“The economic operators of our two countries would benefit from and develop new joint ventures and crossed productive units,” said Mezzour at the Moroccan-Spanish Economic Forum held on the sidelines of the Morocco-Spain High Level Meeting (HLM), at the initiative of the CGEM, Spanish Confederation of Employers’ Organizations (CEOE) and Moroccan-Spanish Economic Council (CEMAES).
“It is their responsibility, in fact, to strengthen the bilateral industrial integration, and to bring out the most fruitful partnership projects, co-investments and joint ventures for mutual benefit,” he added.
The Minister also said that Moroccan and Spanish companies considering an investment or co-investment can rely on the Moroccan industrial platform as a bridgehead to serve many global markets. “Our industrialists will find all the conditions required for a successful development of their activities.”
At the same time, he considered that the potential of the industrial partnership with Spain is expected to develop further through Morocco’s positioning as the most competitive platform in terms of decarbonation, especially since Moroccan renewable energy is among the most competitive in the world with a strong growth in the share of these energies in the national energy mix, which will be increased to 52% by 2030, and an offer to connect industry to a renewable energy source up to -30% of the normal rate.
This forum was also an opportunity for Mezzour to stress that the Spanish economy absorbs 21% of Moroccan exports and provides 14% of our imports, while Morocco absorbs 51% of Spanish exports to the African market.
“We are gathered today to give a new impetus to our partnership. Building economic relations in a logic that would benefit our two countries and would allow a gain in competitiveness to Moroccan and Spanish manufacturers,” he said.
For her part, Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, said that a new generation economic alliance with Morocco, would allow Spain to benefit from the most effective entry point to project itself on the African continent based on the Kingdom’s institutional and macroeconomic stability under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
It will also build on the vitality of its businesses and private sector at large, the minister added, noting that Morocco over the past two decades has indeed become one of the beating hearts of Africa, becoming the second largest investor on the continent and the first in West Africa.
“By working together with us on the cooperation project and on public-private partnership projects, you will literally have access to a universe of opportunities in key sectors ranging from mobility to green transition to digital for manufacturing,” said Fettah.
In this context, she called for building this new economic Moroccan-Spanish edifice that will capture together new opportunities, especially in the field of renewable energy and “offer the peoples of our two countries additional future prospects.”
For her part, the Spanish Minister of Industry, Trade and Tourism, Reyes Maroto, noted that in recent years, “we have witnessed an increase in economic and financial exchanges with economic interests and the respective development of both countries.”
This is a trajectory that must be maintained and grow in the future, she argued, indicating that the two countries have reached historic figures in their relationship, especially in foreign trade.
“I participated in the Executive Council held in Marrakech to make tourism a lever for development of our countries,” she noted, adding that in this context, a new protocol of collaboration will be signed in the context of tourism through a commitment to exchange and share experiences in marketing and new technologies.
