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Casablanca – As part of their win-win collaboration in innovation and technology, Morocco and Israel launched yesterday in Casablanca, “Connect to Innovate,” a three-day forum aimed at increasing bilateral trade between the two countries, notably in the field of technological and innovative solutions.
Scheduled to conclude on May 25, the “Connect to Innovate” conference intends to move the two nations’ historical-cultural link into the 21st century by focusing on innovation and technology, as envisioned by Morocco’s New Development Model.
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The Forum is a one-of-a-kind event that brings together Moroccan and Israeli professionals from the corporate and governmental sectors to discuss technical innovation in agribusiness, water policies, logistics, energy challenges, and sustainable development.
Professional seminars, lectures, business panels, pitch sessions, and roundtable discussions will be held throughout the conference, with a focus on agrifood-tech, water-tech, energy, climate-tech, and supply chain/logistics.
Start-Up Nation Central and Morocco’s Consensus Public Relations (CPR) teamed up with the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) to organize the event, with an eye on contributing to the national conversation of deepening strategic cooperation between Morocco and Israel.
Founded in 2013, Start-Up Nation Central is a non-profit organization that connects Israeli innovation to the rest of the world in order to assist international bodies in addressing some of the world’s most pressing concerns.
Fostering business cooperation
The opening ceremony saw the signing of 13 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) linked to the development of innovative solutions.
The documents were signed by Moroccan and Israeli parties to boost business-to-business (B2B) operations between economic and commercial operators in both countries.
According to the organizers, the major aim of this forum is to provide the groundwork for future commercial prospects between Morocco and Israel, to enable enterprises from both countries to bring value to these areas, and to investigate the possibility of generating technical employment in Morocco.
A stepping stone to joint economic prosperity
In an interview with Morocco World News, Avi Hasson, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, described the event as “a stepping stone in our attempt to desire to bring the Moroccan ecosystem and the Israeli ecosystem deeper together.”
For him, Morocco’s New Development Model makes the country a prized destination for investments and the right place for innovation- and sustainable development-minded actors.
Because “collaboration helps innovation,” Hasson believes that “by combining different paradigms, thoughts, talents, cultural richness of diversities, better solutions can be brought.”
Deeper and more strategic cooperation between Morocco and Israel can be beneficial for both countries “to further transform [their] economies and address the common challenges that lie ahead,” he argued
He added, “This is a step that enshrines the ongoing efforts of innovation diplomacy through which we aspire to address the common challenges of both countries, leveraging our mutual know-how and technology to deepen our bilateral relations.”
Under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, Morocco is “uniquely suited to partner with Israel in blazing a trail to a new MENA region, one that is connected by a genuine desire for peace and prosperity,” Hasson underlined. He concluded by describing the three-day conference as “a pivotal point” in Morocco and Israel’s “joint journey toward economic prosperity.”
Developing innovative solutions together
In a recorded message to participants, Israel’s President Isaac Herzog described the forum as a “historic event.” He stressed, “Together, Israel and Morocco can develop the innovative solutions that will improve lives, livelihoods, and quality of life in our own countries and promote progress and peace throughout the Middle East, Africa and beyond.”
In addition to the pre-recorded speech of the Israeli president, the event was marked by the participation of Andre Azoulay, senior advisor to King Mohammed VI. Other high-ranking Moroccan attendees included Minister of Digital Transition and Administration Reform Ghita Mezzour, Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour, and Minister of Transport and Logistics Mohamed Abdeljalil.
During his speech, Andre Azoulay said that the forum is an entirely new economic model that Israel has opted to provide to Morocco.
He also emphasized that fostering cooperation between the two countries in a wide range of fields “will assist us to ensure that Israelis and Palestinians discover the road of tranquility, cooperation, and sharing in the Middle East.”
In a statement to Morocco World News, Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour said that “this event has a special taste. It is an opportunity for us to offer to the Start-Up Nation Central of Israel to develop the start-up nation of Morocco.”
The Moroccan minister continued, “We are starting and we are initiating a movement to create a start-up ecosystem in our country. Israel has an amazing experience with 26 billion investments in 2021. There are 40 experts and entrepreneurs here [at the forum] to support the Moroccan start-up nation program.”
The main goal of the forum is “to learn and to cooperate to see opportunities together and to identify opportunities to create more and more start-ups,” Mezzour said, concluding that “we are very confident that we will take a lot of opportunities here and we are ready to do it.”
