Talks Kick Off in Morocco Over Women's Economic Empowerment

Women listen to a master life coach during a counseling session at Araafa center in Sale, Morocco June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal
Women listen to a master life coach during a counseling session at Araafa center in Sale, Morocco June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal
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Talks Kick Off in Morocco Over Women's Economic Empowerment

Women listen to a master life coach during a counseling session at Araafa center in Sale, Morocco June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal
Women listen to a master life coach during a counseling session at Araafa center in Sale, Morocco June 1, 2019. REUTERS/Youssef Boudlal

The Moroccan Ministry of Solidarity, Social Development, Equality, and the Family launched Monday extensive consultations on the national program to empower women economically by 2030.

This comes under the framework of a meeting organized by the technical committee in Rabat on Monday to follow up with the government equality plan “Ikram 2” covering 2017-2021.

The project aims to boost women's opportunities and enable them economically by issuing a strategic study on women's economic empowerment.

This can also be achieved by developing women's expertise in key vocational fields with prioritizing regional implementation.

According to the statement, the meeting falls under a series of talks and workshops that will be organized by the ministry between Feb. 25 and Feb 28. 2020 with key players in government sectors, national and international institutions, research centers, and civil community associations to address the national program.



China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
TT

China Expands Visa-free Entry to More Countries in Bid to Boost Economy

Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)
Shoppers with their purchased goods walk past a popular outdoor shopping mall in Beijing, on Nov. 14, 2024. (AP Photo/Andy Wong)

China announced Friday that it would expand visa-free entry to citizens of nine more countries as it seeks to boost tourism and business travel to help revive a sluggish economy.
Starting Nov. 30, travelers from Bulgaria, Romania, Malta, Croatia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Estonia, Latvia and Japan will be able to enter China for up to 30 days without a visa, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian said.
That will bring to 38 the number of countries that have been granted visa-free access since last year. Only three countries had visa-free access previously, and theirs had been eliminated during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The permitted length of stay for visa-free entry is being increased from the previous 15 days, Lin said, and people participating in exchanges will be eligible for the first time. China has been pushing people-to-people exchange between students, academics and others to try to improve its sometimes strained relations with other countries, The Associated Press reported.
China strictly restricted entry during the pandemic and ended its restrictions much later than most other countries. It restored the previous visa-free access for citizens of Brunei and Singapore in July 2023, and then expanded visa-free entry to six more countries — France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and Malaysia — on Dec. 1 of last year.
The program has since been expanded in tranches. Some countries have announced visa-free entry for Chinese citizens, notably Thailand, which wants to bring back Chinese tourists.
For the three months from July through September this year, China recorded 8.2 million entries by foreigners, of which 4.9 million were visa-free, the official Xinhua News Agency said, quoting a Foreign Ministry consular official.