Morocco, France sign agreements on small and medium sized enterprises
Morocco-France, Economics, 5/4/2001

Morocco and France signed in Paris Thursday cooperation agreements on small and medium sized enterprises (SME) and handicraft.

The agreements were signed on the sidelines of the 4th meeting of the Moroccan-French high joint commission held in Paris Thursday, under the co-chairmanship of the two countries' Prime Ministers, Abderrahmane Youssoufi and Lionel Jospin.

An agreement between the Moroccan ministry of social economy, SME and handicraft, and the French department of SME, trade, handicraft and consumption provides for the promotion of SME through exchange of information, assistance to innovation, and improvement of the quality of products produced by SME.

A joint committee will be set up to elaborate and follow up a program of action.

Another agreement between the Moroccan ministry of social economy, SME and handicraft, and the French Caisse des Depots et Consignation provides for backing to the creation of innovating enterprises, while a third agreement with the Bank for the Development of SME stipulates extending technical assistance to SME in matters of assessment of Moroccan SME financing needs and the setting up of financing and guarantee mechanisms.

In the final declaration issued at the end of the commission meeting Thursday, Moroccan and French Prime Ministers, Abderrahmane Youssoufi and Lionel Jospin, called for a larger involvement of the two countries' small and medium enterprises (SME) to multiply investment and partnership opportunities.

Besides promoting SME through the consolidation of financing mechanisms, they also convened to re-orient their cooperation towards sustained human development in Morocco through sustained action in education, social development, territory planning and legal cooperation.

The two Prime Ministers convened to "establish a deep, regular economic and commercial dialogue" and to carry on their "close consultation" on issues related to the EU, the Euro-Mediterranean process and to all multilateral economic and financial issues.

The chambers of commerce and industry of Paris and Rabat also signed a convention on institutional, technical and economic cooperation.

The principle to convene an annual high level Moroccan-French meeting was decided during the state visit of the late King Hassan II to France in 1996. The 3rd meeting was held in Morocco (Fez and Marrakesh) in November 1999 and highlighted by the conversion of FF 700 million, part of Morocco's debts to France, into investments in the Kingdom.

France is Morocco's first trade partner and is the first foreign investor in the country. Morocco is France's second partner among third Mediterranean countries and ranks on top of France's public loans and other assistance recipients with a total amount of 2.5 billions.

Previous Stories:
  French, Moroccan enterprises called to multiply investment opportunities   (5/3/2001)
  Premier meets head of French bank   (5/1/2001)
  Morocco, France sign agreements for support of SMI modernization   (4/12/2001)

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