WASHINGTON, D.C., October 31, 2019 - Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump will travel with Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) CEO Sean Cairncross to Rabat and Casablanca, Morocco Nov. 6-8 for the White House’s W-GDP Initiative. Advisor Trump and Mr. Cairncross will engage with program beneficiaries, women business leaders, senior government officials, and civil society stakeholders in the country. This trip will further the strong partnership between the United States and Morocco which currently spans all aspects of bilateral cooperation from trade, security, democracy, governance, and regional priorities.
The Millennium Challenge Corporation is proud to be a part of the W-GDP Initiative and to advance women’s economic empowerment in Morocco through the MCC Compact. MCC’s $450 million compact with Morocco commenced in June 2017 and aims to improve land productivity and education, two priorities for the Government of Morocco that pose binding constraints to economic growth.
Through W-GDP, the Trump Administration will continue to champion and partner with countries that are working to make meaningful legal reforms to further women’s full and free economic participation, especially when it comes to women’s ability to own and manage property, access institutions, build credit, travel freely, and work in the same jobs and sectors as men.
The visit comes at a particularly important time as Morocco has recently taken significant steps forward on women’s economic empowerment with the passage of laws reforming collective land rights. Advisor Trump and MCC CEO Cairncross have worked closely with the Government of Morocco (including calls, letters, and meetings with the Ambassador, Foreign Minister, and the highest levels of government) to push for the adoption and expedient implementation of these reforms. The delegation will focus on strengthening commitments to address gender equality, and continue to press for the implementation of women’s land rights, across the country, including the recent changes to collective land laws.
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The Millennium Challenge Corporation is an independent U.S. government agency working to reduce global poverty through economic growth. Created in 2004, MCC provides time-limited grants and assistance to low-income countries that meet rigorous standards for good governance, from fighting corruption to respecting democratic rights.