Morocco's new government has new finance minister, keeps foreign, interior ministers unchanged

Morocco appointed Fouzi Lekjaa, head of the football federation and a former budget minister, as economy and finance minister in a new 32-member government formed after the Sept. 23 parliamentary elections, state news agency MAP reported. Lekjaa belongs to the liberal-centrist Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM). The cabinet is led by Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, named last month by King Mohammed VI as the country’s first woman head of government after PAM won the biggest share of seats. PAM’s coalition with PPS and USFP and the nationalist Istiqlal holds 207 parliamentary seats, above the 198 needed for a majority. Foreign and interior ministers were kept, along with posts in justice, water, defence, industry and transport. The team will oversee the final stages of a $20-billion drive to prepare for the 2030 World Cup.