Moroccan King approves lineup of new cabinet

At the Royal Palace in the central city of Fes, the King received new Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, also president of the National Rally of Independents Party (RNI), and approved the list of his 24-member cabinet, reports Xinhua news agency.

The ministries were divided among the three partnering parties in the coalition government, including the liberal RNI, the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), and the conservative Istiqlal (Independence Party).

Five ministers retain their positions in the new government -- Minister of Interior Abdelouafi Laftit, Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, Minister of Islamic Affairs Ahmed Toufiq, Secretary General of the government Mohamed Hajoui, and the minister in charge of the National Defense Administration, Abdellatif Loudiyi.

Seven women take important positions in the new cabinet, including Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah Alaoui, and Minister of Planning, Housing and Urban Policy Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri, who was the former mayor of Marrakech.

Abdellatif Ouahbi, president of the PAM, was appointed as the minister of justice, while Nizar Baraka, head of Istiqlal, was named the minister of equipment and water.