Meeting this Monday in Dakhla under the chairmanship of council president El Khattat Yanja, and in the presence of the region’s wali and the governors of Oued Ed-Dahab and Aousserd provinces, the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab regional council held its ordinary October session. Councillors approved a series of partnership agreements that sketch out the development priorities for Morocco’s southern provinces in the months ahead.
The first agreement covers construction and fitting-out of the Aousserd provincial council’s annex and meeting hall in Dakhla, at a total cost of 4.7 million dirhams, with the region covering 3 million of that sum. A second partnership, signed with the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the African Chamber of Commerce and Services in Dakhla, mobilizes 7 million dirhams for a territorial marketing program built around the « Africa Business Days » and « Africa Executive Meeting » international forums, aimed at promoting the region and attracting continental and international investment.
The social dimension was not overlooked. A 3-million-dirham tutoring program will support second-year baccalaureate students, while a 3.6-million-dirham agreement will fund secure transport for students travelling to university institutions in Oued Ed-Dahab province. On the cultural front, a 200,000-dirham grant was awarded to the « Hiblati » heritage association to catalogue and preserve manuscripts tied to the region and to develop the scientific library of the Zawiya of Sheikh Mohamed Abdelkader Hiblati.
The council also approved a 3.6-million-dirham agreement with the Gulf Equestrian Association to build an equestrian club in Dakhla, intended to introduce children to the sport and host high-level regional competitions. On decentralized international cooperation, a partnership was signed with the commune of Ntahangwa in Burundi, backed by the African Fund for International Decentralized Cooperation, to rehabilitate and equip the « Muberure » health center there.
Finally, councillors approved amendments to a road-infrastructure program, a loan request to finance further road development, and a new urban rehabilitation program for the territorial commune of Bir Kandouz in Aousserd province. Taken together, this wave of agreements highlights the multi-sector development momentum under way in the Dakhla-Oued Ed-Dahab region, reinforcing its standing as a rising economic and social hub in Morocco’s southern provinces.
