Morocco's cabinet, chaired by King Mohammed VI, adopted Thursday in Marrakesh a bill reinstating compulsory military service.
This includes two drafts on determining the modalities of counting, selecting and integrating conscripts for military service, the procedures for granting exemptions from this service, and defining the procedure for voluntary conscription for women and Moroccan expatriates.
The drafts also set the wages, allowances, and benefits for recruits, as well as the special allowances granted to recruits serving in the southern regions, said a statement read out by the spokesperson for the Royal Palace AbdelhaK Lamrini.
In a bid to activate the provisions of the law on military service, King Mohammed VI, Supreme Commander and Chief of the General Staff of the Royal Armed Forces, gave his instructions to work on recruiting ten thousand troops during the current year. This number will be raised to 15,000 next year, the spokesman added.
Further, the ministerial council ratified eight agreements aiming to reinforce cooperation ties with several international countries – the agreements include the establishment of the headquarters of the African Observatory for Migration in Rabat and the establishment of the National Office of the kingdom of Morocco on the United Nations Human Settlements Program.
In another context, the King appointed several ambassadors at the proposal of Morocco's Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani, and Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Nasser Bourita.
He appointed Youssef Slaoui as ambassador to Burkina Faso, Ahmed Rahhou as ambassador to the European Union, Hassan Tariq as ambassador to Tunisia, Mohamed El Basri as ambassador to the Netherlands, Mustapha Benkhiyi as ambassador to the Kingdom of Bahrain and Imane Ouadil as ambassador to the Republic of Ghana.
The monarch also appointed Abderrahim Atmoun as ambassador to the Republic of Poland, Abdelfettah Lebbar as ambassador to the Mexico and Mohamed Achkalou as ambassador to the Republic of Finland.
