Morocco’s Ambassador to the United States Youssef Amrani highlighted Morocco’s commitment to co-development and economic integration in Africa and free trade between the United States and the continent during a roundtable on the renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in Washington, DC on Monday.
Amrani said that economic integration in Africa is a priority for Morocco, noting that although Morocco is not a member of AGOA, it is linked to the United States with a free trade agreement that has allowed the two countries to build an innovative, effective partnership with promising prospects over the past two decades.
“Morocco firmly believes in the transformative power of free trade as a catalyst for the prosperity of nations and the creation of socio-economic benefits,” stated the Ambassador, noting that the Morocco-USA free trade agreement (FTA) has played a central role in expanding trade opportunities, promoting commerce, and creating thousands of jobs on both sides of the Atlantic.
Since the FTA came into effect in January 2006, trade between the USA and Morocco has significantly increased, placing Morocco as the fourth largest trading partner of the United States in Africa. The volume of American direct investments has also seen dynamic growth, as evidenced by the presence of a large number of companies operating in various innovative sectors.
The ambassador discussed the importance of synergy between the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) and AGOA.
“Today, with the implementation of the AfCFTA, our continent will offer American companies a larger market of over one billion people with a GDP of approximately 2.6 trillion US dollars,” he said.
Amrani also reaffirmed that the Kingdom is ready as part of South-South cooperation to share its experience to enhance the export capacities of African companies and increase trade with the US.
He highlighted the protocol signed last October with the African Export-Import Bank (Afreximbank) to develop a one billion dollar Morocco-Africa trade and investment promotion program to promote intra- and extra-African trade through the implementation of trade information and advisory services.
Finally he talked about the King’s initiative to improve access by the Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean, noting that it will promote the economic development of the region and increase its participation in international trade.