Morocco expounds business opportunities, economic potentials

Moroccan economy, finance, tourism and privatization minister, Fathallah Oualalou, expounded on Tuesday in Washington Morocco's business opportunities and economic potentials.

Oualalou, who was addressing a symposium on business opportunities in the Maghreb, expounded Morocco's assets as a stable and open country, enjoying religious tolerance. He also reviewed Morocco's macro-economic stabilization policy, which helped reduce budget deficit to between 2 and 2.5 percent of the GDP.

Inflation is also controlled at 0.7 to 1.6 percent, he said, adding that Morocco enforced reforms in the realms of administration, justice, education and training to drain more investments.

He noted that companies investing more than $ 20 million will benefit from more advantages under an accord passed with the state.

The minister stressed that the sectors of textile, agri-business, electronics, power, tourism, new information technologies are the most promising sectors for foreign investors.

The symposium was sponsored by the Corporate Council on Africa, set up in 1992 to promote economic and commercial cooperation between the USA and African nations.

Besides Oualalou, the symposium was attended by Algerian energy and mining minister, Chakib Khelil, Mauritanian minister of economic affairs and development, Mohamed Ould Nany and Tunisian trade minister, Tahar Sioud. US under secretary for economic and commercial affairs, Alan Larson, also attended the encounter.

The Maghreban officials also held a meeting on the follow up of the American-Maghreban initiative of economic and commercial partnership, known as the Eizenstat Initiative.