Business opportunities between morocco and Great Britain do exist
Morocco-UK, Economics, 10/12/2001

Business opportunities between Morocco and Great Britain do exist, especially in the sectors of finance, banking, insurance and services, said in Casablanca Thursday at a press briefing members of a British business delegation, visiting Morocco October 9-12.

The head of the delegation, the Mayor of London, Lord Alderman David Howard, expressed satisfaction at the outcome of the visit, saying this visit to Morocco is one of the most important among his 25 visits abroad.

He surveyed Morocco's assets, such as geographic proximity to Europe, skilled labor, human resources and an extremely rich culture.

Joint business opportunities do exist, Lord Howard and his accompanying delegation said, singling out the sectors of privatization, finance, banking, insurance, services, and tourism and leisure. They insisted that much remains to be done in matters of investments.

Lord Howard who was received Wednesday afternoon at the royal palace in Marrakesh by King Mohammed VI, conferred in Rabat with Prime Minister, Abderrahmane Youssoufi, and with minister of economy, finance, privatization and tourism, Fathallah Oualaou.

King Mohammed VI had called, when he received Lord Howard, British Banks and the City's financial companies to show keener interest in the Moroccan market and in the new investment opportunities provided by Morocco mainly in the sectors of tourism, new technologies and telecommunications.

The sovereign spoke in this regard of the possibility for the City to set up specialized investment funds for Morocco that might participate in the privatization operations, in the promotion of new tourism areas and in the sector of new technologies.

On Thursday, Lord Howard and his delegation took part in a round table on the financial sector held by the general consulate of GB in Casablanca.

He recalled that the British government decided to choose Morocco as one of fourteen target markets worldwide for a special three-year campaign of trade development, and that Morocco has been for a long time an outstanding trade partner for the United kingdom, at the scale of trade exchanges and services and investments.

Morocco's trade with Great Britain scored a substantial improvement, making of GB Morocco's 3rd largest export market and 6th largest import market.

Some 50 British companies are currently operating in Morocco in the sectors of textile, pharmaceutical industry, consumption goods, telecommunication, water management and oil refining, Lord Howard said adding these companies are employing about 24,000 persons.

He said the entry into force (in March 2000) of the Morocco-European Union association accord is opening new cooperation opportunities between Morocco and the City, London's financial district. The City, he went on, is ready to extend Moroccan operators all necessary assistance in matters of commercial promotion or financial services.

The London Lord mayor is elected for a year-term to run the activities of the City.

Morocco is the only country in the Maghreb and the only Francophone country in Africa picked by the British government as a target market for a promotion campaign.

In 2000, UK exports to Morocco totaled 6.7 billion Dirhams while imports were worth 7.7 billion DH. Bilateral trade tripled during the 1990s and in 2000, Moroccan exports to the UK increased by 18% and imports increased by 15%, compared to 1999.

Previous Stories:
  London's lord mayor meets Moroccan officials   (10/11/2001)
  London's Lord Mayor visits Morocco in October   (9/26/2001)
  Britain Targets Morocco for Trade Promotion Campaign   (8/3/2001)

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