Current Affairs - International - Discussion

French President Emmanuel Macron and Morocco's King Mohammed VI have inaugurated Morocco's first high-speed rail line, the first ever such line in Africa. Known as the LGV, it will connect the economic hubs of Tangier and Casablanca in 2 hours 10 minutes at a speed of up to 320 kph (199 mph) instead of almost 5 hours on a regular train. The $2 billion project was launched in September 2011 by the king and Nicolas Sarkozy, then president of France. France financed 51 percent of the project, Morocco 28 percent and the remaining 21 percent was provided by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Morocco bought 12 high speed trains from French train manufacturer Alstom.