Events

USAID commemorates 50 years of partnership with Morocco

The United States Agency for International Development (USAID), an independent U.S. Government agency that provides economic, development and humanitarian assistance around the world, is celebrating 50 years of partnership with the Government of Morocco. A ceremony marking the occasion took place at the Tour Hassan hotel in Rabat on April 11, 2007.

US Ambassador to Morocco, Thomas Riley and Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem cut the anniversary cake at a reception commemorating 50 years of partnership between USAID and the Moroccan Government. Ph. Mohcine Kartouch

The April 11 ceremony was attended by American and Moroccan officials that are contributing to the success of the Morocco-U.S. partnership. These include US Ambassador Thomas, Riley Mark Ward, Deputy Assistant Administrator for the Bureau for Asia and the Near East at USAID, USAID Mission Director Monica Stein-Olson and Her Royal Highness Princess Lalla Meryem, as well as dozens of Moroccan ministers. A video showing the highlights of the joint partnership was presented at the event.

In Washington, the Director of U.S. Foreign Assistance and U.S. Agency for International Development Administrator, Randall L. Tobias and Moroccan Ambassador to the U.S., Aziz Mekouar commemorated the partnership, on April 17, at the ambassador's residence in Maryland.

On April 2, 1957, the United States and Morocco entered into an agreement under which the United States undertook to provide a program of economic and technical assistance to Morocco. Since then, the American people have invested over 2 billion dollars (equivalent to 10 billion in current currency in 2007 dollars) in the human, economic and institutional development of Morocco.

Under its long partnership with the Moroccan Government, USAID has helped change Moroccan lives for the better, while working jointly with government agencies, civil society organizations and the private sector. Over the fifty-year relationship, the most notable successes have come in agriculture and agribusiness, health, primary education, housing and urban development, microfinance, small and medium enterprise growth, and water management.

As Morocco has developed and its needs have evolved, so has the nature of the collaboration between Morocco and the United States. The cooperation continues, with the mutual goal of building an educated, democratic Moroccan nation that is competitive in the global marketplace.

Several outreach activities are being undertaken to commemorate the more than five decades of Morocco-U.S. cooperation for development and to highlight key accomplishments that have had significant positive impact on the Moroccan people in various sectors. One such program featured a series of press visits that were organized in a number of Moroccan regions during the last three months to inform the general public about Moroccan-U.S. programs that were implemented with USAID support.