During her visit to the kingdom, USAID chief, Samantha Power, announced multiple new partnerships in Morocco to advance inclusive climate action, food security, and youth empowerment. Wrapping up a four-day visit, Administrator Samantha Power highlighted several new programs and initiatives that build on the more than six decades of partnership between USAID and Morocco.
The Administrator launched a new partnership with the Rabita Mohammedia League of Scholars and International Organization for Migration. This local partnership empowers youth and supports the Government of Morocco’s efforts to address challenges confronting young Moroccans, such as difficulty accessing quality education, high unemployment rates, and disenfranchisement, by engaging youth in a wide range of opportunities from sports clubs to vocational training.
Administrator Power also announced a new partnership with the OCP Group, a Moroccan fertilizer producer, underscoring USAID and OCP’s commitment to address food insecurity throughout Africa and to working together to tackle critical barriers hindering Africa’s agricultural potential. Through this new partnership, OCP will invest $30 million, using USAID’s Space to Place approach, to support efficient fertilizer use across sub-Saharan Africa. This pairs with USAID’s $40 million investment in Space to Place announced at the Africa Fertilizer and Soil Health Summit in Nairobi on May 7. The Space to Place approach provides hyperlocal fertilizer recommendations to optimize productivity and return on investment for farmers. USAID collaborated with OCP through the food, fuel, and fertilizer crises, including the provision of 550,000 metric tons of fertilizer for sub-Saharan Africa in 2022-2023.
Finally, USAID announced a new partnership with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) and GiveDirectly to launch the first component of USAID’s new climate program in the country. The new Cooperative Resilience Program, with funding from USAID, UM6P, and GiveDirectly, and in collaboration with Morocco’s National Initiative for Human Development, will provide financing, training, and coaching to vulnerable Moroccan cooperatives and entrepreneurs to help them better adapt to the impacts of climate change, primarily in rural areas. Local cooperatives, including many led by women, played a key role in designing the new program to be responsive to Moroccans’ needs and ensure that USAID’s programs are driven by local voices.
A a eminder,
Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, held talks, here Wednesday, with Administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Samantha Power.
At a press briefing following this meeting, the US official reiterated the United States’ support for the reforms carried out under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI in the fields of governance, education and development.
Welcoming Morocco’s numerous achievements in terms of reforms and development, she underlined the active role played by the Kingdom at continental and regional levels.
The US official also praised Morocco’s considerable efforts to promote the empowerment of youth and the fight against extremism
She also welcomed the kingdom’s breakthroughs in renewable energies, as well as Morocco’s impressive achievements in the fight against climate change.
Power also highly commended the effective management by the Moroccan authorities of the Al-Haouz earthquake effects.