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1st Morocco-British Trade Day hailed a success
More than 150 people took part in the first Morocco-British Trade Day which was held in London on 21 June.
The conference brought together business representatives from the two countries to explore new partnership opportunities in some high growth sectors in Morocco - textiles & leather, agribusiness & fisheries products and the automotive industry.
A high level delegation from the Kingdom of Morocco was headed by the country’s Minister of Foreign Trade H E Abdellatiff Mazouz, who delivered a keynote address outlining the major new openings for boosting trade and business partnerships with the country.
The seniority and scale of the Moroccan participation in the conference was an indication of how serious decision makers in the country are taking the effort to strengthen relations with the UK and in competing in the global arena, commented UK government representative, Alistair Burt MP, Under Secretary of State, Foreign & Commonwealth Office.
Formally opening the trade day, H H Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco, expressed the hope that the event would provide a showcase for real opportunities and mark the broadening the scope of cooperation between Morocco and Britain.
Morocco was now firmly on the UK business agenda with British firms looking to find new markets in the wider Mediterranean region.
Relations between the two countries were strong and growing, she said, pointing out that bilateral trade between Britain and Morocco exceeded £1 billion for the first time in 2008.
Morocco was becoming more attractive to investors as a result of its policy of trade liberalisation, the opening of special trade zones and the modernisation of infrastructure, she continued.
Describing the event as yet another “milestone” in the consolidation of Moroccan-British ties, the ambassador referred to other recent key developments such as the major conference held in the city of London last autumn and Morocco’s planned participation for the first time in the Farnborough Airshow which opens in July.
H H Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui warmly thanked everyone who had helped make the trade day a success, including Maroc Export and the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce, who had worked in partnership with the Moroccan Embassy to deliver the event.
She also commended the role of her counterpart, British Ambassador to Morocco, H E Timothy Morris, who followed her as one of the keynote speakers at the event.
Offering his personal reflections on Morocco, the British Ambassador stated that visitors are immediately struck by the visible transformation taking place across the country with new industries emerging, modern infrastructure being built and high quality production units being developed.
He said relations between the two countries were in very good shape and urged UK business people to visit Morocco where he was sure they would be greeted with a warm response.
The opportunities opening up in Morocco were real and significant, the Ambassador stated, although business relations with the UK still had a long way to go.
H E Mr Morris looked forward to seeing real business outcomes resulting from the conference.
Dr Afnan Al Shuaiby, Secretary General and CEO of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce, told conference delegates that Morocco was open for business and urged UK firms to take advantage of the opportunities that are emerging.
She said Morocco possessed a modern, competitive, dynamic and innovative economy that continues to move forward at a rapid pace after coming through the recent global downturn largely unscathed.
The Kingdom’s economic performance had been underpinned by sound policies of diversification and privatisation, along with ambitious structural reforms that have sought to upgrade the business environment and make it more attractive to investors, Dr Afnan Al Shuaiby said.
She praised Morocco as a highly profitable destination for foreign investment and an extremely exciting and attractive place to do business, with its economy growing by 5% last year and expected to reach over 4% in 2010.
She concluded by stressing that Arab-British Chamber of Commerce was proud to work in close partnership with the Moroccan Embassy and Maroc Export to promote the new investment opportunities that are emerging in Morocco.
The Chamber would remain available to assist companies seeking entry into market in the future, she pledged.
In his detailed presentation, Morocco’s Foreign Trade Minister, H E Abdellatiff Mazouz, highlighted the numerous attractions of Morocco that were advantageous to investors.
The minister declared that its network of free trade zones gave operators access to a market of one billion consumers in the region. Companies were able to benefit from Morocco being a privileged partner of Africa to access this vast market.
H E Abdellatiff Mazouz explained those areas where Morocco enjoyed a competitive advantage as a result of the ambitious sector development strategies that it has been pursuing.
These strategies included the Emergence Plan for Industry, the Green Plan for Agriculture and plans for fisheries, ITC and renewable energy.
Morocco had also targeted some priority sectors for export development which included food, textiles and automotives, the focus of the conference, along with others such as pharmaceuticals, IT and electronics.
By pursuing investment in modernising its infrastructure, Morocco was transforming itself into a more attractive location for doing business.
In this respect, the minister cited key projects in transport and logistics such as the Tanger-Med container port and high-speed railways, which enable Morocco to connect with global markets, as well as offering benefits to European trade with Africa.
In particular noteworthy developments in Casablanca included the airport hub and its positioning as a regional financial centre.
Finally, the minister stressed that Morocco regarded the UK as a first class strategic partner for trade and investment for mutual advantage. The sectors where the country had been traditionally strong, along with the new emerging sectors, all offered great opportunities for UK investors.
Delivering a welcoming message from the UK coalition government, Alistair Burt MP said that Morocco was an exciting market and the UK private sector was reacting positively.
Mr Burt looked forward to the UK government and business working together with Morocco to “raise the game”.
Meanwhile, Saad Benabdallah, Managing Director, Maroc Export, told the conference that some 50 representatives of leading Moroccan producers were attending the conference and each was seeking to conclude direct business deals with UK partners. The aim was to do business directly without relying on brokers, improving efficiency and reducing costs. He felt this business method could equally benefit both sides.
Details of the specific opportunities available and how UK firms could break into the market were discussed in the workshops devoted to the three sectors that formed a key part of the conference agenda.
The other key feature of the event was the one-two-one business meetings between UK firms and members of the Moroccan delegation which allowed companies to open initial discussions on ideas for potential future cooperation.
The entire conference saw expert presentations from a total of 20 speakers drawn from both the UK and Morocco government and industry.
In the opening session and workshops, speakers addressed how to build a stronger Moroccan-British business partnership and what Morocco was doing to boost its attractiveness.
Other speakers in the opening session included Mustapha Terrab, joint president of the Moroccan-British Business Council, Younes Zrikem, President of the Foreign Trade Commission, General Confederation of Morocco Companies (CGEM), Larbi Belarbi, President of the Moroccan Association for Automotive Trade and Industry (AMICA), Julianne Furman, Polydesign Systems, and Jaouad Benjelloun, President of the Promotion Department, Moroccan Association of Textile and Apparel Industries (AMITH).
Speakers in the textiles and leather workshop consisted of Mohamed Benamour, President of the Export Commission, Federation of Leather Industries (FEDIC), Jaouad Benjelloun (AMITH), from the Moroccan side joined by Barbara Wilson, UKTI Special Advisor and Martyn Roberts, Director, Vauxhall Fashion Scout, from the UK.
The workshop on agri-business and fisheries products heard contributions from Younes Zrikem, Managing Director of Groupe Azura (and CGEM), Neil Wyn Jones, UKTI Special Advisor and Neil Jenney, CEO of the UK’s Fresh Produce Consortium.
Finally, in the automotive industry workshop the speakers were Larbi Belarbi (AMICA), Julianne Furman, Polydesign Systems, David Croxham, Head of International, Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) and John Canvin, Managing Director, Odette International.
The Morocco-British Trade Day was hailed as a great success and an important milestone in bilateral relations.
