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Rabat – The Moroccan aeronautics sector has largely weathered the COVID-19 crisis, and it will emerge “stronger” in a post-pandemic world, says Morocco’s Minister of Industry, Trade, and New Technologies, Moulay Hafid Elalamy.
Speaking at an industry event, Elalamy noted that “the prospects are extremely interesting” for the aeronautics sector in Morocco. The North African country was “resilient during this period of the pandemic, and we even received international investors with whom we made progress on extensions of their investments,” explained the minister.
Elalamy stressed that Morocco has “established itself over the years as a credible player in this sector, playing in complete transparency and clarity, in the big leagues.”
Reviewing the figures from the Moroccan aeronautics industry in 2020, the minister explained that the country still has 142 companies in the sector. Compared to a 43% employment reduction in the sector worldwide, Morocco experienced only a 10% loss of employment during the pandemic. In terms of export turnover, the national sector experienced a decline of 29% last year, compared to the 50% decline internationally.
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Morocco’s dual strategy, in both manufacture of parts and assembly, is beginning to pay off, as the aeronautics sector has become a major contributor to the national economy.
In this regard, the minister referred to the local integration rate which, exceeding the initial objective of 35%, reached 38% last year.
“Making 38% of a complete aircraft is quite rare,” Elalamy explained.
He added, “The highly developed countries do a lot less because they subcontract everywhere, and those less developed also, often, do less because they ensure only part of these planes.”
According to the Moroccan minister, “each commercial plane that flies in the skies of our planet carries with it at least one part machined in Morocco,” and the move upmarket as a result of “tireless daily work” is finally yielding results.
