THE MOROCCAN SUN

Morocco plans to buy 24 F-16 fighters in a deal that would add to the backlog of orders for the jets produced at Lockheed Martin's west Fort Worth assembly plant.

The Bush administration has notified Congress that it plans to sell the fighter jets plus engines, weapons and support equipment to Morocco in a deal valued at about $2.4 billion.

Congress will have 15 days to reject the sale, which rarely happens. A final contract would then have to be negotiated among Morocco, the State Department and the Pentagon and Lockheed.

Orders for new F-16s, which until recent years were the mainstay of work at Lockheed's Fort Worth plant, have dwindled the last couple of years, and the backlog had shrunk to just 116 planes by the end of September.

Only about 2,600 of the 15,000 jobs at the plant are now directly tied to F-16 production. Much of the factory space is now set aside for work on the F-35 joint strike fighter program. The plant is now producing two to three F-16s per month. Lockheed's most recent order, for 30 planes from Turkey earlier this year, will bring some continued work to the Fort Worth plant through 2011. But final assembly of those aircraft will be performed in Turkey.

Lockheed spokesman Joe Stout said the company welcomed the potential sale to Morocco but did not yet know what the production schedule would be.

"Lockheed Martin will be pleased to support the U.S. government in providing F-16 aircraft for the defense of the Kingdom of Morocco," Stout said. "We look forward to the opportunity to work with the Royal Moroccan Air Force to satisfy their defense needs with the most successful multirole fighter in history."

Morocco will buy the most common, recent version of the F-16, very similar to the newest and best operated by the U.S. Air Force, as well as numerous U.S. allies.

The State Department, in the notification to Congress, said the sale would not upset the balance of power in the region and "will contribute to the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by enhancing Morocco's capacity to support U.S. efforts in the Global War on Terrorism, as well as supporting Morocco's legitimate need for its own self-defense."

Approximately 1,100 Moroccans are being held in Belgian prisons. Only several dozen of them will be eligible to serve their time in Morocco.

Only prisoners with definite convictions and no lasting connection with Belgium may be transferred. Anyone with dual nationality for instance, or a permanent address in the Belgium, is not eligible. Nor of course will detainees in pre-trial detention be eligible.

Nonetheless, Justice Minister Laurette Onkelinx (PS) can require about 60 prisoners to sit out their prison sentence in Morocco.

Minister Onkelinx signed a bilateral accord to this effect with her Moroccan counterpart on Monday. Belgium is the first country to sign such an accord with Morocco.

Onkelinx was accompanied by Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt and Home Affairs Minister Patrick Dewael. The government signed a total of seven accords with Morocco.

The federal government hopes the prisoner exchange agreement will help relieve some of the overcrowding in prisons. The number of people in prison exceeded 10,000 last week. Only practice will show if the measure does indeed lessen the pressure on penal institutions in Belgium.

During the Belgian government's visit to Marrakech, agreements were also made on strengthening police cooperation in fighting the drug trade, human trafficking and terrorism. Morocco is going to help track down radical Islamic websites, for instance.

As part of another cooperation agreement, Belgium will help Morocco set up e-government facilities and draw up emergency plans in the event of a disaster.

The government of Pakistan on Wednesday announced the appointment of Qazi Rizwan-ul-Haq Mahmood as Ambassador to the Kingdom of Morocco.
      According to a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Curriculum Vitae of Qazi Rizwan-ul-Haq Mahmood is as under:-
     • Attended the National Defence Course 2005-06 at the National Defence College, Islamabad.
     • Also Attended Senior Executive Course at the National Defence University, Washington.
     • Joined Foreign Service of Pakistan in 1979.
     • Served at Headquarters as Section Officer (1980-84 & 1987-88) and Director (1995-1998)
     • Held various diplomatic assignments in Pakistan Missions abroad: Canberra (1984-87), Muscat (1988-91), Lisbon (1991-95) and Abu Dhabi (2001-2004).
     • Also served as Consul General of Pakistan, Jeddah (1998-2001).
     • Presently he is serving as Director General at the Headquarters since July 2004.
     • He is married.

Sunway Group Ltd and Maroc Fruit Board (Morocco) signed an annual contract concerning fruit and vegetable shipping at the rate of $30.335 mil, said in the announcement of Sunway Group.

Sunway was founded in 1993. In 2004 it was reorganized in the Sunway-Group Holding. The company imports and sells in the Russian market fruit and vegetables from Europe, Asia, Africa and South America. The group comprises Sunway-Group LLC, Elstar LLC, Agroline CJSC, Rusagro, SWT Trader S.A. (Ecuador), Imperia Fruit S.A. (an exporter from Spain).

All the assets of the group are controlled by Brand Development Inc. (Belize). Its final beneficiaries are the Sunway Trading Group's President Shalmi Benyaminov and Alexander Vasiliev.

An eight-year-old child who died 160,000 years ago is thought to be the oldest human to develop in a modern way. A 160,000-year-old fossil found 60 miles west of Marrakech, Morocco, are believed to be the oldest human to have a long childhood. An international team of scientists, using synchrotron X-ray light, studied the teeth of an eight-year-old child that died 160,000 years ago and found microscopic growth lines within the tooth suggesting development like that of a modern human. The dental growth lines reveal development in a similar way to annual rings in trees and so reveal growth rates accurately after thousands of years. Tooth growth in the Moroccan child was compared with other fossils and living humans to reveal the modern condition of prolonged dental development in childhood. The researchers stated: "These findings are not in contrast with our current wisdom that suggest that an extended period of development, and, by implication, childhood, may be linked to the origins of social, biological, and cultural changes needed to support dependent children with greater opportunities for early childhood learning." Scientists from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology, the Laboratory of Geobiology, Biochronology and Human Paleontology in Poitiers , the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility, the UK's School of Dental Sciences in Newcastle, the Research School of Earth Sciences in Canberra and from the Department of Geology of the Mohammed V-Agdal University in Rabat in Morocco all took part in the research.

