The new US ambassador’s history in business may serve to strengthen the already prosperous Morocco-US economic cooperation.
Rabat – US ambassador David Fischer will swear in at a ceremony on Thursday, January 16, at the Department of State in Washington D.C, to officially begin his duties as the leader of the US’ diplomatic mission in Morocco.
The ceremony will take place at 4 p.m (10.a.m US time).
Fischer’s official swearing-in comes after Morocco has been without a US ambassador for nearly three years.
The US Senate confirmed Fischer as US ambassador to Morocco on December 19, 2019.
The US Senate has to approve all presidential nominations for ambassadors.
President Donald Trump nominated the ambassador in November 2017.
The new ambassador has no history with diplomacy as he has spent most of his life in business. He owns a car sales business, a passion he inherited from his father.
Fischer started his business career at his father’s car dealership after he graduated from Parsons College in Fairfield, Iowa in 1968.
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The ambassador developed his father’s business, the Suburban Collection, into the 14th largest car sales group in the US in 2017.
The company has now 36 dealerships across Michigan.
The ambassador also served in many business offices, including the chairman of the Detroit Auto Dealer Association in 1987.
With a rich resume in business , the ambassador is expected to enrich the US-Morocco cooperation in several fields including the automotive sector.
US businesses are present in Morocco with more than 120 companies in different sectors.
Rabat and Washington also share the Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Through the agreement, the volume of Morocco-US trade more than quadrupled during the 2006-2018 period. The trade reached $5.44 billion in 2018, compared to $1.34 billion a year earlier.
Exports also increased more than fivefold to $1.38 billion in 2018 from just $0.26 billion in 2006, Maghreb Arab Press (MAP) reported in July 2019.
The two countries are determined to strengthen collaboration in several domains, including security. Officials from both countries also exchange visits to boost cooperation. The latest visit was US State Secretary Mike Pompeo’s trip to Morocco in December 2019.
