Rabat – Moroccan Industry and Trade Minister Ryad Mezzour and Israeli Economy Minister Orna Barbivai today signed a trade and investment cooperation agreement aimed, among other things, at creating “qualified industrial zones” in Morocco.
During the meeting, the two representatives pledged to facilitate investment in high-potential sectors, namely industry 4.0, agrifood, automotive, aeronautics, textiles, water technologies, renewable energies, outsourcing services, medical devices and pharmaceuticals.
The creation of qualified industrial zones is designed to cement the tripartite trade and investment cooperation agreement recently signed between Morocco, Israel and the United States. It will also facilitate direct access to the US market for goods produced in these zones.
Through the economic agreement, Morocco and Israel also intend to organize trade fairs and economic conventions in both countries to boost exchanges of expertise.
As part of the agreement, the two countries also committed to establishing bilateral business cooperation between the Moroccan and Israeli private sectors in research and development and innovation.
To lay the foundations for economic cooperation, the two parties agreed to hold the first session of the joint committee under the cooperation agreement, and to organize a forum for businessmen from both countries.
The newly signed agreement is a further step on the road to intense, mutually beneficial cooperation between Morocco and Israel.
Israel should increase its trade with Morocco from 130 million dollars (1.2 billion MAD) to 500 million dollars (4.7 billion MAD), said the Israeli minister after her meeting with Mezzour.
The Israeli minister also met her Moroccan counterpart, Nadia Fettah Alaoui, expressing her country’s desire to build a strategic relationship with the North African country.
Minister Alaoui also reiterated Morocco’s satisfaction with the “significant potential” for investment development between the two countries. Trade between the two countries soared after the re-establishment of diplomatic relations in December 2020.
As part of the joint declaration that Israel and Morocco signed with the USA on December 22, Israel has launched direct flights to Morocco. Meanwhile, Morocco’s Royal Air Maroc is set to launch its first commercial flight linking Casablanca and Tel Aviv on March 13, 2022.
