In a statement, the House of Representatives said that Talbi Alami was received by the President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, who stressed that the two countries are bound by historical, close and multidimensional relations of friendship.

The President of the House of Representatives also met with government officials of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, including talks with the Vice-President of the Republic, and members of the government, namely the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, the Secretary of State for Public Affairs and the Minister of Justice. He also met with the Speakers of the Parliament of that country, the same source said.

The investiture ceremony was also an opportunity for Talbi Alami to discuss and hold meetings with many leaders of countries and heads of governments and legislative institutions, in particular the President of the Congo, Burundi, Central Africa, São Tomé and Príncipe, the Nigerian Prime Minister, the Speaker of the Parliament of Comoros, the adviser to the Egyptian President and delegations from Qatar and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

The Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Kingdom in Equatorial Guinea, Ghallam Michane, was Also present at the inauguration ceremony.

Speaking on behalf of the Group, the Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Morocco, Azzeddine Farhane, called for "serious and concrete" measures to be taken to improve the representation of developing countries, in accordance with General Assembly resolutions, and for the progress of these measures, including the work done by UNODC in this regard, to be reported in detail to the Commissions.

"The principle of equitable geographical representation, enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, should be applied to posts in the UN Secretariat, regardless of the source of funding," the diplomat said, stressing the importance of respecting and applying this principle in the composition of UNODC staff, including regional and national leadership positions.

The Group also called on the UNODC Executive Director to ensure greater participation of women and to redouble his efforts to promote gender equality and women's empowerment "in all areas of his mandate, with due regard to the qualifications of candidates."

Recalling that multilingualism, as a core value of the United Nations, contributes to the achievement of the purposes of the Organization, as set out in Article 1 of the UN Charter, the G77+ China underlined the paramount importance of the equality of the six official languages of the United Nations.

The Group called on UNODC to continue and intensify its efforts in this regard by taking appropriate measures to implement current policies on multilingualism.

On cooperation, Farhane stressed the importance of improving and expanding UNODC's regional and national programs and projects in developing countries, and addressing the challenges and financial difficulties that hinder the process of their full implementation.

"The Group stresses that voluntarily funded projects must be aligned with UNODC mandates and the priorities of the Group's Member States, in order to address major global drug and crime challenges," he said at the meeting, held on November 8-9.

Through its Chairman, the Group also called on UNODC to implement the consolidated budget in a transparent, accessible and inclusive manner, the Group Chairman continued.

The Forum, the first of its kind, was an opportunity to discuss the most pressing economic and environmental issues of the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf region, through the active participation of parliamentarians from some thirty countries, as well as public and private sector actors, academics, experts, businessmen and representatives of civil society.

The rich and fruitful discussions that marked the Forum's thematic sessions outlined a new approach to the pressing challenges facing the Mediterranean and Gulf regions, in order to strengthen cooperation between these two geographical areas and intensify efforts to address common challenges.

In an address at the closing session, the President of the House of Councillors, Ennam Mayara, praised the high level of contributions of speakers "who have managed to address the issues and questions raised from different angles", allowing to anticipate ways to strengthen regional cooperation between the Mediterranean and Gulf countries and ways to establish a Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf economic area and achieve a more effective and sustainable south-south and north-south economic integration.

The President of the House of Councillors also reiterated the importance of this integration for the Arab Gulf and Mediterranean regions, an area of peace and stability, which ensures the support and strengthening of trade cooperation, financial and investment promotion, in addition to launching a political dialogue, security cooperation, social and cultural, as well as the regular exchange of information and plans in all areas of cooperation

Mayara also noted the full readiness of the Kingdom of Morocco to engage seriously and responsively in any new dynamic that would raise the Euro-Arab dialogue to the level of a real and profitable cooperation and this, in the best interests of the countries of the two regions, expressing the wish for the institutionalization of this Forum to make it a regular appointment.

They reaffirmed, in their recommendations, the importance, through the active participation of parliamentarians, of a paradigm shift to address the major socio-economic and climatic challenges affecting the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf regions, calling on all member states of the Parliamentary Assembly for the Mediterranean (PAM) to strengthen their trade and financial relations, refrain from imposing customs duties, quotas and other measures that may hinder the process of economic integration of the two regions, in cooperation with the competent European and Arab institutions.

In this regard, they welcomed the results of the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization and the "Geneva Package", as well as the agreement negotiated by the United Nations and the Black Sea Initiative to mitigate the effects of the current global food crisis.

In addition, participants noted with satisfaction the results of the 27th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Participants in the two-day meeting expressed deep concern over the dire medium- and long-term economic forecasts for the region, the resurgence of inflation - caused by the unprecedented rise in energy and food prices and the ongoing disruption of global value chains - and the impending global financial recession.

