This is the conclusion of UN officials, the UNDP projection, as well as the studies conducted by the HCP, Lahlimi explained during the presentation of the 2009 national report on MDGs, at the HCP headquarters.

The head of the HCP, which is in charge of statistics, also recalled that Morocco has been able to reduce the deficits registered in terms of growth and human development in the 1990s.

He also highlighted the achievements made in economic, social and urban infrastructures, which have contributed to the decentralisation of the economy, and resulted in a better distribution of jobs, incomes and basic social services.

Concerning education, Lahlimi stressed that Morocco is on its way to achieve the goals set in this respect, recalling the program launched by the country to upgrade this vital sector.

He also touched on employment which has benefited from the National Initiative for human Development, propped up by other social programs.

These, according to him, have resulted in the reduction of unemployment rate and the improvement of the population's living conditions, mainly in the countryside.

The Moroccan official added in this respect that the country will soon set up a new body in charge of strategic economic and social planning, which is the economic and social council, called for by the king.

As for the international crisis, Lahlimi underlined that although Morocco showed relative resilience, it lost 0.9% of its GDP growth rate in 2008 and 2.4% in 2009.

The eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) include halving extreme poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, providing universal primary education, reducing child and maternal mortality, promoting gender equality and environmental sustainability, and developing a global partnership for development, all by the target date of 2015.

In September 2000, the world's countries along with most of the world's leading development institutions came together at the UN Headquarters in New York to adopt the UN Millennium Declaration, committing themselves to a new global partnership and setting out a series of time-bound targets called the Millennium Development Goals.