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Washington, D.C.- Key leaders from the Delegation from Morocco to the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit spoke to business leaders at a forum sponsored by the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce in Washington on Tuesday. The delegates emphasized their desire to hear from business leaders and encouraged them to voice their concerns and raise issues regarding doing business in and with Morocco and the continent of Africa.
Her Excellency Amina Benkhadra, former Minister of Energy and now Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines (ONHYM), touted Morocco as “an ideal partner for US companies in the areas of energy, water, and agriculture.” Morocco’s electrification program, for example, is ambitious. With demand for electricity increasing at a rate of 8% a year, Morocco’s goal is to ensure its supply of energy based on a diversity of supply, with the target of 42% of its electricity produced from renewable energy sources by 2030.In response to a question about the abundance of U.S. natural gas and the potential of it being exported in liquified form to Morocco through a Moroccan LNG import terminal, she said that liquified natural gas (LNG) “has a place in the energy mix” in Morocco and that she “hope[s] there will be an announcement soon” with respect to LNG.
His Excellency Mamoune Bouhdoud, Minister Delegate to the Minister of Industry, Trade, Investment and Digital Economy, noted that under Morocco’s seven-year industrial plan, $2.5 billion will be spent on reshaping the economy and investing in training the anticipated one million new workers. He stressed the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) and entrepreneurship. “SMEs are the most important. All we have is human capital, and job creation is with SMEs. They will create the jobs of tomorrow.”
Both delegates stressed the importance of Morocco’s historic and cultural ties to other African countries as a gateway to the rest of the continent. “Morocco is an African country that knows the culture of those countries,” said Ms. Benkhadra. “Cooperation between the U.S., Morocco, and sub-Saharan African countries is a win-win situation. Africa is a land of opportunity.”
In response to a question about fair competition in Morocco and the potential for “leveling the playing field” for SMEs, both delegates noted that Morocco has reformed its laws and business practices to increase transparency. Mr. Bouhdoud said that the rules of business in Morocco have been “completely liberalized” to encourage foreign investment. “You can be a foreigner and own 100% of a company and/or sell it” without restriction or requirements of having a Moroccan co-owner. “Successes are the best advertising for Morocco.”
Getting the last word, Mr. Nabigha Hajji, Economic Counselor to the Moroccan Embassy, announced that the next U.S.-Morocco Business Conference would take place on October 16, 2014, in Dallas, Texas.
After the conference, Ziad Khreisat, Senior Advisor to the Bilateral US-Arab Chamber of Commerce, told MWN that, “the Bilateral Chamber was honored to be able to host the esteemed Moroccan delegates.” Differentiating the Bilateral Chamber from other organizations in D.C. that focus on policy and politics, he said “our ability to leverage our international network of business leadership, allows us to deliver programs like this that provide substantive interactive dialogue and serve as a platform to initiate and enhance tangible relationships and positive results.”
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