In this regard, they recognized the growing demand from all countries in the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf region for a more integrated structured cooperation in the energy sector, based on mutual benefits and geared towards sustainable sourcing and a green transition.

In this regard, they encourage governments to work towards the creation of an Economic and Energy Community between the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf countries, which would mitigate the effects of the current energy crisis and the resulting increase in global inflation levels, while ensuring that the regions are more resilient and independent in the face of external shocks, within the framework of a carefully planned ecological transition and supporting long-term economic growth and prosperity.

The Forum, in its recommendations, also called on all member countries of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Mediterranean (PAM) to resume political and technical discussions, at all levels, to establish a free trade zone between the Euro-Mediterranean and Gulf countries, as stated in several resolutions unanimously adopted by PAM members.

An appeal was made to the Member States to rapidly ratify the agreements concluded at the 12th Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization.

Moreover, the WPA expressed its determination to promote all necessary diplomatic efforts to ensure that all grain trade routes from Eastern Europe remain open and secure, in order to alleviate the food crisis and prevent famine and shortages, as well as further increases in commodity prices worldwide.

The 2023 Finance Bill has received the endorsement of 102 MPs, while 27 others opposed after the vote held in the morning in the Committee on Finance and Economic Development in the House of Representatives by a majority, during a plenary session chaired by the Vice President of the House, Mohamed Sabbari. No MP has abstained.

The draft was adopted in the first chamber of parliament as it was returned from the House of Advisors, after the approval of a series of amendments that relate, among other things, the general tax code.

At the level of corporate income tax (IS), an amendment retained is a tax rate of 35% for companies whose net profit is greater than or equal to 100 million dirhams, with the exception of service companies that have acquired the CFC status or benefiting from the specified regime, and companies operating in industrial acceleration zones.

With regard to income tax (IR), an amendment providing a 36-month exemption from IR for new recruits on permanent contracts under 35 years of age until December 31, 2026 has been adopted, in addition to the exemption of donations paid directly to beneficiaries, without the intervention of the employer, of the IR, as well as the reduction of the advance on the IR by the lawyers from 300 DH to 100 DH, with the extension of the duration of the exemption for the benefit of the new lawyers of the advances from 3 years to 5 years.

On withholding taxes, the rate of withholding tax has been revised downward for legal entities from 20% (initially proposed) to 5%, limiting this withholding to income paid by the State, Institutions and Public Enterprises, in addition to a withholding tax for the remuneration of non-salaried teachers in schools and doctors not subject to business tax, and the reduction of the withholding tax for insurance contracts retirement savings from 30% to 15%.

For the status of self-employed, an amendment increasing the annual turnover under the services performed by the self-employed or the taxpayer subject to the regime of the single professional contribution was approved, on behalf of the same client, and the surplus is subject to income tax by way of deduction at source, from 50,000 DH to 80,000 DH.

Speaking at a plenary session held Monday at the House of Advisors dedicated to the general discussion of the PLF-2023, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah said that the government has taken a series of measures to cope with rising prices imposed by the current situation, noting in this regard the support of basic materials whose expenses are expected to 40 billion dirhams (MMDH) during the year 2022.

She also stressed that the government has taken bold decisions for the preservation of purchasing power, especially in this exceptional situation marked by rising prices.

In addition, she said that our country has succeeded in managing its public finances, as evidenced by the maintenance of Morocco's guarded rating by Standard & Poor's Global Ratings, which ensured the stable outlook of the financial balances of the Kingdom.

Referring to the conditions of the elaboration of this PLF-2023, she said it enshrines the implementation by the government of its commitments of the government program, in accordance with the Royal High Directions and the new development model (NMD), noting that this is the first project bearing the political touch of the current government, and reflects its political vision to face the various challenges, whose major concern is to preserve the purchasing power of citizens, and limit the effects of imported inflation on their daily lives.

During a session on regional dialogues, Mr. Baraka, also president of the International Network of Basin Organizations (INBO), stressed that Morocco is undertaking a series of measures for the management of water stress, which currently affects several countries, including the use of alternative conventional and non-conventional water resources to relieve the pressure on groundwater.

The use of non-conventional water resources is favored in particular by the desalination of sea water and the reuse of treated wastewater, for more resilience to the effects of climate change, he said.

In detail, the Minister noted that the kingdom, which currently has 149 large dams, with a storage capacity of 19 billion m3, with the hope of reaching 24 billion by 2030, has started a major desalination project, which will exceed one billion m3 desalinated to meet the needs of coastal areas.

The management of water resources also involves the reuse of wastewater, he said, citing the example of Rabat which maintains "its green lung" with the program of reuse of treated wastewater.

"We will move from the equivalent of 140 million m3 by 2025 of wastewater reuse to reach 340 million m3 by 2030," said the minister.

