Rabat – Israel and Morocco are seeking to nearly quadruple their annual trade to more than $500 million, Israel’s economy minister said on Monday during a visit to the North African kingdom.
“The annual level of economic and commercial exchange between the two countries, which today amounts to $130 million, must very quickly reach $500 million and go beyond that,” Israeli minister Orna Barbivai told journalists.
Her remarks came after the signing of a trade deal alongside Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade Ryad Mezzour, which aims to designate special industrial zones in Morocco.
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The deal will also boost co-operation between the two countries’ private sectors and allow for the exchange of expertise in the field of innovation, Mezzour said.
New stage for Israel-Morocco partnership: an economic cooperation and trade agreements were signed today between the two countries. The goal – an annual trade volume of $500 million ????? pic.twitter.com/7jWvDa9YWG
— Yonatan Gonen (@GonenYonatan) February 21, 2022
The Moroccan minister moreover pointed to sectors with “strong investment potential”, including the digital sector, agribusiness, automotives, aerospace, renewable energy and pharmaceuticals.
Barbivai arrived in Rabat on Sunday for a four-day visit, marking the latest step in efforts to expand cooperation between the two countries since they normalised ties in late 2020.
The trip comes less than three months after Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz made an unprecedented visit in November, signing a security pact that angered Morocco’s neighbour and rival Algeria, and the Palestinians.
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Earlier on Monday, Barbivai and her Moroccan counterpart Nadia Fettah Alaoui reviewed agreements “under negotiation” over taxation and customs cooperation, a Moroccan economy ministry statement said.
The Israeli minister is scheduled to visit economic capital Casablanca and tourist hub Marrakesh, to tour Israeli textile and agricultural companies and to meet ministers and business representatives during her four-day trip.
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Source: AFP
Picture: Twitter / @GonenYonatan
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