The Board of Directors of the Regional Investment Center of the Fez-Meknes Region (CRI) met on Tuesday, October 14, 2025, under the effective chairmanship of Mr. Karim Zidane, Minister Delegate for Investment, Convergence, and Public Policy Evaluation, representing the Head of Government, in accordance with Article 13 of Law 22.24 amending and supplementing Law 47.18 relating to the reform of the CRI and the creation of the Unified Regional Investment Commissions (CRUI).
In his opening remarks, the Minister recalled that this meeting constitutes not only a moment of evaluation, but also a step towards defining future directions, in full alignment with the High Guidelines of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, which consider investment as an essential lever for development and job creation. He also reaffirmed the new positioning of the CRI in the management of investment at the regional level, as well as the importance of law 22.24 in strengthening advanced regionalization.
This meeting was devoted to the study and adoption of the Action Plan and the provisional budget for the 2026 financial year of the CRI Fez-Meknes, which is part of the implementation of Law 22.24, particularly in terms of accelerating investments, strengthening governance and implementing the new Investment Charter, highlighting the development prospects offered by the structuring of the territorial offer, the strengthening of support mechanisms for investors, in particular for SMEs, as well as the continuous improvement of the business climate.
The Minister also praised the considerable efforts made by the CRI Fez-Meknes teams, highlighting the leadership role of Mr. Mohamed Sabri, Director General of the Center, who, thanks to his pragmatic approach based on proximity and performance, has made the CRI Fez-Meknes a key player in regional development, contributing to strengthening the economic attractiveness of the Region and stimulating productive investment. Indeed, the Region has experienced significant progress during the current year through the launch and development of structuring projects aimed at strengthening its competitiveness and economic attractiveness. Among the main achievements are the launch of an ambitious program for the development of industrial infrastructure, including the creation of 6 new industrial zones across the provinces of the Region, the extension of the agricultural center of Meknes (Agropolis) over 276ha including a new industrial acceleration zone (ZAI) of 100ha (extension of automotive cablers and general ZAI).
These initiatives are accompanied by sustained efforts to streamline and facilitate the investment process, aimed at ensuring the efficiency of the investor journey. This has resulted in a significant improvement in the efficiency of administrative procedures, with a reduction in the average time taken to review investment applications by the Unified Regional Investment Commission to 7.8 days, as well as the digitalization of complaints and conciliation processing, with an average settlement time of 6.7 days.
At the same time, territorial marketing efforts have been intensified through the implementation of targeted communication and promotional plans, as well as the deployment of initiatives dedicated to Moroccans abroad, including the organization of a Regional Investment Week dedicated to them and the establishment of permanent support mechanisms on the ground, aimed at strengthening their contribution to the region’s economic development.
Regional support and financing mechanisms have also been implemented to enhance the attractiveness of the region’s offerings and ensure job security.
The region has also experienced sustained investment momentum, as evidenced by the indicators through September 2025: the amount of approved investments reached MAD 16.7 billion, a 91% increase compared to 2024. These projects are expected to generate the creation of a projected 16,453 jobs.
