A European delegation visited Friday Tangier Med port complex and the Renault plant in Tangier, with the aim of enhancing economic and commercial relations between Morocco and the European Union (EU), in terms of trade and cooperation.
The visit of this delegation, composed of the Ambassador of EU to Morocco, Patricia Llombart Cussac, the representative of the European Investment Bank (EIB), Anna Barone and sixteen ambassadors, chargés d’affaires and advisers of the EU Member States in Morocco, was held in a spirit of “Team Europe” (EU, EIB and EU Ambassadors), and highlights trade relations between Morocco and EU, as well as the importance of port infrastructure for international trade and the role of Tangier Med in this field.
During this visit, which took place in the presence of the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, the Wali of the Region Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Mohamed Mhidia, the Governor of the province of Fahs-Anjra, Abdelkhalek Marzouki, the President of the Regional Council, Omar Moro, the Director General of the Agency for the North Promotion and Development (APDN), Mounir El Bouyoussfi, and a number of officials of Tangier Med Port, guests discovered the facilities and organization of the port, as well as its role as a key global logistics gateway and example of integration into world trade.
The visit to Renault plant, which was also attended by the CEO of Renault Group Morocco, Mohamed Bachiri, and a number of plant officials, allowed ambassadors to see one of the most important sites in automotive industry and one of the most successful examples of European investment in Morocco.
“Exchanges focused on common priorities around the resilience and sustainability of value chains that the health crisis and the Russian invasion of Ukraine have made vulnerable, as well as ways to strengthen the integration of Morocco and Africa into European value chains,” said a joint statement from the EU and the EIB, stressing that the EU’s trade policy is based on the importance of open and fair trade, characterized by efficient, diversified and sustainable value chains.
“With my fellow ambassadors of EU member states, we wanted to discover some of the infrastructure that contributes to making the Kingdom our first trading partner in the region,” Llombart Cussac told the press, adding that “EU now accounts for more than half of foreign direct investment in Morocco and our economic relations are strong and generate thousands of jobs on both sides of the Mediterranean”.
For her part, Barone stressed that this visit was an opportunity to get closer to the organization and role of Tangier Med Port in attracting foreign investment, job creation and promotion of trade between Europe and Africa, recalling that EIB has financed two major investments in Tangier Med for a total amount of 240 million euros.
The Deputy Director General of the Tangier Med Port Authority, Hassan Abkari, said that this visit of the European delegation is of great importance for the port, noting that it was an opportunity to exchange with delegation members around several current issues, related in particular to industry decarbonization, the positioning of Tangier Med as a logistics and industrial hub on the Strait of Gibraltar, and the role of all European companies in the development of this project as well as their contribution to the promotion of industrial development of the Kingdom.