Baraka also referred to the achievement of Morocco in the use of the technique of drip in agriculture. "We are already at 700,000 hectares that have been converted to drip with the goal of one million hectares by 2026."

The Minister also mentioned the groundwater replenishment technique, through the search for artificial water tables via small dams, or the preservation of these water resources, through the Agencies of water basins, which implement contracts with users, to ensure the sustainability of these resources.

In addition, he said that 19 Arab countries are in a situation of water shortage with less than 500 m3 per capita, explaining that this situation is aggravated by high population growth, pollution, but also by climate change.

On the sidelines of this second day of the Summit, the Minister had a series of meetings with several officials, including the Minister of Water and Sanitation of Senegal, Serigne Mbaye Thiam, the former Mauritanian minister and new Commissioner of the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS), Mohamed Ouled Abdelfattah, the President of the Executive Board of UNESCO (Ambassador Permanent Delegate of Serbia to UNESCO), Tamara Rastovac Siamashvili, and the Executive Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), Rola Dashti.

These meetings, which took place in the presence of the Ambassador-Delegate of Morocco to UNESCO, Samir Addahre, have allowed to exchange on the problem of water and solutions to implement, to present the progress of Morocco in the preservation of groundwater and to highlight the adherence of Morocco to the alliance of transboundary waters, which is a vector for sustainable development and peace.

Organized in partnership with UNESCO and the International Groundwater Resources Assessment Centre (IGRAC), the UN-Water Summit aims to draw attention to groundwater at the highest international level, culminating in the campaign "Groundwater: Making the Invisible Visible" implemented by the UN-Water Task Force.

This two-day event uses the groundwater-focused World Water Development Report 2022 (WWDR 2022) as a reference, and the Global Framework for Accelerating MDG6 as a guideline to define actions towards more responsible and sustainable use and protection of this vital natural resource. It will unify the declarations of all major groundwater-related events into a message for the 2023 UN Water Conference.

The Summit brings together some 3,000 people from around the world, including representatives of UNESCO's 193 member states, UN agencies, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations, according to organizers.

The Morocco Stock Index (MSI 20), which includes the 20 most liquid stocks, gained 0.02% to 913.71 points and the Casablanca ESG 10, a thematic index that calculates the price performance of socially responsible companies, advanced 0.4% to 846.23 points.

On the international front, the FTSE CSE Morocco 15 dropped 0.01% to 10,395.55 points and the FTSE CSE Morocco All-Liquid lost 0.28% to 9,442.63 pts.

Nezha Alaoui M'Hammdi, Dean of the Arab Diplomatic Corps accredited in Addis Ababa, who spoke at the celebration of the World Day of Arabic Language (December 18) in the Ethiopian capital by the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA), the League of Arab States and UNESCO, stressed the need to ensure the intensification of the teaching of Arabic and strengthen its use in the media and regional and international organizations with the United Nations at the head.

The World Day of Arabic Language is an opportunity to highlight the great contributions that this language has made to human civilization, including through its distinguished arts, architecture, literature, calligraphy and all its valuable wealth, said the Moroccan diplomat.

The role of Arabic was not limited to the production of books of literature, history and science, the Arabic language having rather a role of mediator and guarantor of ancient philosophies, mathematical and astronomical sciences.

It contributed to the transfer of Greek and Roman sciences, knowledge and philosophies to the European continent during the Renaissance, noted Ms. Alaoui M'Hammdi.

The Arabic language, as one of the pillars of cultural diversity of humanity, in addition to being one of the most spoken languages in the world, is now among the six international languages adopted by the United Nations, she said.

This language is the means of communication of about sixty countries and is considered an official language for twenty-six of them (more than 400 million people), said the diplomat, recalling that the Arabic language is distinguished by the vastness and richness of its vocabulary that exceeds twelve million words.

This celebration was marked by the presentation of shows performed by students from schools in Arab countries in Addis Ababa, poems of prominent Arab poets and a parade of traditional dress of Arab countries.

Speaking at the opening of the 4th edition of Pharma Day, organized by the Moroccan Federation of Pharmaceutical Industry and Innovation (FMIIP) on the theme of "overhaul of the national health system: how to develop a strong local pharmaceutical industry in the service of health sovereignty," Ait Taleb has highlighted the role of the ministry which is invested in strengthening local production to facilitate access to drugs and health products of good quality.

He also recalled that the Kingdom is committed, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, in a major project that is the generalization of social coverage, reflecting a willingness of the highest level of the State to provide all citizens with quality health care services.

In this regard, the Minister stressed that the generalization of medical coverage requires to question several challenges of the national health system, adding in this regard, that his Department is committed to the development of the national health system in these 4 pillars: the adoption of good governance, the development of human resources, the upgrading of the health offer, and the digitalization of the health system.