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Morocco

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High Speed Train in Tangier

Modern infrastructure development, such as ports, airports, and rail links, is a top government priority. To meet the growing domestic demand, the Moroccan government invested more than $15 billion from 2010 to 2015 in upgrading its basic infrastructure.

Morocco has one of the best road systems on the continent. Over the past 20 years, the government has built approximately 1770 kilometers of modern roads, connecting most major cities via toll expressways. The Moroccan Ministry of Equipment, Transport, Logistics, and Water aims to build an additional 3380 kilometers of expressway and 2100 kilometers of highway by 2030, at an expected cost of $9.6 billion. Attention is focused on linking the southern provinces, notably the cities of Laayoune and Dakhla to the rest of Morocco.

In 2014, Morocco began the construction of the first high-speed railway system in Africa linking the cities of Tangiers and Casablanca. It was inaugurated in 2018 by the King following over a decade of planning and construction by Moroccan national railway company ONCF. It is the first phase of what is planned to eventually be a 1,500 kilometeres (930 mi) high-speed rail network in Morocco. An extension of the line to Marrakesh is already being planned.

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Casablanca Airport

Morocco also has the largest port in Africa and the Mediterranean called Tanger-Med, which is ranked the 18th in the world with a handling capacity of over 9 million containers. It is situated in the Tangiers free economic zone and serves as a logistics hub for Africa and the world.

Flag of Morocco:

The flag of Morocco is a red field with a green emerald pentagram.

Red has considerable historic significance in Morocco, proclaiming the descent from royal Alaouite dynasty. This ruling house was associated with the Islamic prophet Muhammad via Fatimah, the wife of Ali, the fourth Muslim Caliph. Red is also the color that was used by the sharifs of Mecca and the imams of Yemen. From the 17th century on, when Morocco was ruled by the Alaouite dynasty, the flags of the country were plain red.

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Flag of Morocco

On November 17, 1915, Resident General Hubert Lyautey had Sultan Yusef sign a dhahir that made Morocco’s flag red with a green interlaced pentangle. The five points of the star stand for Love, Truth, Peace, Freedom, and Justice. While Morocco was under French and Spanish control, the red flag with the seal in the center remained in use, but only inland. Its use at sea was prohibited. When independence was restored in 1956, it once again became the national flag.

The red background on the Moroccan flag represents hardiness, bravery, strength and valour, while the green represents love, joy, wisdom, peace and hope; it also represents the color of Islam and the pentagram represents the seal of Solomon. The five branches also represent the pillars of Islam.

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