For this purpose, an agreement was signed on Thursday between the company and the Moroccan government, at the presence of Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi.

This investment programme mainly aims at the extension and modernisation of telecoms infrastructure throughout the country, creating some 150 job opportunities.

"Such an investment responds to the challenges that Morocco is facing in terms of its economic and human development, said Abdeslam Ahizoune, the Chairman of the Management Board of Maroc Telecom.

For his part, Abbas El Fassi, lauding the agreement, underlined that the programme will contribute to the improvement and diversification of telecom services in the country and reduce the digital bill.

The agreement was signed by the Minister of Economy and Finance, Salaheddine Mezouar, and the Minister of Industry, Trade and Modern Technology, Ahmed Reda Chami, on the one hand, and Abdeslam Ahizoune on the other.

The signing ceremony was attended by Nizar Barakat, Minister Delegate to the Prime Minister in charge of Economic and General Affairs, and Azzeddine El Mountassir Billah, Director General of the Moroccan telecoms regulator (ANRT).

It comes after two previous investment agreements between the telecoms company and the Moroccan state. Maroc Telecom had invested, as part of these two agreements, over MAD 20 billion during the 2003-2008 period.

“Maroc Telecom continues its high level investments to ensure the availability and quality of services, a key factor behind its success both in Morocco and its subsidiaries in sub-Saharan Africa," Ahizoune added.

Maroc Telecom, controlled by the French Vivendi (53%), is Morocco's leading telecom services provider: Fixed-line, Mobile and Internet. It is listed on both the Casablanca and Paris stock exchanges.