RABAT, Dec. 18 (Xinhua) -- The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved a 2.97-billion-U.S. dollar Precautionary and Liquidity Line (PLL) arrangement for Morocco, local media reported on Tuesday.

The two-year arrangement will provide insurance against external risks, support the authorities' policies to reduce fiscal and external vulnerabilities, and promote higher and more inclusive growth, the financial news site Medias24.com said.

The access under the arrangement in the first year will be equivalent to 1.73 billion dollars, it noted.

The Moroccan authorities intend to treat the new arrangement as precautionary, as they have done under the previous three arrangements, the same source said.

Morocco's first PLL worth 6.2 billion dollars was approved in 2012, while the third, which expired in July, was worth 3.5 billion dollars.