat - Despite many critics of the project, Hamid Chabat, the mayor of Fez and the Secretary General of Al Istiqlal Party, is seriously determined to carry out his dream of building an artificial beach in the city of Fez in the interior of Morocco, a project estimated to cost 100 million dirhams.

The project will be built on a total area of 22 hectares in Oued Fez, according to the announce-ment on the official website of the Fez City Council.

The water to supply the artificial beach will be brought from the rural commune of Ain Allah, ad-ministratively under the prefecture of Moulay Yacoub.
Sources revealed that access to the beach will be free and that women will have their own ex-clusive area for women only.

This is not the first of Chabat’s dreams for Fez. The mayor sparked controversy when he erect-ed a replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower in Fez in October 2012, but it was demolished immediately thereafter. Had his replica of Paris’ Eiffel Tower remained, the mayor of Fez intended to build a gigantic arc like France’s “Arc de Triomphe” (Arc of Triumph ) at the entrance to the city of Fez on the road to Meknes.

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Taroudant - The Sheikh Khalifa Ben Zayed Al-Nahyane Hospital in Casablanca, Morocco's largest private hospital, will gradually open its services starting from March 23.

The hospital was inaugurated on Tuesday, March 17 by the King Mohammed VI and Sheikh Mohammed Ben Zayed Al-Nahyane, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and deputy supreme commander of the UAE Armed Forces.

According to Dr. Al Sharif Chefchaouni Mountassir, Morocco's largest private hospital was built "with respect to the international standards and equipped with the most advanced and more modern medical and surgical equipment."

[caption id="attachment_154350" align="aligncenter" width="700"] © Yassine Toumi[/caption]

Located in the Hay Hassani neighborhood, next to the future Mohammed VI University of Science and Health, the hospital is built on an area of 39,000 square meters.

[caption id="attachment_154351" align="aligncenter" width="700"] © Yassine Toumi[/caption]

It has 205 beds, 46 consulting rooms, 85 rooms of checking and treatment, 8 operating rooms and four equipped ambulances. The hospital can recruit up to 740 employees, but for the moment, only 105 doctors (44 working full-time) and 220 nurses work there already.

[caption id="attachment_154352" align="aligncenter" width="700"] © Yassine Toumi[/caption]

For most of Moroccans, "the costs of health care will not be cheap," said Dr. Al Sharif Chefchaouni Mountassir. He added that the prices of checkups will be “the same as in Casablanca clinics," and the price for a specialist consultation will cost 300 dirhams.

[video id="QIAjtzmPEaU" type="youtube"]

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Rabat - The Middle East Consumer Confidence Index conducted by job website Bayt.com, and YouGov, a research and consulting organization, has revealed that 35 per cent of respondents from Morocco believe that their financial position is worse now than it was 6 months ago as compared to 11 per cent of Moroccans who said their current financial situation is better.

The survey, whose data was collected online and fieldwork was done between January 19 and 21, 2015, showed that 41 per cent of Moroccan respondents expect their financial position to improve in the next 6 months, while 11 per cent were much more pessimistic about their financial position expecting it to get worse. 57 per cent of the respondents expect cost of living to increase in the next 6 months.

More than half of Moroccan respondents state that their savings have decreased in comparison to last year. In parallel, only 11 per cent answered that their savings have actually increased while 28 per cent said their savings remained the same.

In terms of personal goals, half of Moroccan respondents claim they are not planning to buy a vehicle for their personal use in the next year. Intention to purchase a vehicle is less among Moroccan respondents with only 27 per cent said they are planning to take such a step. Among those planning to buy a vehicle in the next 12 months, 33 per cent intend to buy a new one.

62 per cent of Moroccan respondents said they are not planning to invest in property within the next year. Only 22 per cent claim they are likely to purchase property, with 49 per cent among them plan to buy an apartment, 12 per cent to buy a villa/townhouse/bungalow and 31 per cent to buy a commercial property (office/ shop etc.)

While 36 per cent of Moroccan respondents believe that the economy has improved relative to the past 6 months, 16 per cent think it has gotten worse. As for their expectations for the future, 50 per cent of respondents from Morocco expect the kingdom's economy to improve in the next 6 months, while 13 per cent expect it to get worse. Over half of respondents expect the business conditions to improve in the next year. 56 per cent have this positive outlook, while others tended to be more pessimistic about future business conditions with 11 per cent of them thinking it will get worse.

In addition, 27 per cent believe that there are few jobs available across few industries while 32 per cent state that there few jobs available across various industries. Less respondents believe that there are plenty of jobs available (9 per cent across various industries; 20 per cent across a few industries only).

According to the findings, Moroccan respondents are positive about the future availability of jobs with 34 per cent of them expecting it to increase in the next 6 months. In contrast, 16 per cent said they expect the number of jobs to decrease in Morocco during the same period.

