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Rabat – Princess Astrid of Belgium will chair a delegation of businessmen and officials visiting Morocco November 25-30.
The business event will be marked by the signing of 20 agreements covering several fields.
Princess Astrid, representing King Philippe of Belgium, will be accompanied by several ministers and some 400 Belgian business figures from 251 companies.
During a press conference for the event, Belgian Ambassador to Morocco Marc Trenteseau said that five federal and regional ministers will come and businessmen representing different economic sectors, including chemistry, renewable energies, transport and logistics, and health.
He said that the delegation will be busy with “intense activities” in Casablanca, Rabat, and Tangier.
Trenteseau said that despite recent developments, bilateral trade is lower than its economic potential, recalling that Belgian exported €890 million worth of goods to Morocco in 2017 and imported nearly €333 million worth of Moroccan goods.
The ambassador said that the mission’s main objective is to revive the economic relations of the two countries.
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The visit is organized by the Belgian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Foreign Trade Agency in collaboration with Brussels Invest & Export, Flanders Investment & Trade, and the Walloon Agency for Export and Investment (AWEX).
During the press conference, the ambassador and other Belgian business representatives said the Moroccan economy has undergone a profound transformation over the last 20 years, owing to the liberalization of the market, the restructuring of the financial system, the strengthening of the rule of law and the improvement of public services.
According to the participants in the press conference, bilateral trade in goods increased between 2014 and 2017.
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The statements, quoted by Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), noted that Belgian exports to Morocco increased from €803 million in 2013 to €890 million in 2017.
At the end of the first six months of 2018, Belgian exports to Morocco amounted to €439 million, representing 2.2 percent more than in the same period of 2017.
Belgian imports of Moroccan products reached €172 million, a decrease of 6.6 compared to the same period of 2017.
