BASSETERRE, ST. KITTS, FEBRUARY 20TH 2013 (CUOPM) – Kittitians and Nevisians are to benefit from up to 20 scholarships and numerous training courses as a result of an agreement between the Federal Government of St. Kitts and Nevis and the Kingdom of Morocco.
The agreement, signed by Prime Minister the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil L. Douglas on behalf of St. Kitts and Nevis, states that persons taking up the scholarships will attend public schools and universities in Morocco.
The Moroccan side has expressed its willingness to develop its cooperation with St. Kitts and Nevis in the fields of higher education and scientific research, according to the needs expressed by the St. Kitts and Nevis side.
The Kingdom of Morocco will also invite the St. Kitts and Nevis high officials and executives of higher education institutions for working visits and workshops with the first visit scheduled for the month of June 2013.
Morocco’s Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion (OFPPT) is committed to provide annually, on official quota, for ten (10) young people to enroll in its technical vocational training schools. In this regard OFPPT will provide accommodation and food services in its boarding schools while the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation will provide scholarships for the students.
The OFPPT has also committed itself to organize annually, in concert with AMCI, training sessions (one (01) to two (02) months) aiming at developing the technical skills of trainees. The two sides have also agreed to examine jointly the memorandum of understanding in the field of vocational training submitted by OFPPT for the development of partnership projects.
According to the needs expressed by St. Kitts and Nevis, the Moroccan Ministry of health will organize training courses for the benefit of five persons in various fields; provide trainings in public health or health administration at the National Institute of Health Administration (two-year teaching full-time); Paramedical staff in the Training Institutes for Health Careers; Pharmacy in the National Laboratory of Drug Control and training of pharmacists inspectors.
Morocco has agreed to provide St. Kitts and Nevis with expertise in crop production, livestock, animal health and veterinary, agricultural valorisation and marketing, mechanisation, irrigation and water management.
The Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), in cooperation with the OCP Foundation and INRA, will implement a pilot integrated agricultural development project for the benefit of up to and maximum of 200 small farmers.
Within this project, one training scholarship including return tickets and living expenses in Morocco will be covered annually for capacity building in needed priority fields for St. Kitts and Nevis. This one to three months training will be carried at INRA and financed by OCP foundation.
Within this pilot integrated agricultural development project, the Kingdom of Morocco via AMCI is committed to provide annually, for the 2013-2015 St. Kitts and Nevis with ninety (90) tons of fertilizers. The types of fertilizers are the same than the ones provided in 2011.
The Moroccan side, through the National Office for Electricity and Potable Water, has committed itself to annually provide up to 2 training sessions in favour of 10 people in the fields of water treatment, quality control and wastewater treatment.
The Kingdom of Morocco is keen to assist St. Kitts and Nevis in the development of expertise in electricity branch, particularly in supervision of the construction of thermal power plants (coal, fuel, diesel etc, studies and assistance in the construction of national grid of electricity networks and in the planning of electricity networks and in rural electrification, and development of electric interconnections capacities, renewable energies and rehabilitation of distribution networks.
In the area of tourism, the Moroccan side have agreed to provide two to three seats by sector training institutions in hospitality and tourism under the Ministry within the overall quota reserved by International of Cooperation of the Moroccan Agency and Moroccan experts are to visit St. Kitts and Nevis assess the needs and priorities in the field of tourism. Moroccan is also committed to provide annually an official quota of 16 scholarships to the applicants wishing to enrol in schools of vocational training, as follows: 10 seats for the technician and 6 seats for the qualification level.
St. Kitts and Nevis is to send nationals in training courses that is held in Morocco within the framework of triangular cooperation, in the field of fisheries.
Moroccan will also provide two scholarships annually to enrol in technical schools for infrastructures (two years) and to offer internships in airport certification, airport security, air space security and road maintenance.
Morocco and St. Kitts and Nevis also agreed to exchange annually a group a 30 young children during the moths of July and August.