The meeting, attended by MAP Director General Fouad Arif and members of the Board, approved the Agency's budget and action plan for 2025, as well as its moral and financial reports for 2023.
Speaking on the occasion, Bensaid emphasized that the MAP Board meeting was an opportunity to examine various challenges facing the Agency, which is celebrating its 65th anniversary this year. Since its creation, he said, the Agency was able to accompany major milestones in Morocco's contemporary history, working to develop the national media scene and enshrine diversity and plurality.
The Agency remains an essential pillar in strengthening the Kingdom's media sovereignty and a major strategic player in national media diplomacy, he added, calling MAP a strategic national media establishment. According to him, it plays a fundamental role in defending the country's sacred values and higher interests, as well as in promoting progress achieved by Morocco in various fields, under the enlightened leadership of HM King Mohammed VI.
MAP has been faced with profound changes taking place on the regional, continental and international media scene, the Minister stated. ”Under its new governance and with the support of all its staff, MAP has successfully meet strategic challenges to stand as a modern institution capable of adapting to the deep transformations taking place in the sector."
Bensaid praised the Agency's tireless efforts to reinforce its role as a provider of information, while exploring new horizons such as the integration of new telecommunication technologies and strengthening networks of international correspondents. In this respect, the minister reaffirmed his office's constant commitment to accompanying and supporting MAP in its strategic missions.
For his part, Arif pointed out that clear objectives and an action plan have been defined in order to bolster the role of Maghreb Arabe Presse Agency, true to its mission as a national news wholesaler and as the protector of national media sovereignty, alongside other public service media.
In this respect, he cited the overhaul of the Agency's services, the strengthening of its role as an information wholesaler, the overhaul of the international network of hubs to meet the Kingdom's strategic orientations, the audiovisual transformation, the reinforcement of human capital and the digital transformation.
On the strength of this assessment, MAP's general management has conducted a consultation process to develop a strategy likely to fully articulate this vision around four major axes, namely “Impactful Content and International Leadership”, “Dynamic Human Capital and Commercial Growth”, a “Digital Revolution” and “Agile Governance and Strategic Excellence”, Arif noted.
For his part, MAP's Secretary General Karim Hosni presented the 2023 financial report, the budget and the action plan for fiscal year 2025, as well as exhaustive statistics on the Agency's production (news stories, MAP TV-MAP audio, Photography and Infographics).