UAE, Qatar and Kuwait ink agreement to boost Morocco tourism

RABAT - General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, joined King Mohammed VI of Morocco, the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani, and Kuwait’s Minister of Finance Shaikh Mustafa Jassim Al Shamali at the signing ceremony of a multilateral accord to create Morocco’s tourist investment fund.

By (Wam)

Published: Sat 26 Nov 2011, 11:07 PM

Last updated: Tue 7 Apr 2015, 5:20 AM

Shaikh Mansour bin Zayed Al Nahyan, UAE’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Presidential Affairs, and Mohammed Mubarak Al Mazrouei, Undersecretary of the Court of the Crown Prince, and Al Asri Al Dhaheri, the UAE’s Ambassador to Morocco, also attended the ceremony.

The partnership agreement was signed by Khadem Abdullah Al Qubaisi, chairman of the board of directors of UAE’s Aabar Investments, Ahmed Mohammed Al Sayyed Ahmed Mohammed, CEO of Qatar Holding, Badr Al Ojail, Chairman of Kuwait’s Al Ajial Investments fund, Morocco’s Minister of Economy and Finance Salah Aldeen Al Mezwar, Morocco’s Minister of Tourism, Handicrafts and Social Economy Yassir Znagui and chairman of Morocco’s Hassan II Fund for Economic and Social Development Abdul Wahid Al Gabbaj.

King Mohammed VI, General Shaikh Mohammed bin Zayed, Shaikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and Shaikh Mustafa Al Shamali were briefed on two tourism projects to be constructed in Ouarzazate and Oukaimeden.

The project in Ouarzazate features hotels, studios, residential buildings, an entertainment centre and golf fields, while the project in Oukaimeden will feature a ski resort, golf fields, a heritage town, a conference centre and tourism facilities.

Tarik Senhaji, Chairman of the Moroccan Agency for Tourism Development, in a presentation stressed the partnership between Morocco and the UAE, Qatar and Kuwait is set to further investment relations as it reflects the trust “Arab brothers have in Morocco as tourist and investment destination”.

Tourism now accounts for more than 10 per cent of Morocco’s GDP and has achieved an annual growth rate of 12 per cent over the past 10 years. Ten million tourists visit Morocco every year, he added.