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.



Syrian President Says Unifying Country 'Should Not Be with Blood'

03 January 2025, Syria, Damascus: Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa stands during a meeting at the presidential palace in Damascus. (dpa)
03 January 2025, Syria, Damascus: Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa stands during a meeting at the presidential palace in Damascus. (dpa)
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Syrian President Says Unifying Country 'Should Not Be with Blood'

03 January 2025, Syria, Damascus: Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa stands during a meeting at the presidential palace in Damascus. (dpa)
03 January 2025, Syria, Damascus: Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa stands during a meeting at the presidential palace in Damascus. (dpa)

Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa has said the battle to unify his country after years of civil war "should not be with blood", rejecting any partition and accusing Israel of meddling in the south.

His remarks, released by state TV on Sunday, came as hundreds demonstrated in south Syria's Sweida province, denouncing sectarian violence last month and calling for the right to self-determination for the Druze-majority province.

"We still have another battle ahead of us to unify Syria, and it should not be with blood and military force... it should be through some kind of understanding because Syria is tired of war," Sharaa said during a dialogue session involving notables from the northwest province of Idlib and other senior officials.

"I do not see Syria as at risk of division. Some people desire a process of dividing Syria and trying to establish cantons... this matter is impossible," he said according to a recording of the meeting, distributed overnight by state media.

"Some parties seek to gain power through regional power, Israel or others. This is also extremely difficult and cannot be implemented," he said.

At the protest in Sweida, some demonstrators waved the Israeli flag and called for self-determination for the region.

A week of bloodshed in Sweida began on July 13 with clashes between Druze fighters and Bedouin, but rapidly escalated, drawing in government forces, with Israel also carrying out strikes.

Sharaa said that Sweida "witnessed many violations from all sides... some members of the security forces and army in Syria also carried out some violations".

The state is required "to hold all perpetrators of violations to account", whatever their affiliation, he added.

"Israel is intervening directly in Sweida, seeking to implement policies aimed at weakening the state in general or finding excuses to interfere in ongoing policies in the southern region," Sharaa said.

Israel, which has its own Druze community, has said it has acted to defend the minority group as well as enforce its demands for the demilitarization of southern Syria.

Syria's new authorities are also in talks with a semi-autonomous Kurdish administration that runs swathes of the country's north and northeast and has called for decentralization, which Damascus has rejected.

Implementation of a March 10 deal on integrating the Kurds' semi-autonomous civil and military institutions into the state has been held up by differences between the parties.

"We are now discussing the mechanisms for implementation" of the deal, Sharaa said.