Two and a half years after the resumption of their diplomatic relations, commercial relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and Israel are experiencing a remarkable development. Moreover, it is increasingly reinforced by the recent visits of several officials of the Jewish state to Rabat and the signing of a set of bilateral agreements between the two countries.
The latest data recently released by the American think tank “Abraham Accords Peace Institute (AAPI) reveals a significant development in the volume of trade between Rabat and Tel Aviv. Indeed, trade between Morocco and Israel amounted to 28.8 million dollars over the first four months of the year, including 3.8 million in April alone. This is an increase of 150.43% compared to the same period last year.
Also in this context, the Jewish state seeks to crown this economic boom with a free trade agreement with the Kingdom. Shai Cohen, head of Israel’s liaison office in Morocco, said at a press conference held last Tuesday on the sidelines of the celebration of the anniversary of “the founding of Israel”, that his country “wants to sign an agreement free trade with Morocco”, adding that “this issue was raised during the recent visit to Morocco by the Israeli Minister of Economy, Nir Barkat, last month on the sidelines of the 15th edition of the International Agricultural Fair of Meknes or International Agricultural Fair of Meknes (SIAM).
The Israeli official said on the occasion that ‘Israeli exports to Morocco currently amount to 40 million US dollars and imports amount to approximately 140 million dollars’. He had also announced that he had high hopes for the future prospects and expected that “the free trade agreement with the port of Tanger Med, the largest port in Africa, will reach more than a billion dollars. in the next three years”.
Economic analyst Khalid Aissaoui told MoroccoLatestNews that “Israel’s announcement of its willingness to sign an exchange agreement with Morocco is very important especially at this time, because Tel Aviv is trying to raise the level of its trade with Rabat”. The economic analyst further indicated, that “the choice by Israel of a large economic building as the ground for the implementation of this agreement, represented in the Tangier Med port, will most certainly raise the level of trade between Morocco and Israel and free trade in the Mediterranean region in general”.
Khalid Aissaoui added that “the signing of this agreement would be an appointment with the history and the culmination of the great dynamism that Moroccan-Israeli relations have witnessed since the resumption of their relationship at the end of 2020, and this makes it possible to build a strategic relationship with all levels”.
Furthermore continued the expert, “any free trade agreement with Israel will not only benefit Rabat and Tel Aviv, but also the entire African continent”. He pointed out that “the strong presence of Israel and Morocco in Africa makes the idea of free trade between the two countries a fundamental pillar to strengthen their bilateral relations on the one hand, and to strengthen their presence at the African level on the other hand. Win-win policy
Khalid Benali, an economics expert, for his part, considers it a Win Win. He told MoroccoLatestNews that ‘the Kingdom of Morocco can only conclude any agreement of this type within the framework of a win-win policy‘. Benali added that ‘any agreement with a country that takes into account the foreign policy priorities and economic visions set by Morocco at the sectoral level is welcome, because it gives credibility to the work undertaken by the Kingdom at this level‘. The economist went on to conclude that ‘the Kingdom has established an economic model and provided it with the legal and technical bases to frame it. Therefore, any agreement of this type must fall within this framework, while specifying the nature of the sectors to which it relates. It will include it and ensure the creation of balanced relations between the signatory parties‘.