Rabat – Morocco’s ambassador to the US, Lalla Joumala Alaoui, has asserted Morocco’s determination to preserve its centuries-old history in Florida.
In a debate hosted Thursday at the University of Central Florida, the ambassador spoke about Morocco’s openness to the world at all levels.
The debate, under the theme “The Business Climate in Morocco and the Socio-Cultural Environment,” gave the ambassador an opportunity to explain Morocco’s commitment to progress and prosperity, owing to the political stability in the country.
“Under the leadership of HM the King, Morocco has striven over the past two decades to implement substantial and bold social, political and economic reforms,” she said.
Lalla Joumala also expressed pride in “the richness” of Morocco’s “thousand-year old history and its present commitment, as enshrined in our Constitution, to spiritual and ethnic diversity, which has become the Kingdom’s greatest asset.”
The Moroccan diplomat also discussed Moroccan-US cooperation, which has lasted for 240 years.
“This historic alliance is stronger today than ever, as the two nations, which have often found themselves on the same side of history, share strategic interests and work together to promote peace, stability and prosperity in the region and beyond,” Lalla Joumala said.
She also discussed trade between the two countries, emphasizing that the US and Morocco have a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the only partnership of its kind that the US has signed with an African country.
Dating back to 2006, the agreement serves as a catalyst for job creation and trade opportunities for private sectors in Morocco and in the US.
Morocco and US signed the agreement in 2004, but it did not go into effect until 2006.
According to the Office of the US Trade Representatives, “The United States-Morocco FTA is a comprehensive agreement that supports the significant economic and political reforms that are underway in Morocco and provides for improved commercial opportunities for U.S. exports to Morocco by reducing and eliminating trade barriers.”
