MAP board of directors holds its July 2009 session

Rabat - The Board of Directors of Morocco's news agency, Maghreb Arabe Presse (MAP), on Wednesday held its July 2009 session, unde

    The meeting examined MAP's activity, financial and audit reports for the year 2009 in addition to its action plan and the program for the celebration of MAP's 50th anniversary.

    Speaking at the meeting, MAP Managing Director, Ali Bouzerda, presented the main points of the Agency's action strategy, which has been devised since his appointment last January by H.M. the King, and shed light on MAP's ambitions and projects on the short and middle terms.

    He pointed out to the renewal of the agency's website, which offers a new look enriched with more pictures. "We are going to set up a network of reporter-photographers in 12 regional offices and 8 international offices, which will become the largest national network in the field," he said, adding that "the operation has already been launched", and new services such as MAP-TV and SMS in Arabic will be introduced.

    Touching on journalists' national and international appointments, he said these appointments are based on competences, assiduity, productivity and entrepreneurship.

    MAP also moves in the direction of creating new regional poles and reinforcing already existing ones, he said, referring in this regard to the decision to foster the offices of Casablanca, Khouribga, Tangier and Guelmim and opening up the regions of Figuig (East) and Tata (South).

    At the international level, MAP plans to create a regional pole for Latin America that will be based in Brazil and set up new offices in Australia and Angola, in addition to appointing correspondents in Amsterdam and Strasbourg, Bouzerda added.

    He provided explanations on the broad lines of the program to celebrate MAP's 50th anniversary, which will underscore the Agency's milestones, and pointed out to the works underway to upgrade MAP's headquarters in Rabat.      

    Bouzerda also called for a new status for MAP in order to improve the material conditions of journalists, notably with respect to retirement pensions.

    Speaking on the same occasion, Naciri underlined the need to reinforce MAP's strategic role in providing information to the national and international public opinion on the realities of Morocco and serving the Kingdoms' causes.

    He said the Agency faces the challenges of fostering its position in the national media, promoting the material and moral conditions of its journalists and expanding its influence inside and outside Morocco.

    MAP has a strategic role in developing information and communication in Morocco, as it has become a regional and international news agency known for its competitiveness thanks to the quality and the volume of its output, in addition to its technical means and the density of its international network, Naciri said. This has allowed it to play a vanguard role in news collection and diffusion, he added. 

     On her part, Secretary of State at the Foreign Ministry, Latifa Akharbach, called for lending more support to the agency so as to reinforce its position at the international level, notably in Europe and Latin America.

    Other members of the Board of Directors commended MAP's professionalism and paid tribute to its journalists, who have spared no effort to ensure a professional coverage of multiple national and international events.

Source: MAP