An Amsterdam district court has released a burglar from prison to allow him to participate in a government-paid trip to Morocco for Moroccan youngsters, De Volkskrant reported Friday. The judge considered the trip important for his development.

The nine-day trip was organised for 16 young Moroccans to allow them to help in development aid projects in their country of origin. Among them were four boys on a police list of 'youngsters causing most trouble,' which means they have an impressive criminal record.

The trip to Morocco cost 65,000 euros, of which the foreign ministry paid 50,000 and Amsterdam Slotervaart district council the rest. The subsidy application said the participants are eager to learn and motivated and that they are open to different opinions.

The programme included a football tournament with peers in a poor neighbourhood in the Moroccan capital of Rabat, organising sports, activities for orphans and a visit to an institute for handicapped children. A reception at the Dutch embassy was also scheduled.

The trip took place last month. The boy in prison was among the group of 'youngsters causing most trouble' from Slotervaart. He was caught in the act of a break-in a few days before the trip. Nonetheless, and although he has been convicted more often, the judge considered it better that he should be allowed to make the trip.

The foreign ministry subsidy was paid via the Netherlands Youth Institute (NJI), which has 20 million euros available to 2008 for similar projects. It works closely on these with Plan Nederland, the former Foster Parents Plan, which hit the headlines a few years ago when it emerged that less than 20 cents of every euro donated was spent on aid.

The Arab country may be benefited by a partnership between the new Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) office in Africa and a Moroccan university interested in the production of biodiesel. The initiative was promoted by the government of Brazil to transfer agricultural technology to African nations and help reduce social inequality.

Geovana Pagel*

São Paulo - Morocco may be the first Arab country in North Africa to establish a partnership with the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa) office in Accra, the capital of Ghana, in December last year. Two weeks ago, the coordinator of Embrapa Africa, Cláudio Bragantini, visited Hasan II Academy, a federal university in Morocco that has a research institute in the agricultural area. According to Bragantini the partnership should be concentrated mainly in the production of biodiesel, which may be obtained from castor seeds and pine seeds, plants of the region that are resistant to lack of rain.

"The Moroccans are very interested in participating in training in the area of biotechnology and also in the development of agricultural projects with the private sector," stated Bragantini. According to him, the Brazilian embassy in Morocco is already articulating a meeting with private and government organizations. "I believe that in the near future we will be developing this kind of project," guaranteed the researcher.

Libya is another Arab country that may make use of the Embrapa office in Africa. According to the researcher, the Libyan embassy in Ghana has already shown interest in a partnership in the area of irrigated agriculture. "Libya finances many projects in the agricultural area in Ghana and in other countries in the region," he said.

According to Bragantini, the idea behind this specific project is to pipe a large volume of water discovered when drilling in the search of oil and use the product in irrigated agriculture. "There (in Libya) we have a great advantage. The government has financial assets and great interest in the project and Embrapa has the necessary technology," he guaranteed.

"This is an opportunity that may generate a fabulous partnership. We promised to move ahead with this project and to send a letter of intention to the Libyan embassy in Ghana," he explained.

With regard to Tunisia, Bragantini says that he has not yet received any direct contact but has already received information from the Brazilian embassy in Ghana about the interest in Brazilian technologies. Last year a delegation of four Embrapa Forestry representatives, from the southern Brazilian state of Paraná, travelled to the Arab country to develop a project in the area of management of eucalyptus for the extraction of wood.

Cooperation

The Embrapa Africa office is a political initiative of the government of Brazil to transfer technology to the African countries. Since its installation, a group of researchers from the Embrapa International Cooperation Advisory has been discussing routes for the promotion of the use of Brazilian technology to generate growth, reduce social inequality, fight against hunger and poverty, and work with small farmers for a sustainable cycle.

"It is worth pointing out that the office does not only represent Embrapa, but Brazil as a whole. The office works as an agent to facilitate the link between financial organizations and governments and we will have our doors opened to private companies in agribusiness that may be interested in participating in this revolution," stated Bragantini.

"We have a work agenda that is geared at transferring technology that worked in Brazil. We offer them our work and, if necessary, will work based on the demand of each country," pointed out Bragantini. The requests reach the office through the Foreign Relations Department at the Embrapa, through the Brazilian Cooperation Agency (ABC), directly to the office or even through international organizations interested in partnerships.

According to Bragantini, the greatest demand from governments is related to small farmers. "We have large volumes of technology developed in the northeast of Brazil and in the semi-arid regions of the country that may adapt well to the climate and soil in Africa," stated Bragantini.

According to him, the great demand is for direct planting and minimum cultivation (a system that requires some superficial soil work), for projects that promote integration between crops and livestock farming. "In savannas a large part of the soil is degraded and needs recovery," he said.

Up to now, the researchers based in the office in Ghana have already visited Angola, Kenya, Benin, Togo and Mozambique. In Angola, for example, the demand is for commercial agriculture, interested in the planting of soy for biofuels. Mozambique, in turn, wants to strengthen the Institute for Agrarian Research of Mozambique (Iiam).  "We have a project in progress that is prior to the creation of the office in Ghana, which includes improvement in the Iiam research processes," he explained.

There is also great demand for the processing of cassava after harvesting. "We have already even trained technicians in Ghana for this activity," explained the researcher. The demand for bioenergy was also identified by the researcher. "All countries are seeking the development of this technology," he said.