Morocco’s King Appoints Members of Development Model Committee

King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Reuters file photo
King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Reuters file photo
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Morocco’s King Appoints Members of Development Model Committee

King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Reuters file photo
King Mohammed VI of Morocco. Reuters file photo

Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has appointed members of the new special committee in charge of the Kingdom’s development model.

The committee consists of 35 competent and impartial representatives and experts from a range of fields and industries, including prominent Moroccans from the public and private sectors.

Ambassador and former Interior Minister Chakib Benmoussa was appointed by the King on November 19 as the committee’s president.

The highly competent members are required to submit an initial report that examines Morocco’s current political, social, and economic situation while considering the Kingdom’s achievements and reforms, along with citizens’ expectations.

It shall also consider Morocco’s international role as well as the country’s prospective developments, according to a statement by the Royal Court.

The report is expected to be submitted to the King on the summer of 2020 and include major required amendments and concrete initiatives to improve and renew the national development model.

Among the members are Adnane Addioui, co-founder of the “Moroccan Center for Innovation and Social Entrepreneurship” and “Wuluj” platform for participation in the financing of creative and innovative projects, Rajae Aghzadi, surgical practitioner, president of Moroccan Association “Heart of women,” Mohamed Amrani Boukhobza, dean of the Faculty of Law of Tetouan and Professor of Higher Education at the Faculty of Law of Tangier and Farida Benlyazid, film critic, director and screenwriter.

It also includes the international expert in energy strategy and sustainability, Laila Benali, who also serves as chief Economist, director of Strategy, economics and sustainability at APICORP and president of the Arab Energy Club.

Other members include Economist Mohamed Benmoussa, former administrator of the Deontological Council for Securities and vice-president of the Damir association, Rachid Benzine, professor at the Catholic University of Louvain and at the Faculty of Protestant Theology in Paris, Hamid Bouchikhi, expert in entrepreneurship and managerial innovation, dean of SolBridge International School of Business based in Daejeon, South Korea and member of the Moroccan Institute of Strategic Intelligence.

Ahmed Bounfour, Raja Chafil, Reda Chami Ahmed, Noureddine El Aoufi, Rita El Kadiri, Khadija EL Kamouny, Mohamed Fikrat, Rachid Guerraoui, Narjis Hilale, Hakima Himmich, Larbi Jaidi, Driss Jetto, Ahmed Joumani, Driss Ksikes, Ghita Lahlou El Yacoubi, Fouad Laroui, Khalid Machchate, Abdellatif Miraoui, Noureddine Omary, Ouhajou Lakbir, Hassan Rachik, Youssef Saadani, Saadia Slaoui Bennani, Karim Tazi, Mostafa Terrab, Mohamed Tozy and Michael Zaoui are the rest of the committee’s members.

Back in July, the Monarch called on Throne Day to address the needs of Morocco’s growing and modernizing population by forming this committee.

“I should like to emphasize, in this regard, that the said committee will not serve as a second government or be a parallel official institution. This is an advisory body with a specific time-bound mission,’’ said King Mohammed VI.

The special committee will consider serious reforms in education, health, agriculture, investment, and taxation. It is also expected to make suggestions on how to improve reforms the government has already put into place and increase their effectiveness.



Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Fire Kills 8 Near Aid Centers, 4 Others

19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
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Gaza Rescuers Say Israeli Fire Kills 8 Near Aid Centers, 4 Others

19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)
19 June 2025, Palestinian Territories, Gaza: Palestinians gather along the Coastal Road in the Al-Sudaniyya area of northern Gaza as they wait for humanitarian aid expected to arrive through the Zikim crossing on 19 June 2025. (dpa)

Gaza's civil defense agency said Israeli fire killed at least 12 people on Saturday, including eight who had gathered near aid distribution sites in the Palestinian territory suffering severe food shortages.

Civil defense spokesman Mahmud Bassal told AFP that three people were killed by gunfire from Israeli forces while waiting to collect aid in the southern Gaza Strip.

In a separate incident, Bassal said five people were killed in a central area known as the Netzarim corridor, where thousands of Palestinians have gathered daily in the hope of receiving food rations.

The Israeli army told AFP it was "looking into" both incidents, which according to the civil defense agency occurred near distribution centers run by the US- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation.

Its operations began at the end of May when Israel eased a total aid blockade that lasted more than two months but have been marred by chaotic scenes and neutrality concerns.

UN agencies and major aid groups have refused to cooperate with the foundation over concerns it was designed to cater to Israeli military objectives.

The health ministry in the Hamas-run territory said on Saturday that 450 people had been killed and 3,466 others injured while seeking aid in near-daily incidents since late May.

The Israeli blockade imposed in early March amid an impasse in truce negotiations had produced famine-like conditions across Gaza, according to rights groups.

Israel's military has pressed its operations across Gaza more than 20 months since an unprecedented Hamas attack triggered the devastating war, and even as attention has shifted to the war with Iran since June 13.

Bassal told AFP that three people were killed on Saturday in an Israeli air strike on Gaza City in the north, and one more in another strike on the southern city of Khan Younis.

Israeli forces also demolished more than 10 houses in Gaza City "by detonating them with explosives", he added.

Israeli restrictions on media in the Gaza Strip and difficulties in accessing some areas mean AFP is unable to independently verify the tolls and details provided by rescuers and authorities.

Earlier this week, the UN's World Health Organization warned that Gaza's health system was at a "breaking point", pleading for fuel to be allowed into the territory to keep its remaining hospitals running.

The Hamas attack in October 2023 that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 55,908 people, also mostly civilians, according to the Gaza health ministry. The UN considers these figures reliable.