Morocco King Launched Moroccan-Gabonese Cooperation on Human Development

Libreville – His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the President of Gabon, HE. Ali Bongo Ondimba, presided Monday at the presidential palace in Libreville, the presentation ceremony of the Moroccan-Gabonese cooperation in human development, including the sharing of experience between the National Initiative for Human Development (INDH) and Gabon Human Investment Strategy (SIHG).

Both integrated policies aimed at reducing poverty and the fight against the aggravating factors of insecurity, reflected the commitment of Heads of State of both countries, King Mohammed VI and President Ali Bongo Ondimba to work for the well-being of their citizens and the sustainable development of their countries.

Similarly, sharing the Kingdom of proven expertise, acquired over the ten years of implementation of the INDH, confirms once again the determination of Morocco and Gabon to deepen and broaden their partnership but also rely on their own forces to meet the legitimate aspirations of their two brotherly peoples, so attached to the African-African cooperation.

On this occasion, the Minister of Interior, Mr. Mohamed Assad stressed that development and human investment are two strategic projects for Morocco and Gabon, and a sharing of experiences in the field and is an illustration of solidarity and mutually beneficial cooperation between the two countries.

Mr. Assad has indicated that enforcement of Very High Royal and presidential statements, and as part of this cooperation, a joint team, Morocco, Gabon, was mobilized to the establishment of a working plan for development and human investment platform taking as the experiences in the two countries namely the INDH and SIHG.

On the balance sheet of the INDH, the Interior Minister said that “thanks to its governance and the effective mobilization of all actors involved in the reign of sites, namely elected representatives, government departments, civil society and population, the national initiative for human development has matured both in its management and in the implementation of its projects and their evaluation. ”

This assessment, both qualitative and quantitative, very rich by ten years of outreach today listening and concrete achievements can see and meet with relevance the impact of this initiative on the population and the change induced in their daily life, he added, noting that in 10 years, 9.7 million people were affected by this initiative, 50 pc in rural areas, and 38,340 projects were completed, including 20 pc of income generating activities.

The Gabonese Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Mr. Jean-Pierre Oyiba, for his part, indicated that the human investment strategy of Gabon, launched in April 2014, is a concrete commitment to support and assist populations Gabonese disadvantaged.

This strategy, which has to date “a normative framework adopted and instituted a formalized governance and” is based on four complementary lines, namely the protection of the poor through social nets and solidarity transfers, development income generating activities (IGA) to enable people able to work and move towards greater economic autonomy, the establishment of universal public services and welfare benefits to ensure a minimum living precarious populations and the adoption of a targeted policy work.

Mr. Oyiba has further stressed that the SIHG will, for its success, need the expertise of the Moroccan ²INDH, particularly through the partnership established by the Framework Agreement for Cooperation and Development human investment, signed in December 2014 in Libreville.

This Framework Agreement is, according to the Minister, on training sessions and exchange of experiences in the areas of governance, partnership, monitoring and evaluation of projects, installation projects and boosting the associations.

He added that the first concrete results of the partnership framework agreement at the Gabon focused, firstly, on the preparation of two conventions to support the establishment of care centers and inclusion of children with autism and Down syndrome in the communes Akanda, Lambaréné and Port Gentil Makokou and coaching for the development of hemodialysis centers in the municipalities of Franceville Mouila, Port Gentil and Oyem.

On this occasion, His Majesty King Mohammed VI and President Ali Bongo Ondimba, chaired the signing ceremony of four partnership agreements. The first two agreements, signed by Mohamed Assad and Jean-Pierre Oyiba, respectively relate to cooperation in care for children with autism and Down syndrome and establishing medical units hemodialysis.

There is also a memorandum of understanding in Craftsmanship and Social Economy, signed by the Minister of Crafts, the social economy, Ms. Fatima Merouane and the Gabonese Minister of small and medium business, Craft and Service Development, Mr. Gabriel Tchango, and an agreement on cooperation protocol in the field of vocational training between, on the one hand, Office of Vocational Training and Labour Promotion (OFPPT) and the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), and on the other hand, the Ministry of Labour, Employment and Vocational Training of the Gabonese Republic. This MoU was signed on the Moroccan side by Mr. Larbi Bencheikh, CEO of OFPPT and Abderrahim Kadmiri, CEO of AMCI and the Gabonese side by Simon Ntoutoume Emane, Minister of Labour, employment and vocational training.

The ceremony was attended by HM the King Advisers, Mr. Fouad Ali El Himma and Mr. Yasser Zenagui, members of the delegation accompanying His Majesty the King, members of the Gabonese government, and several dignitaries.