2024-04-22 17:09:16
Opening the sixth Trade Policy Review (TCP) of Morocco within the framework of the WTO, the Director General of Trade at the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Abdelouahed Rahal, indicated that the Kingdom has always made opening its economy an irreversible strategic choice. A choice accompanied by macroeconomic and sectoral policies aimed, among other things, at establishing a business environment capable of supporting growth and stimulating investments.
The official stressed that since the last EPC (2016), the national economy, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, has experienced sustained growth despite some cyclical fluctuations, with an average growth rate of 2.1%. . This expansion, he added, can be explained by several factors, including political stability, economic diversification and improved competitiveness.
Mr. Rahal recalled that, like the rest of the world, Morocco suffered, in 2020, an unprecedented shock linked to the COVID-19 pandemic and the health restrictions introduced to contain it, thus impacting the economy which experienced its first recession since the end of the 1990s. However, the resilience of the Moroccan economy made it possible to quickly achieve growth of +8% in 2021, i.e. above the level of global economic growth, and more particularly that recorded in the MENA region. This growth maintained its positive trend to reach +2.9% in 2023.
And to specify that Morocco’s ambitious and proactive reforms have laid the foundations for a profound, lasting and inclusive transformation of the national economy, allowing it to consolidate its resilience and maintain macroeconomic balances, by improving the business climate and by diversifying commercial partnerships to strengthen Morocco’s competitiveness on the international market.
In this regard, Mr. Rahal indicated that Morocco’s trade policy has endeavored to activate the various trade agreements in which it is committed at the bilateral, regional and multilateral levels, and to broaden their scope through the negotiation of new agreements. In the same spirit, Morocco is continuing the process of simplification and transparency of procedures.
He explained that trade policy has enabled good export performance since Moroccan exports of goods have experienced strong dynamism, showing a clear increase of 11% between 2016 and 2022. Exports have almost doubled since 2020, reaching 428 billion dirhams in 2022, driven by the recovery of Morocco’s global businesses, he noted.
In the same wake, the Kingdom has established itself as one of the preferred destinations for foreign direct investments in Africa. Morocco’s foreign investments, particularly towards its African partners, have increased significantly, making the Kingdom the main investor in West Africa and the second African investor on the continent.
Bilateral and regional commercial cooperation being complementary to multilateral cooperation, Mr. Rahal stressed that Morocco continues to put in place legal frameworks which contribute to the development of its commercial relations while promoting tariff rationalization and the trend reduction in trade duties. customs.
With a vast network of free trade agreements, which allows it to access the markets of nearly a hundred countries and 2.6 billion consumers, Morocco is today a trading platform and a regional hub for investment, production and export, he argued.
The Director General of Trade also highlighted the initiative launched by His Majesty the King to promote inter-African trade and investment, promoting connectivity between certain Sahel countries through access to the Atlantic border.
He stressed that Morocco has a network of investment promotion and protection agreements concluded with the rest of the world to protect foreign investors and ensure them in particular national treatment, most favored nation treatment and fair and equitable treatment, as well as to enable them to resort to dispute resolution mechanisms.
It is with this vision that a new investment charter was launched in 2022, with the aim of modernizing the legislative and regulatory framework governing investment in Morocco. Its main objective is to create 500,000 long-term jobs for the period 2022-2026 and to achieve a 65% share of private investment by Horizon 2035. “The new charter is therefore intended to be transparent, inclusive, competitive and incentive “, noted Mr. Rahal.
A series of other reforms also strengthen the business climate and the competitiveness of companies, from competition policy and the fight against corruption to the financial inclusion strategy. In this regard, the official indicated that Morocco’s recent exit from the gray list of the European Union, just three months after its exit from the gray list of the FATF, clearly demonstrates the seriousness, effectiveness and credibility of the reforms. undertaken by Morocco.
The awarding of the 2030 FIFA World Cup to Morocco, Spain and Portugal undoubtedly demonstrates the trust and credibility Morocco enjoys with the international community, said Mr. Rahal, saying it is certain that this major event will have significant economic benefits in various sectors.
The Director General of Trade also reiterated Morocco’s determination to combine its efforts with those of WTO members to provide appropriate solutions to the effects of the current economic and trade crisis, which take into account the concerns of developing countries and least developed countries.
2024-04-22 17:09:16