His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid is turning challenges into opportunities

Looking back the past year on top of fruitful achievements of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid – Part 1

Rabat, January 5, 2009 – Morocco’s Heir, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid has long enjoyed the reputation of being the hardest-working member of the Royal Family.

Continuing His busy working life all the way through the year 2008, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid has maintained His designation and gave us a quantity of achievements greater than ever before.

Over the past year, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid was engaged in various official state duties, events and ceremonies, both inside and outside the Royal Kingdom, wisely believing that Morocco is the ocean of opportunity.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid carried out a huge amount of meetings and audiences, balancing with the time spent out and about.

All engagements differed according to occasion and substance and also the time taken in preparation.

On the humanitarian level, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid devoted a great deal of attention to several issues including advocacy of peace, intercultural and interfaith dialog, education, health, fight poverty and empowerment of youth.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid's busy year traveling the Kingdom and abroad on official activities accumulated over 550 engagements, carrying out over 50 foreign engagements.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid started last year with focus on opportunities in Morocco’s economic, social and cultural, sports and tourism development programs by working closely with several national and international organizations.

Other priorities of the work supporting organizations included mission to save impoverished children with the heart diseases and to help them reach full potentials.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid also paid special attention to the fight against hunger, supporting the action by the Harry Chapin Media Awards to speed up the measures needed to combat global poverty.

In February, to boost fight against illiteracy and support literacy programs, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid chaired the 14th edition of the International Book Fair in Casablanca.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid also presented a new prolonged package to help sport tourism achieve crucial social and economic reforms.

The package also endorsed the competition program of the Royal Golf Dar Es Salam.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid also presided over one of the finest events of its kind, the 15th edition of the Maroc Classic Rally under the motto the “Road of the Heart.”

In March, as a leading driving force in the Kingdom of Morocco, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid traveled to Syria's capital Damascus for several-day state visit to the Middle-East country, where He also participated in the 20th Arab Summit, held from March 29-30.

At the conference, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid reiterated His permanent stance in support of a comprehensive peace process in the region in accordance with the international resolutions.

Bringing its weight to bear to pave the way for active advocacy to expand the dialogues with international leaders, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid met in March with Kuwaiti Amir His Highness Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah, President of the Comoros Ahmed Abdallah Mohamed Sambi, and Vice President and Prime Minister of UAE and Ruler of Dubai, His Highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum.

In addition to international affairs, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid has made massive efforts to move ahead the national development, with special attention on sport tourism.

In April, information technology education and development was high on the agenda of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid. On April 22nd, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid received Microsoft CEO Mr. Steve Ballmer to build up a consensus around the key principles of this policy.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid further enhanced foreign relationships as He conferred with Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, the President of Cape Verde and Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdulaziz.

On the occasion of the ninth dead anniversary of His Majesty King Hassan the second (April 16th), His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid observed a day of remembrance in spirit of solemnity, dignity, and reverence.

Underlining the severity of the current situation of Moroccan impoverished children with the heart diseases, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid pressed with the Grand Heart Association for joint action to provide help to young patients who cannot afford health care costs. The project of the Association aims to increase the availability of quality healthcare services and to integrate special needs children into mainstream society. To date, under the leadership of His Royal Highness, the Association has sent several children to France where they received comprehensive cardiovascular services, including life-saving heart surgery and interventional cardiology procedures.

Also, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid along with the International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation (abbreviated CIC) Members, held on April 22 ground breaking the 55th CIC General Assembly under the motto “Hunting: a Tool for Sustainable Rural Development” at the Congress Palace of Marrakech, Morocco.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid moreover chaired the 1200th anniversary convention of the imperial city of Fes and Morocco’s 3rd International Agriculture Fair.

All the way through the month May, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid highlighted the importance of Morocco's economic and social future.

The objectives to curb poverty and unemployment, while developing sustainability and competitiveness were top of the interest during His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid visit to rural area of Benguérir and Ouirgane.

On May 9, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid launched His new initiative, the Sailing School for All.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid also chaired receptions that marked the 52nd anniversary of Royal Armed Forces (RAF) and the fiftieth birthday of the Moroccan Red Cross.

In June, the main aim of His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid was to bring together research excellence from across the world when He opened the 25th International Congress of Radiology in Marrakech.

In June, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid, who is the President of National Federation of Moroccan Scouting, came forward with the Scout diploma for media and public relations and communication, a plan to help young Scouts to develop media and public relations skills.

In the spotlight were issues of support for sport and sport tourism, where His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid patronized several national and international sport events, including a Confederation of African Athletics (CAA). During this very event, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid was awarded the CAA Super Grand Prix Award and medal in recognition of His leading role and meaningful action that He carries out through the promotion of the sport image and the social and moral values of the sport.

His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid also held meetings with Saudi Arabia Crown Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz Al Saud and French President Nicolas Sarkozy in France.

During that month, His Royal Highness Crown Prince Moulay Rachid travel to Portugal where He attended the wedding celebrations of Prince Charles-Philippe d'Orleans, Duke of Anjou, and Diana Alvares Pereira de Melo, 11th Duchess of Cadaval at the Cathedral of Evora.