Italian foreign trade minister in Morocco

Italian Foreign Trade Minister Piero Fassino started this Tuesday a two-day official visit to Morocco.

The Italian official, who is accompanied by a large delegation of economic operators, told reporters at the airport that Italy is determined to consolidate its economic relations with Morocco.

"Italy is among Morocco's major trade partners, and we want to do more to improve our relations, especially in the prospect of the coming into force of the Morocco-European Union association accord as of next March," Fassino said.

He added that the economic delegation will examine with its Moroccan peers opportunities to strike partnership deals.

The Italian official will confer with Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi and several Cabinet members and will open a day on Moroccan-Italian economic partnership.

The visiting delegation will meet the Italian businessmen operating in Morocco and will visit a number of Italian enterprises.

Morocco is Italy's 4th trade partner, and trade exchange between the two countries totaled $679 million in the January-September period last year. During the period, Moroccan imports were worth $419 million and exports totaled $260 million.

Moroccan exports to Italy are made up mainly of fertilizers, fresh fish and garments, while imports are made up mostly of cars, machinery and various industrial tools.