56 per cent of Moroccan employed respondents are dissatisfied about their current compensation (salary & allowances). 27 per cent, however, said they are satisfied about the compensation given in their current jobs.

The Middle East Consumer Confidence Index is a reflection of consumer satisfaction levels and expectations based on various factors in the economy, including inflation, stock market performance, job opportunities, salary structures, unemployment, investment avenues and returns, business growth, state economic policies, infrastructures, cost of living, interest rates and exchange rates.

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Rabat - Nigeria's opposition All Progressives Congress Party (APC) has urged the President Goodluck Jonathan to apologize to Nigerians for the "embarrassment" caused by the false claim that he spoke via telephone with Mohammed VI, Nigerian daily Premium Times reported.

According to the same source, Nigeria's foreign Affairs Minister Aminu Wali urged Nigerians not to politicize the issue, saying that President Goodluck Jonathan was not involved.

"I have already taken action on the President's directive and of course some people are trying to make this whole thing political," Wali said at the Presidential Villa Abuja after a meeting with the President.

"And of course, at this level of our diplomacy, a lot of things can happen. So we are trying to find out, and I will like to say that the President has nothing to do with it. This is something that has happened and there is a bit of mix-up somewhere along the line. We are going to unravel it," he added.

The Nigerian Presidency has already confirmed that the President Goodluck Jonathan did not speak on telephone with king Mohamed VI as claimed by the Nigerian Foreign Ministry.

Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan has also ordered a full-scale investigation into the matter that sparked a diplomatic row between the two countries, with Morocco recalling its ambassador from Abuja.

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Rabat - A 20.4 per cent increase in phosphate sales has reduced Morocco's trade deficit by 37.2 per cent.

The trade gap has narrowed to 20.5 billion Dirhams by the end of February against 32.64 billion dirhams a year earlier, latest figures from the Exchange Office have revealed.

The Office Cherifien de Phosphate (OCP), the world's leading phosphate exporter, has exported MAD 5.2 billion worth of phosphates, an essential ingredient for producing fertilizers, and its derivatives by the end of February, 2015, compared to MAD 4.3 billion during the same period of last year.

Imports decreased by 15.2 per cent moving from 63.18 billion dirhams to 53.56 billion Dirhams.
The decrease in imports was mainly due to the falling oil prices which also led to a decline in the country’s imports of energy (93.8% of the total decline of imports).

Exports increased by 8.2 per cent. In addition to the increase in sales of phosphates and derivatives (20.4), the rise in exports was also led by a +MAD 10, 1 rise in auto exports and 10.4% in agriculture and the agri-food sector

The Foreign exchange regulator said that tourism receipts declined 8.2 per cent, while the remittances of Moroccans living abroad have increased by 6.9 per cent to reach 9.48 billion Dirhams by the end of February compared to 8.86 billion Dirhams during the same period a year earlier.

Direct foreign investments in Morocco were down 15.2 per cent from 4 billion Dirhams to 3.4 billion Dirhams between February 2014 and February 2015. This is mainly due to a 13.9 per cent decrease in revenues which exceeded the decrease in expenditures (-8.9 per cent).

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Rabat - Ahmed Aboutaleb, the Moroccan-born mayor of Rotterdam has been voted the most popular politician in the Netherlands.

According to a research involving 11,000 people for news agency ANP and whose findings have been reported by numerous Dutch media outlets, the Moroccan-Dutch politician of the Labour Party scored 7.49 out of 10 in the popularity poll featuring 12 Dutch politicians.

Bottom of the poll is Geert Wilders, leader of the anti-Islam and anti-immigration PVV Party, who scored less than 3 out of 10.

The 53-year-old who became the first Moroccan to take over a major European city came ahead of Amsterdam's Mayor Eberhard van der Laan, Arno Brok (Dordrecht), Henri Lenferink (Leiden), Peter den Oudstern (Groningen), Peter Van der Velden (Berda) and Jan van Zanen (Utrecht).

The authors of the research said that Aboutaleb, the son of an Imam who came to the Netherlands at the age of 15, "speaks everyone's language", and that despite his left leanings on social and economic issues, he remains a hardliner on radicalization and the people who don't like the Dutch way of life.

In December 2014, Aboutaleb was nominated the "Dutch of the Year" by Elsevier Magazine.

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Rabat - Moroccan civil society groups have called for the holding of a sit-in outside the headquarters of the Tunisian embassy in Rabat on Friday in solidarity with the victims of the terrorist attack on the Bardo Museum in the Tunisian capital that claimed the lives of at least twenty people, mostly foreigners.

In the wake of the Wednesday attacks, the Moroccan foreign affairs ministry issued a statement condemning the "despicable terrorist attack which targeted innocents and extends its condolences to the victims' families and wishes prompt recovery to the wounded."

