[London, Al-Sharq Al-Awsat in Arabic, 15 May 91, pp. 1, 4].

The Moroccan monarch, King Hasan II, called for the convocation of an international conference, with the participation of all countries of the South and the advanced North, to study medium- and long-range water problems and to formulate a technical and financial aid program for developing countries threatened by a water shortage.

The Moroccan monarch, in his speech to participants in the Seventh International Conference on Water Resources held in Rabat, also called for the establishment of a special international fund to finance programs to protect world water reserves from pollution, help developing countries to mobilize their water, and to transfer information and techniques needed to develop the Third World Countries' self-reliance in building firm foundations in this area. King Hasan II, who was followed by his representative at the conference, Dr. Azzedine Laraki, the Moroccan prime minister, recommended the designation of a portion of the debts owed by developing countries to finance this fund.

He also called in the countries of the world to realize, now more than ever, that water is everyone's property, and that everyone must help each other and exchange expertise and technologies that ensure the regulation of natural systems and the complicated problems stemming from them.

The Moroccan monarch stated that if God has destined Morocco to be situated geographically in a semiarid zone, he has prepared Morocco for this by sowing the seeds of national solidarity. He stated that the government's order to establish formulas to ensure the transport of water from rain-rich areas to rain-poor areas takes into account current needs and the needs of future generations.

He declared his country's full willingness to share its experience with neighboring countries in the scope of international solidarity.

The Moroccan monarch reviewed the directions and philosophy pursued by Morocco based on its awareness of the effective role of water in generating economic and social development, from the construction of dozens of dams of different sizes and thousands of wells to irrigate millions of hectares and provide drinking water to residents, to the formulation of an ambitious program to research artificial rains with a view toward strengthening Morocco's water reserve.