KSA signs deals for $230m aid to Morocco

RABAT: Saudi Arabia and Morocco have signed an aid agreement worth $230 million, the Moroccan finance ministry said, part of a five-year package of financial assistance extended by Gulf states.
Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE agreed in 2012 to provide aid worth a total of $5 billion to Morocco in the period 2012-2017.
Each of the four countries has committed $1.25 billion to Morocco for the whole five-year period, in an effort to build up its infrastructure, strengthen its economy and foster tourism. The agreement signed Wednesday is Saudi Arabia’s 2016 part, Morocco’s finance minister said.
The $230 million agreement was signed in Bahrain by the Moroccan Minister Mohammed Boussaid and Saudi Finance Minister Ibrahim Al-Assaf. It includes $100 million of support to small and medium-size enterprises), $80 million of aid to agriculture and $50 million for the Health Ministry.