"The Kingdom of Morocco denounces, in the strongest terms, this appalling terrorist act which seeks to undermine Tunisia’s democratic model and its economy by targeting the tourism sector, reiterating anew its solidarity and full support for the sister Tunisian republic in its efforts to preserve security and stability, and eradicate extremism and terrorism which are foreign to the Tunisian culture and society which believes in the values of moderation, peace and tolerance,” added the statement.

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Rabat - King Mohammed VI is expected to start a West African tour that will also take him to southern neighbor Mauritania, reported Spanish news agency EFE.

The regional tour, whose specific dates have not yet been disclosed, aims to amplify Morocco's influence in Africa through the signing of bilateral agreements, the same source said, adding that the kingdom is seeking to strengthen economic cooperation with these countries and to fight against terrorism, organized crime, drug trafficking and religious extremism.

According to the same source, the Monarch is planning to create an African Development Organization for which there is already a mobilization of various embassies and consulates.

In February 2014, Mohammed VI, accompanied with a large delegation, kicked off a four nation West Africa tour to Mali, Ivory Coast, Guinea and Gabon. The visit resulted in the signing of a series of agreements on bilateral cooperation in the social and economic spheres.

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Rabat - King Mohammed VI is expected to make an official visit to Russia soon, Russian news agency Sputnik reported on Thursday.

"Russia and Morocco strengthen their bilateral cooperation and the forthcoming visit of King Mohammed VI to Moscow will contribute to it," said Sputnik, quoting Morocco's ambassador to Russia, Abdelkader Lachheb who had revealed to the news agency that "the upcoming visit of King Mohammed VI of Morocco to Moscow is being prepared."

"These successes will be crowned by the expected visit of his Majesty to Moscow, giving a powerful new impetus to the strategic cooperation between our two countries," said the Moroccan diplomat, adding that bilateral trade has exceeded $2.5 billion in 2014-2015.

Lachheb added that Morocco and Russia aspire to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the political, economic, cultural and scientific spheres.

Former visits of Mohammed VI to Russia were initially scheduled for last year but were eventually postponed.

The first visit was scheduled for June 11^th, 2014 but was later postponed "to allow the sovereign to tackle the deepening of the strategic partnership between Morocco and Russia, something that was not prepared in June," according to Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar.

Morocco is Russia's top trade partner in African and the Arab world.

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Taroudante- Morocco will be a guest of honor at the 31st International Book Fair, which will be organized from March 27 to April 5 at the Kram exhibition center in Tunis, Tunisia.

Despite the recent terrorist attack in the country, the Tunisian Ministry of Culture, the Tunisian Publishers Union, the Importers and Distributors of Books Union, and the Company of International Fairs of Tunis are determined to organize this annual event.

In addition to the Moroccan Ministry of Culture, which will officially represent the country, several Moroccan publishers will take part in this fair, including Bouregreg, East Africa, Al Amane, Tawhidi, Dar Takafa, Marsam, the Crossroads and Yanbow al Kitab.

According to the Moroccan Ministry of Culture, the Fair will showcase publications of the Royal Institute of Amazigh Culture (IRCAM), the Rabita Mohammadia of Ulema, the Council of the Moroccan Community Abroad, the Institute of African Studies, Agency for the Promotion and Development of the Southern Provinces, and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities of the University Mohammed V.

Morocco has prepared a rich and varied cultural program for this event. Writers, thinkers, and artists will participate in thematic conferences, poetry readings, and art events reflecting the cultural diversity of Morocco, as well as the intellectual dialogue and exchanges between the Kingdom and Tunisia.

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Taroudante- Morocco won the Best Stand award on Thursday at the International Travel and Tourism Exhibition, held in Moscow, Russia from March 18 to 21, 2015.

The Exhibition is Russia’s largest and longest running travel exhibition.

This award went to the Moroccan stand to recognize that it had the best organization, decoration, and exhibition.

The Moroccan National Tourist Office (ONMT), which oversaw the Moroccan stand, dedicated space for tourism promoters, representatives of travel agencies, private room to welcome guests to the Morocco stand, and a pavilion reserved for the Royal Air Maroc, Morocco state-owned airline.

Built on an area of 255 m², the Moroccan stand presented a variety of Moroccan tourism products, particularly seaside, mountain, Sahrawi, and business tourism, as well as promoting some new hotel products and services.

As part of its tourism vision, Morocco aspires to attract about 2 million Russian tourists annually by 2020.

With over 2,056 participating companies and more than 200 destinations, the Russian exhibition is “the key meeting place for the industry and an opportunity to catch up with colleagues and clients.”

According to the Exhibition’s official website, “it enables participants to increase awareness of their destination, gain a real feel for the Russian travel market and gauge demand for their services.”

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