Morocco's King Mohammed VI on Friday said improving public education and healthcare was a priority, but made no reference to the youth movement that has been staging nationwide protests for sweeping social reforms.
"We have set as priorities... the creation of jobs for young people, and the concrete improvement of the education and health sectors," the monarch said in his annual address to the opening session of parliament.
The royal speech had been much anticipated by the protesters, who have taken to the streets almost every night since September 27.
The unrest that has rocked the usually stable north African country has been fuelled by recent reports of the deaths of eight pregnant women at a public hospital in the city of Agadir, which critics condemn as a symptom of a failing system.
Demonstrators have been calling for a change in government and for Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch to resign.
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