The Peninsula Qatar

RABAT: Sovereign wealth funds from Qatar and Kuwait led pledges yesterday to invest almost $3bn in cash-strapped Morocco, cementing ties between the Arab countries.

Qatar’s sovereign wealth fund and the Moroccan state agreed to establish a 50-50 investment joint venture worth $2bn that aims to help Rabat fund major development projects, a statement from the Moroccan government said.

The Emir H H Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani and King Mohamed the VI attended the signing ceremony for the agreement in Rabat to set up the joint venture fund between the Qatar Investment Authority (QIA) and its Moroccan equivalent.

The two sides signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for tourist cooperation. They also signed a MoU on mining between Office National des Hydrocarbures et des Mines (ONHYM) and Qatar Mining Company and an additional protocol for the agreement on regulating the use of Moroccan laborers in Qatar.

The signing ceremonies was attended by the Deputy Premier and Chief of Emiri Diwan

H E Abdullah bin Hamad Al Attiyah.

QIA’s Qatar Holding, Kuwaiti Investment Authority’s Al Ajial Investments and Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund Aabar Investments also agreed yesterday with Morocco’s Fund for the Development of Tourism to inject Dh20.8bn ($2.5bn) into a newly-created vehicle called Wessal Capital.

Agencies