EIB extends €100 m to back Morocco against COVID-19

31 / 08 / 2020

By Marwa Nassar - -

The European Investment Bank (EIB) extended €100 million as a first tranche of a €200 million package to support Morocco in its fight against the COVID-19 crisis.

Mohamed Benchaaboun, the Moroccan Minister of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform, and Emma Navarro, EIB Vice President, announced the release of €100 million to finance the Kingdom of Morocco’s most urgent requirements as it deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. This is the first payment of an overall financing package worth €200 million.

Benchaaboun emphasized the importance of these funds in enabling Morocco to procure urgently needed medical supplies and equipment.

The financing will strengthen the country’s health facilities and boost hospital capacity, allowing it to fight against the pandemic more effectively.

This achievement is a tangible sign of the caliber of the partnership between Morocco and the EIB, the EU bank.

EIB Vice-President Navarro was delighted that these funds were released in record time. For her, acting rapidly is crucial in limiting the pandemic’s impact on the population’s health. The EIB is continuing to draw on its expertise, resources and skills to provide concrete solutions to the challenges posed by COVID-19.

This €100 million payment is the first time the EIB has allocated funding to the EU’s Mediterranean neighborhood for the purpose of fighting against COVID-19. More specifically, it forms part of the EIB’s support for the Moroccan national plan to combat COVID-19 and also chimes with Team Europe, an EU initiative to help partner countries, particularly those outside Europe, in fighting the coronavirus pandemic and dealing with its consequences.

This financing therefore dovetails with the EU’s overall action in Morocco’s health sector, supplementing the €100 million aid program to fund healthcare needs during the pandemic and support the Ministry of Health’s reform initiative.

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, the EIB has stepped up its support for businesses in need of liquidity. The Bank has also supported education in Morocco by, for instance, providing the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fes with funding. As a result, the university can ensure the continued education of its scholarship students thanks to the purchase of IT equipment, which can also be used to produce face masks.