British moves to promote trade with Morocco

Britain will launch next week a campaign for trade promotion with Morocco, chosen as a target market by the British government.

The British Industry Federation (BIF) will hold Thursday a conference in London to launch the campaign, in presence of the British minister of commerce and the president of the Moroccan Industrial Federation (CGEM). Part of the drive, a delegation including 25 representatives of British companies will visit Morocco in quest of partnership with Moroccan peers.

The group, whose visit is sponsored by the governmental body for commercial development "Trade Partners UK," is made up of representatives from the sectors of confection, insurance, electric equipment, food and beverage, advertisement and communication, and car industry. The campaign is destined to fill the information gap in the target countries, the British embassy in Rabat said in a release.

Morocco was chosen a target market in view of its continuous liberalization.

The UK is Morocco's 3rd largest export market and 6th largest import market. In 2000, UK exports to Morocco totalled 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.