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Rabat –Morocco is at the forefront of African Foreign Direct Investment, according to a report published today by an independent French think tank, which ranked the kingdom second African country for FDI in sub-Saharan Africa, after South Africa.
“Morocco clearly shows its ambitions in becominga pan-African, economic and political leader,” said the report by the Montaigne Institute, pointing out that King Mohammed VI is spearheading the kingdom’s African policy.
The think tank wrote that with Morocco’s return to the African Union, kingdom “has its own agenda in conquering markets in sub-Saharan Africa, which has led to competition with French companies, particularly in construction.”
The report listed several of the kingdom’s key achievements in pan-African investment and development.
In February 2016, the Moroccan Office chérifien de phosphates (OCP) inaugurated an industrial plant in Ethiopia dedicated to exporting fertilizers to sub-Saharan markets, before reintegrating into the African Union (AU) during the organization’s summit in Addis Ababa.
The document also indicated that the kingdom’s potential joining of the Economic Community of West African States ( ECOWAS) would provide Morocco with advantages to export its products to the region and accelerate its rise as a continental power.
Recognizing Morocco’s position as a key investor in Africa, French companies have chosen to make Morocco their gateway to sub-Saharan countries, while others have chosen to ally themselves with Moroccan companies to conquer continental markets, according to the institute.
In 2016, Morocco’s trade with sub-Saharan Africa has recorded an average annual growth of 9.1 percent over the period of 2008-2016 and has generated a surplus trade balance of MAD 11.9 billion, according to the Foreign Exchange Office.
Trade between the kingdom and the region has grown at an average annual rate of 9.1 percent since 2008, reaching nearly MAD 20 billion in 2016. The share of these exchanges was 3 percent of the total in 2016, against 2 percent 2008.
