Join on WhatsApp
Join on Telegram
Rabat – Franck Riester, France’s Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, spoke on Monday about the importance of Morocco as a bridge between the EU and Africa.
At the end of a bilateral meeting with Morocco’s Minister of Trade, Moulay Hafid Elalamy, the French official added that he is satisfied with the strength of cooperation between Rabat and Paris.
He described relations between Morocco and France as exemplary.
The two countries share strong diplomatic relations, with a frequent exchange of visits between their officials. The ongoing diplomacy seeks to further develop cooperation between Morocco and France in different sectors, such as the economy.
In 2019, France’s exports to Morocco amounted to $5.29 billion. During the same year, Morocco’s exports to France stood at $6.34 billion.
Riester’s visit to Morocco is his first trip outside the European Union in his current professional capacity.
During Riester’s meeting with his Moroccan counterpart, he expressed a desire to see cooperation between Morocco and France grow even more strong, especially at the economic level.
The official also recalled the importance of Africa in terms of growth.
Morocco’s trade minister said that the exceptional relations between Morocco and France constitute an opportunity to better jointly address the challenges resulting from COVID-19.
Elalamy has faith that Morocco is capable of playing a “driving role in the establishment of regional value chains at the Euro-Mediterranean level.”
“Morocco represents a reservoir of competitiveness with a view to redeployment or duplication of certain production tools,” he added.
The two ministers also called for the strengthening of economic partnerships, “which should be oriented as a priority towards the decarbonization of the economy, digital technology and innovation, the development of SMEs as well as joint cooperation projects in Africa.”
