US Think Tank: Morocco Positions Itself As Africa’s ‘Business Hub’

Rabat – Given its gigantic infrastructure projects and well-defined strategy, Morocco is positioning itself as a “business hub” in Africa, according to a recent article by the Global Policy Institute, a Washington-based US think tank.

“Morocco enjoys political stability, a geographically strategic location, and robust infrastructure, which have contributed to its emergence as a regional manufacturing and export base for international companies,” the article noted.

Titled “Morocco’s Road to Development,” the think tank’s report highlighted Morocco’s commitment to further improve the business climate and attract more foreign direct investment, while reinforcing its investment strategy in sub-Saharan African countries.

“Morocco actively encourages and facilitates foreign investment, particularly in export sectors like manufacturing, through positive macro-economic policies, trade liberalization, investment incentives, and structural reforms,” the article highlighted.

Morocco has reaffirmed its place among countries that put a high value on foreign investment in recent years, the report added. It has greatly improved its place in the World Bank’s “Doing Business” index, in which the North African country was ranked 53rd.

This increase, according to the American think tank, is the result of Morocco’s genuine efforts to identify and progressively remove legal, regulatory, and administrative barriers, with the goal of improving the country’s business climate.

Talking about Morocco’s massive infrastructure projects, the Global Policy Institute highlighted the country’s Tanger Med Port as a “key maritime infrastructure,” which was ranked 23rd globally and first in the Mediterranean.

The Moroccan port is “the logistics node for a vast and diversified Moroccan industrial area that includes aerospace components manufacturers and automotive parts companies,” the report noted.

In addition, the think tank’s article also emphasized that Morocco, which has the first high-speed line in Africa linking Tangier to Casablanca in 2018, aims to expand this modern high-speed rail network to other towns around the country.

Such world-class facilities elevate Morocco to the “higher category” of emerging countries, reinforcing the image of a contemporary Moroccan economy capable of collaborating with high-tech firms worldwide, the article mentioned.

According to the Global Policy Institute, Morocco is establishing itself as a major supplier of fertilizers and agro-industrial services, pointing out that Morocco’s phosphate and fertilizer giant OCP Group has grown significantly in recent years through its African subsidiaries.

“Its diversified offerings can assist many African countries that still rely on old-fashioned agriculture technologies, so that they can transform and modernize their agriculture sectors,” the report concluded.