The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) and the Chinese Council for the Development of International Trade (CCPIT), on Monday signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for the strengthening of economic and trade relations between the two countries.
The MoU signed through a videoconference was reached against the backdrop of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.
Under the agreement initiated by the president of CGEM, Chakib Alj and his CCPIT counterpart, Ms. Gao Yan, both parties aim to support the Moroccan and Chinese private sectors in identifying business opportunities and promoting investment and co-investment.
Signed at the initiative of the Morocco-China Business Council, the MoU also aims to encourage the establishment of Moroccan companies in China and vice-versa, particularly those in the industrial and digital sectors.
They also look to establish and strengthen mechanisms for the exchange and sharing of information, especially with regards to national economic and trade trends, laws and regulations, policies and measures, industrial standards, as well as analytical reports market and investment projects.
According to the CGEM president, ties between Morocco and China have continued to be strengthened especially in recent years thanks to multiple high-level visits and the increasing flow of trade.
“Now our goal is to further strengthen our cooperation. We must therefore remove barriers and identify new opportunities to ensure a better presence of Chinese companies in the kingdom and Moroccan companies in China,” he pointed out.
For him, the agreement in question will enable the private sectors of the two countries to focus on the areas of cooperation “from which we are not benefiting and to identify opportunities for co-investment”.
According to him, the MoU also aims to position Morocco as a regional economic force engaged in a win-win partnership with China, in order to accelerate job creation and inclusive growth on the African continent.
For her part, Ms. Gao Yan praised the excellent relations between China and Morocco, stressing that since the creation of the Sino-Moroccan Business Council in 2003, CCPIT and CGEM have maintained close cooperation.
“I am convinced that through the signing of this MoU, we will further strengthen our partnership for the benefit of our two countries and business communities,” she vowed.
She described China as “a huge market consumption” with great development potential, “but also a market for the world, a market shared by all and a market accessible to all.”
HA/fss/as/APA