A street vendor sits next to her merchandise in Jemaa el-Fnaa square, in Marrakesh, Morocco, October 21, 2024. REUTERS/Stelios Misinas Purchase Licensing Rights , opens new tab

RABAT, Oct 10 (Reuters) – King Mohammed VI of Morocco on Friday called for accelerating reforms to create jobs for young people, improve public services, and reduce regional inequalities by giving greater attention to the mountain and oasis regions.

The King made the call in a speech at the opening of the country’s parliament, a week after widespread youth-led protests demanding better health, education and an end to corruption.

Morocco is a constitutional monarchy where the King sets the major policy direction implemented by an elected government.

The King did not address youth protesters directly but said that there should be no inconsistencies or competition between the country’s national flagship projects and social programs.

He urged “a faster implementation pace and stronger impacts from the next-generation of local development programs,” which he had asked the government to prepare in July. Priority areas include job creation for young people and “tangible progress in the education and health sectors, as well as local rehabilitation policies,” he said.

Morocco’s unemployment rate stands at 12.8%, with youth unemployment reaching 35.8% and 19% among graduates, official data showed.

Special attention should be given to the “most fragile areas” such as mountains, he said.

While the level of poverty has dropped in Morocco from 11.9% in 2014 to 6.8% in 2024, mountainous and oases areas show above-average poverty levels, according to the national statistics agency.

Most of the country’s population, financial and industrial hubs and vital infrastructure are concentrated in the northwest, leaving the rest of the country reliant on farming, fisheries and tourism. Thousands lined the avenue leading to parliament to greet King Mohammed VI who wore traditional attire and was accompanied by his brother and his son, the crown prince.

The same square in front of the Parliament saw only dozens protesting on Thursday night in response to a call by the country’s Generation Z protest version, a leaderless group known as GenZ 212.

The group said on its Discord server it would suspend its protests on Friday out of respect for the King.

Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles. , opens new tab

Suggested Topics:

Read Next

ago Africa category

ago Africa category

ago China category

ago Africa category

ago Africa category

Multiple people are dead and several others are unaccounted for after a blast on Friday morning in Tennessee at a military explosives plant, according to law enforcement.

Site Index

About Reuters

Stay Informed

Information you can trust

Reuters, the news and media division of Thomson Reuters, is the world’s largest multimedia news provider, reaching billions of people worldwide every day. Reuters provides business, financial, national and international news to professionals via desktop terminals, the world’s media organizations, industry events and directly to consumers.

Read More