Lahlimi meets Eizenstat and other US officials

Morocco's Social economy, SME and handicraft minister, in charge of government's general affairs, Ahmed Lahlimi met in Washington Wednesday, in side-meetings to the Maghreban conference on trade and investment, several American officials.

The minister examined with deputy-secretary to the treasury Stuart Eizenstat bilateral relations, cooperation opportunities in several fields and evolution of the American-Maghreban partnership under the "Eizenstat" initiative launched in 1998 to strengthen, through private sector involvement, regional integration of the Maghreb prior to a free-trade zone between the US and the three Maghreb countries (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia).

He also conferred with officials in charge of small enterprise on means to back Moroccan cooperatives and young entrepreneurs

in financial-management and human resources, marketing, market-study and counseling. The launching of joint-ventures and a contact and data exchange network to connect SME in both countries was also covered.