UAE and Morocco to discuss expanding trade and economic partnerships

Officials from the two countries will explore investment opportunities in energy, industry and tourism, among other sectors

The UAE’s Minister of Economy Abdulla Al Marri will led the UAE delegation to Morocco. Photo: World Government Summit

A high-level UAE delegation, led by Minister of Economy Abdulla Al Marri, will visit Morocco on Thursday to discuss boosting bilateral co-operation, investment flows and economic partnerships.

Officials from the two countries will explore investment opportunities in various sectors and ways to “strengthen them during the next phase, ensuring growth and prosperity”, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

The sectors that the talks will focus on include energy and renewable energy, industry, trade and mining, tourism and infrastructure, information and communications technology, food security, transport and logistics, agricultural technology, entrepreneurship and others that will support the future economy.

The coming visit also aims to “motivate the private sector and entrepreneurs” to contribute to the development of trade and economic partnership between the countries, the statement said.

Non-oil trade between the UAE and Morocco jumped 44 per cent on an annual basis to Dh3.1 billion ($840 million) last year, official data showed.

The UAE has recorded a spike in non-oil foreign trade as it looks to boost international economic partnerships.

Non-oil foreign trade reached a record Dh499.7bn in the first quarter of this year, up more than 20 per cent annually, data from the Emirates’ Federal Competitiveness and Statistics Centre showed.

The UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement with India, Asia’s second-largest economy, in February, which is expected to boost non-oil trade between the two countries to $100bn in five years, from $60bn currently.

Late last month, the UAE also signed a Cepa deal with Israel, which is expected to push the value of non-oil bilateral trade to more than $10bn within five years.

The UAE is also in talks on similar agreements with South Korea and Indonesia.

This week, a senior official UAE delegation, led by Dr Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology, visited Japan to discuss ways to strengthen economic, energy and industrial co-operation and drive low-carbon growth opportunities.

During the visit to Morocco this week, the UAE delegation will also participate in an interactive session on future investment opportunities, organised by the Investopia summit.

Investopia is one of the events within the first set of the Projects of the 50 developmental and economic initiative announced by the UAE in 2021.

“These will help elevate the strategic relations between the two countries to higher levels of co-operation and integration, as well as utilise Investopia’s global experience in the development of economic and commercial sectors in Morocco,” the statement said.

The visiting UAE delegation comprises several government entities including the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Co-operation, the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the UAE International Investors Council.