Morocco Aims to Entice New Investments From Australia

Rabat – The Moroccan Ambassador to Australia, New Zealand, and the Pacific States, Karim Medrek, delivered a presentation on Morocco’s economic assets to potential investors in Canberra in a bid to attract greater investment from the continent.

Medrek’s presentation in the Australian capital on March 5 aimed to introduce Moroccan assets in various sectors that are likely to attract new investors from Australia.

The presentation also promoted the Moroccan economy as a bridge to investments in Europe, given Morocco’s strong trade relations with the EU, most notably in the agricultural field.

In the first quarter of 2019, Moroccan farmers produced 33% of Spain’s fruit and vegetable imports.

The North African country provided 25% of Spain’s fruit and vegetable imports in 2018, according to a report by the Spanish Federation of Associations of Producers and Exporters of Fruits, Vegetables, Flowers, and Live Plants (FEPEX).

Morocco is also a leader in continental development and frequently calls upon foreign investors to pursue business opportunities in Africa.

Quantum Global Research Lab released a report in March 2018 naming Morocco the first in Africa’s 2017 Investment Index. Morocco received $2.57 billion in foreign direct investment in 2017, an increase of 12% compared to 2016.

As Africa’s fifth-largest market with an expected growth rate of 4% over the medium term, Morocco is an attractive destination for investors, according to a Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) report.

The report named Morocco the second most attractive country for investment in Africa, emerging stronger than South Africa and second only to Egypt in the bank’s 2019 index.

RMB notes Morocco’s well-developed operating environment, its reintegration into the AU, and its strong presence in the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) as factors that have enhanced the country’s investment appeal.