The Washington-based Business Council for Africa has organised a conference to promote trade

Marruecos y Estados Unidos estrechan lazos para mejorar el clima empresarial

photo_camera África conferencia

Morocco and the United States have shown this Thursday their willingness to continue to strengthen their trade ties. The Business Council for Africa (CCA), based in Washington, organised a conference on Wednesday entitled "Partnership for economic recovery: Morocco", according to The North Africa Post website. In his speech at the virtual conference, the US Secretary of Commerce, Wilbur Ross, welcomed the reforms undertaken by Morocco to encourage foreign investment and improve the business climate. Recent reforms in the North African country, "including streamlining customs procedures through the transition to paperless mode, as well as strengthening protection for minority investors will lead to continued growth for both our economies," the US official said. 

Several American companies have established themselves in Morocco thanks to its economic and political stability, he recalled, pointing out that "the continued elimination of trade barriers will improve the investment and business climate in Morocco in the short term, particularly in the areas of infrastructure, aeronautics, defence and energy". He added that American companies "can and have offered their expertise and experience in these sectors while working to meet the needs of the growing Moroccan population". Ross welcomed the fact that social, economic and cultural relations had remained "close" over the centuries between Morocco and the United States, recalling that Morocco was the first nation to sign a Treaty of Peace and Friendship with the United States in 1786. "The United States government is determined to deploy its resources to support initiatives that can deepen commercial ties between our two countries", linked by centuries-long social, economic and cultural relations, Ross said. 

Addressing the conference, Morocco's Minister of Industry, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, focused his presentation on how the COVID-19 pandemic has enabled Africa in general, and Morocco in particular, to highlight the capabilities of its human resources, as well as its skills in innovation. The African continent is "a veritable storehouse of natural resources and a reservoir of superior skills and technicians", said Elalamy, citing as an example Morocco, where, since the beginning of the epidemic, the entire industrial sector was mobilised to help the medical sector deal with this unprecedented crisis. "Morocco, which produced absolutely no masks, began manufacturing 17 million masks per day for a population of 36 million. We discovered engineers from the aeronautical sector who got together and manufactured one of the most effective respirators in the world with a 3% margin of error," the Moroccan official said. 

He also added that, in addition to respirators, the automotive and aeronautical sectors have joined forces to produce thermometers and infrared cameras, and recently the PCR test manufactured by Moroccan engineers, which is now in operation. "Last week, during a visit to France, I discovered that the famous saliva test presented in France was manufactured in Morocco in Tangier. That is, the manufacturing capacity of African and Moroccan human resources," he said. For his part, the regional director of Boeing in Morocco, Douglas Kelly, praised the "facilities and business opportunities" in the Kingdom that make "our association very valuable". 

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