Marruecos potencia su industria

Mohammed Bachiri, vice-president of CGEM, the General Confederation of Moroccan Companies, and president of the national commission that is managing and analysing industrial issues in the Kingdom, talks to Atalayar on the occasion of the celebration of the National Day of Industry in Morocco.

Mr Bachiri, what is your assessment of the National Industry Day that has just taken place in Casablanca?

The National Industry Day is an event co-organised by the Ministry of Industry and Trade and the CGEM. The aim is to take stock of the situation of our industry at national level and, above all, to identify avenues and lines of work for the coming years.

We were honoured to receive a message from His Majesty the King, read by the Minister of Industry and Trade, reminding us of the medium-term priorities for the development of our industry. Over the past 20 years, Morocco's industrial sector has undergone major developments.

We can mention, for example, the automobile industry, which is now Morocco's leading export sector. We can also mention the aeronautical industry. We have infrastructures that are very important at the national level. But even at the Mediterranean level, we have the port of Tangier Med, which is the 23rd largest port in the world, we have motorways, we have infrastructures, so there is an ecosystem from a logistical and infrastructure point of view that has contributed to the development of this industry in Morocco. So, in terms of areas of improvement for the development of our industry, as you know, the world is changing in a very important and accelerated way, the industrial world as well, and Morocco has to adapt to this change and be able to ensure its industrial sovereignty.

And, to this end, we have identified a number of lines of work. The first is how to further strengthen our competitiveness. We have the issue of deep integration, especially the processing of raw materials in Morocco and making them available to industry.

We have the issue of innovation, research and development. We have the logistics part of the supply chain. We have the development of industries 4.0, new technologies.

We also have the human capital. So, although Morocco has invested heavily in human resources and human capital, we need to train our engineers more. And our technicians in the jobs of the future. In particular, industries 4.0. The robot programming part, the automation part.

Energy efficiency is also a very important issue with decarbonisation. I remind you that, by 2030, Morocco must have an energy mix of 52% renewable energies compared to 37% today. So these are very important issues. As an employers' association, we are going to work on these lines of improvement and work hand in hand with the Moroccan industrial federations so that we can have a roadmap that will reinforce the specific weight and achievements of industry in Morocco and project it into the future at regional and global level.

Industry, Mr Bachiri, plays a fundamental role in Morocco's modernisation process, which has been undertaken by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who in his speech emphasised this boost, this improvement, this modernisation and this fundamental role that industry plays for the well-being of Moroccans and for the promotion and development of the country.

Moroccan industry today represents around 20% of the Gross Domestic Product. It employs the majority of employees at the national level. And it generates the most indirect jobs. This is very important. We have been successful for example in the automotive sector, to develop an ecosystem around the manufacturer Renault. We now have around 250 equipment manufacturers that have set up and 220,000 jobs have been created in the last ten years, in particular thanks to the industrial acceleration plan.

And if we have reached this level of development, it is thanks to the vision of His Majesty the King, to place the industrial sector as a national priority. That is why we have organised this National Industry Day, to address the objective of consolidating what has been achieved and developing for the future.

And we have His Majesty's guidelines. Things are now clear and the CGEM and the Government will work hand in hand to move forward on our common issues.

We have heard you say, Mr Bachiri, that we must focus on quality rather than quantity. Is that the great challenge for Moroccan industry?

Moroccan industry must move from a quantity industry to a quality industry and Morocco must move from an industry based on labour costs to an industry based on delivery services.

And this is very important. To achieve this goal, we must invest more in research and development and innovation, because they are essential to ensure the development of the industry of the future. Morocco will guarantee its industrial sovereignty thanks to its investments in the technologies of the future. They will allow us to ensure that industry can consolidate itself in the midst of a rather complex global landscape. 

Morocco has tangible and intangible assets to play a role and we see it today: the automotive sector is the main export sector, and a few years ago we were not on the international radar in the aeronautical sector. Today Morocco has become a pillar of world aircraft manufacturing. These are two great success stories. 

We need to build on these examples to strengthen our industrial roots and plan for the future, particularly on issues related to decarbonisation. Because part of what we manufacture is exported to Europe and we have to be absolutely ready for the Green Deal, the carbon tax at EU level.

And Moroccan industry is currently able to collaborate with Europe, with the United States, with China, with Russia, with any great power in the world.

This is precisely one of Morocco's assets. We have signed several free trade agreements with more than 50 countries and we have a market of 1.3 billion inhabitants at our disposal. So there you have it, it is extraordinary. And in order to develop the Morocco brand, the "Made in Morocco" at the international level, we must work on these priorities so that we can ensure that tomorrow the Moroccan product will be a recognised product.

Today, we see in the automotive industry and in other sectors that Moroccan industrial products are recognised throughout the world as a reference in terms of quality and cost.

The next day will be about the regions, addressing the situation of industry in the regions of Morocco, isn't it?

His Majesty, in his speech, asked that the National Industry Day be included in Morocco's annual agenda of institutional events, but that next year it should not be limited to Casablanca and Rabat, but should be extended to all regions and take into account regional specificities: Tangier is the automotive region, Agadir is the agri-food sector, etc., and thus be able to address the specific problems of each region.