The government of Qatar has signed an agreement with Morocco to provide the north African kingdom a US$1.25bn aid, as a part of its five-year financial assistance package
According to Reuters, the deal was signed by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim Ben Hamad Al-Thani, who was visiting the country earlier this month.
Following the Arab Spring, the governments of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE agreed to provide fiscal aid of up to US$5bn to Morocco between 2012 and 2017, to help build up its infrastructure, strengthen its economy and foster tourism.
GCC countries have agreed to provide a similar US$5bn aid package to Jordan over a five-year period.
In the last two years, the government of Morocco has allocated significant budgets towards food and energy subsidies, and increasing wages in the public sector.
The government of Morocco has announced that it aimed to reduce the country’s budget deficit to 4.9 per cent of the GDP next year, from 5.5 per cent in 2013.
