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Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, Lex Delles, to lead economic mission to Morocco
via Le Matin1 min read
Luxembourg's Minister of the Economy, SMEs, Energy and Tourism, Lex Delles, will lead a high-level economic delegation to Morocco from May 4 to 7, 2026. This mission aims to strengthen the already robust economic ties between the two nations. The delegation will include the Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce and approximately twenty companies from various sectors, seeking to foster direct exchanges with Moroccan partners and identify new investment opportunities. This comes as Morocco sees an increase in structuring projects, particularly in infrastructure, industry, and telecommunications. Luxembourg is among the top ten foreign investors in Morocco, while Morocco is a dynamic partner for the Grand Duchy in Africa. A Morocco-Luxembourg Economic Forum will be held on May 5, 2026, in partnership with the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises CGEM, bringing together business leaders to discuss joint investment projects and concrete collaborations. This visit marks the fourth major official mission between the two countries in less than ten years, underscoring their shared commitment to a long-term economic partnership based on mutual interests.
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This summary was AI-generated from a story originally published by Le Matin.
The unemployment gap between men and women in Morocco has increased to 9.7 percentage points since the pandemic, with the women's unemployment rate reaching 20.5% in 2025, compared to 10.8% for men, according to Bank Al-Maghrib's 2025 annual report. This gap was 5.7 points in 2019. Additionally, women earn less, with a nearly 23% wage gap in urban areas in 2019, according to the High Commission for Planning HCP. Morocco ranks in the bottom decile globally for gender equality, despite constitutional provisions. The activity rate for women decreased from 21.5% to 19% between 2019 and 2025, while for men it fell from 71% to 68.5%, maintaining a 49.5-point gap. Rural areas have seen a significant increase in disparities, largely due to successive years of drought impacting agricultural activity, which employs 86.4% of active rural women. Social norms also contribute to these inequalities; a 2017-2020 global values survey found that 64% of men and 48.3% of women in Morocco believe men should be prioritized for jobs when opportunities are scarce. Furthermore, 69% of men and 54% of women consider being a housewife as rewarding as paid employment. Practical difficulties such as insufficient work flexibility and inaccessible childcare services also hinder women's participation in the labor market. This issue extends beyond Morocco, with a World Bank study indicating that removing barriers to women's employment in the Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan, and Pakistan MENAAP region c
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