Rabat- Morocco is hosting the Morocco Summit for the first time from November 19-21. This event is organized by Fleming Gulf, ARPA International, the official partner, and Morocco World News, the official media sponsor.
Rabat- Morocco is hosting the Morocco Summit for the first time from November 19-21. This event is organized by Fleming Gulf, ARPA International, the official partner, and Morocco World News, the official media sponsor.
This global meeting makes Rabat, a “Gateway to Unlimited Opportunities” which appeals to international investors willing to benefit from the investment opportunities Morocco presents. This is especially true given the fact that the Kingdom has become the key African country for investment, thanks to its political stability.
This Forum features leading economic experts who share experiences and discuss means of overcoming the economic obstacles.
Moroccan Minister of Tourism Mr. Lahsen Haddad attended the first day of the Summit and responded to some questions from MWN.
What importance does the Summit have?
The Morocco Summit is substantial for both investment possibilities and challenges in Morocco. It offers an opportunity to raise awareness about the efforts Morocco is making both at the financial and economic levels. Now we could preserve macroeconomic balances in spite of the crises. Led by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Morocco has achieved a 5% economic growth for the last ten years.
How do you describe the reality of investment in Morocco?
Morocco’s GDP has tripled, it has increased from thirty five billion US dollars to one hundred billion, and this gave us the opportunity to not only reduce poverty, unemployment and other social problems, but to also create a good investment climate, mainly under the reforms in the Investment Code, Justice and Intellectual Property.
All this allowed Morocco to move from a score of 130 on the “business” level to 85 now. The transition is still going on: to lead Morocco to the top of the most attractive countries for investment.
This is the secret behind Morocco, being the biggest investment destination in Africa with a rate of two to three billion Euros annually. This gives us more opportunities to commit ourselves with His Majesty the King Mohammed VI in order to implement very important reforms. Making Morocco an investment destination in other economic fields is another objective through the diversity of its economy.
Big efforts were made at the infrastructural level. Morocco has 1,500 km of highway, 1,800 km are expected in 2018 and twelve global standard ports are available, most notably the ‘Tanger Med’. Moreover there are fifteen airports, and this is the cradle of the revolution in the number of flights, in the framework of the Open Sky Project … all of these factors make Morocco one of the leading countries in terms of improving the investment climate.
How do you deal with obstacles that Morocco faces, such as the recession and the instability caused by the Arab Spring?
There are challenges facing investment in the Kingdom, but there is also a commission that deals with these problems, especially those related to investment bureaucracy, administration and so on. I think it is possible to overcome them significantly by means of mobilizing all stakeholders of this sector.
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