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Rabat – “Morocco Gateway to Africa” is the focus of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce’s business meeting dedicated to the strategic role of Casablanca Finance City.
The Arab-British Chamber of Commerce organized a high-level business meeting on Tuesday, March 15, in London, to highlight the strategic role of Casablanca Finance City (CFC) as an innovative financial hub, at the crossroads of Africa and Europe, as well as the opportunities it offers to the British financial sector, reports the Maghreb Arab Press.
The event was themed “Morocco Gateway to Africa” in collaboration with the Embassy of Morocco in London. This meeting was an opportunity to present the CFC, which follows the best international practices in its modes of operation, structure, governance, and tax provisions.
The Moroccan Ambassador to the United Kingdom Hakim Hajoui stated that Morocco is a gateway for the United Kingdom as well as the rest of the world, “at a time when the continent is emerging as an engine of global growth,” he added.
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Hajoui stressed that Morocco, throughout its 12 centuries of history, has been a crossroads of civilizations and enriched by various cultural influences that allow it to bea land of peace, dialogue, and coexistence.
Morocco has a green, industrialized, and highly qualified economy that allows it to produce, for example, 700,000 vehicles a year to be the first African exporter of automobiles to the European Union, Hajoui said.
Morocco also has the potential, thanks to its solar and wind power, to become a generator of renewable energy. In addition to its investments in hydrogen that should allow it to reach the goal of 52% renewable energy in its energy mix by 2030, he added.
“To support this growth, the Kingdom is investing heavily in research and innovation to give its youth the necessary skills to take advantage of these opportunities in a sustainable way,” the ambassador said, noting that Africa’s youth are its main asset.
He also said that “this is Morocco’s deep conviction and the reason why South-South cooperation is at the core of the real vision,” recalling that through visits to some 30 African countries, King Mohammed VI has concluded more than 1,000 cooperation agreements.
Deputy Director General of the Casablanca Finance City Authority Lamia Merzouki stated that it is time to strengthen relations between the North and the South and that London can play an important role in this regard.
Merzouki also highlighted the advantages of CFC as a financial center dedicated to the future of Africa, ideally located and perfectly equipped to connect Africa with other financial centers and markets in Europe and the rest of the world.
President of the Arab-British Chamber of Commerce Elizabeth Symongs highlighted the continued development of Morocco’s ties with other African countries “in a process that has made the Kingdom a strategic player on the continent and a recognized hub for investment and trade between Africa and its international partners.”
London has been Europe’s leading financial center since the 1990s, while Casablanca Finance City is Africa’s leading financial center, generating directly one-fifth of Morocco’s national GDP.
