Morocco, Tunisia determined to enhance trade exchanges

Morocco and Tunisia on Thursday expressed determination to enhance their trade relations and to bring up their value to US$ 500 million per year in a near future.

The two countries are resolved to lower down all obstacles hampering the development of trade exchanges, Tunisian Premier, Mohamed Ghanouchi, told reporters at the end of a first round of talks in Rabat Thursday with his Moroccan peer, Abderrahman Youssoufi.

The target for the years to come is to reach a $500 million worth of trade exchanges, as convened by the two heads of state, King Mohammed VI and President Zine El Abidine Benali.

The Tunisian Premier, accompanied by several members of his cabinet, arrived in Rabat Thursday on a three-day official visit, to co-chair with his Moroccan peer the 9th session of the Moroccan-Tunisian high joint commission.

Ghanouchi said his talks with Youssoufi covered ways of consolidating further bilateral relations and that the two sides have converging standpoints as to how to open new prospects to exchanges, promote investments and derive most benefits from existing accords, mainly the accord on the free trade area concluded in 1999.

Echoing him, Youssoufi also stressed the need to activate the implementation of the free trade area and to lower obstacles so that all agreements be actually enforced.

Youssoufi and Ghanouchi, who were guest Friday morning to a breakfast offered in their honor by the Moroccan employers' federation "La Confederation G?n?rale des Entreprises du Maroc" (CGEM), insisted on the need to set up the implementation implements of the free-trade area accord.

The two officials called the Moroccan-Tunisian business council to launch initiatives and to inform economic operators on investment opportunities existing in the two countries.

The accord setting up a free trade area provides for the suppression of all duties on some 2,000 non-agricultural products carrying below 10% custom duties. The other custom duties will be gradually lowered up to year 2007.

Morocco and Tunisia are also part, together with Egypt and Jordan, to the Agadir Declaration --signed in May 2001--setting up a free trade area between Arab-Mediterranean countries, ahead of the 2010 target for trade barriers to be lifted in the Euro-Mediterranean area. The free trade zone including Arab Mediterranean countries would also be open to other Arab countries.

Morocco and Tunisia are bound to the European Union by separate association accords that provide, inter alia, for the creation of free exchange areas by year 2010 and are both member of the Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), set up in 1989, and that also musters Algeria, Libya and Mauritania.

Ghanouchi added that talks dealt with other issues of mutual concern, such as the activation of the UMA mechanisms and Euro-Mediterranean cooperation.

The Tunisian Premier who described bilateral cooperation as "really exemplary" said, in answer to a question on cooperation in matters of struggle against terrorism, that both countries have strongly denounced the terror attacks against the United States and have voiced determination to cooperate with the international community to fight terrorism, which is not conform to our traditions.

Ghanouchi also met the speaker of the chamber of advisors, Mustapha Oukacha, while the members of his delegation, mainly the minister of the interior and the secretary of state for Maghreban and African affairs, met their Moroccan peers.

The 9th Moroccan-Tunisian high level meeting October 4-5 will assess achievements completed since the previous meetings and explore ways to give a new momentum to bilateral cooperation.

A package of agreements geared towards the consolidation of bilateral cooperation will be signed during this meeting.

The commission is the highest cooperation body between the two countries. It holds regular meetings every year, under the co-chairmanship of the two countries' Prime Ministers, to assess trade exchanges.

In 2000, bilateral trade exchanges amounted to 996.21 million Dirhams (about US$90.56 million) with Morocco's imports from Tunisia totaling 357.95 million Dirhams (about $32.54 million) and exports amounting to 638.26 million Dirhams (about $ 58.02 million).

In 1999, trade exchanges were worth $ 75.99 million, with $37.16 million worth of imports and $ 38.83 million of exports.

Morocco's exports to Tunisia are mainly made up of chemical wood paste, soluble coffee, tires, car spare parts, and industrial oils. The kingdom's imports from Tunisia consist of plastic items, electric transformers and TV sets.

At the level of the Arab world, Morocco is Tunisia's second client and supplier, soaking 10.3 % of Tunisia's exports and providing 12.2 % of the north African country's imports. Tunisia is Morocco's 21st client and 32nd supplier.

The commission's 8th session was held in Tunisia in September 2000.