Marruecos sigue manteniendo su importante presencia en el Centro Islámico para el Desarrollo del Comercio
Last Monday, the new office of the ITDC was created, coinciding with the elections that took place on the occasion of the work of the 39th session of the Board of Directors of the same Islamic Centre, held between 7 and 8 March in Marrakech. Morocco has been leading the ITDC since its inception, and this leadership is joined by the new office, mentioned above, made up of new members: Saudi Arabia, occupying the position of vice-president and Ivory Coast as rapporteur.
According to the ITDC and its Council, the new office has been created at a time when member countries are looking for ways and means to develop intra-OIC trade to achieve the 25% share of their external trade, in line with the objectives of the ICO's Ten-Year Development Agenda. During the session, the Council will examine measures taken for the development of trade and partnership among ICO Member States, in particular with regard to trade facilitation and the development of regional integration. A new work agenda has also been set, including the presentation of the 2021 closing accounts and the adoption of its activity report.
The 39th session of the ITDC Board of Directors was attended by ITDC Member States, elected during the General Assembly held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, last January. They are Bangladesh, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Indonesia, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia and Tunisia. One of the reasons for holding the session is the adoption of the draft Plan of Action for the year 2023, aimed at assisting ICO countries in taking advantage of the trade and investment opportunities offered by the various markets of the organisation's 57 member nations.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the meeting, Hussein Ibrahim Taha, Secretary General of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), expressed his gratitude for King Mohammed VI's continued support for the organisation, as well as for the activities carried out by the ITDC, mentioning that "the holding of this Board of Directors comes at a time marked by the pandemic crisis of COVID-19, whose repercussions have been felt in the OIC Member States, and have resulted in an economic contraction, a decrease in investments and exports, and a decline in tourism activities, which has increased the indicators of poverty and unemployment". In fact, Ibrahim Taha indicated that "the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to the loss of 53.6 million jobs in OIC member countries, while intra-OIC trade of total foreign trade of OIC member countries has declined significantly in 2021".
The ITDC is a subsidiary body of the OIC, established in Casablanca since 1984. Its mission is the promotion of regular trade, the promotion of investments that can help the development of trade flows, the contribution to the promotion of products and services of the Member States and the encouragement of access to foreign markets, the dissemination of trade information, the provision of assistance to Member States in the field of trade promotion and international negotiations, as well as to companies and economic operators, all within the framework of the OIC.
In the face of this, the Kingdom continues to demonstrate its important role in the economy of the African continent, ranking as the fifth best economy in Africa, and the ITDC has confirmed that it is capable of overcoming the negative effects of the pandemic. Today, it is in one of its best economic moments thanks to the automotive, aeronautical and agricultural sectors. In addition, it should be noted that it is pursuing a global expansion of its investment policies.
