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Rabat – Artyom Tsinamdzgvrishvili, Russia’s trade representative in Morocco, said exports from Moscow to Rabat increased by 20% in the first half of 2021.
Tsinamdzgvrishvili, who is the head of Moscow Trade Missions, said in an interview with Sputnik News that the number represents the “best indicator among all African countries.”
With this new data, Morocco maintains its position as Russia’s third trading partner in Africa after Egypt and Algeria.
“Morocco is one of the few countries in the world to which Russian exports have grown and not decreased,” Tsinamdzgvrishvili said.
The Russian trade officer emphasized that the first half of this year witnessed positive dynamics in the Morocco-Russia trade.
“Supplies from Morocco were also positive… bilateral trade increased by 13% and amounted to nearly $670 million,” he argued.
Tsinamdzgvrishvili also pointed out the importance of the presence of the Russian banking and financial sector in Morocco to facilitate participation in government tenders in the North African country.
The presence of the sector will also help carry out import and export operations with Moroccan partners.
Data compiled by Trading Economics, a well-known website dedicated to worldwide trade trends, confirm the increase in trade between Morocco and Russia.
In 2019, the website estimated Russia’s exports to Morocco at $764.76 million.
Meanwhile, Morocco’s exports to Russia were estimated to be $286 million during the same year.
In February, both Russia and Morocco expressed determination to expand their trade cooperation.
Earlier this week, a number of media reports also quoted Russia’s trade official Tsinamdzgvrishvili,who revealed an agreement with a Moroccan laboratory for the manufacture and distribution of Russia’s Sputnik V vaccine.
Moroccan authorities have not yet confirmed the reported agreement for manufacturing the Russian vaccine in the North African country.
Meanwhile, with the Moroccan government having already signed an agreement for the production of China’s Sinopharm vaccine, it remains to be seen how Rabat intends to navigate the Sinopharm and Sputnik V production projects.
