Moroccan king seeks to secure key stocks after pandemic woes

By TARIK EL-BARAKAH
Associated Press

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — Morocco’s King Mohammed VI has called for a new national system to manage essential food, medicine and energy stocks after major disruptions caused by the pandemic. Friday’s speech came a day after the king appointed a new government made up of a coalition of liberal and conservative parties and led by a billionaire businessman. The new parliament and government are the result of elections last month that ousted Islamists who had dominated the legislature and run the government for a decade. The king holds ultimate power in the North African country. In a televised speech from the throne, he formally inaugurated the new parliament’s first session.