The Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, met this Friday in Rabat, with the President of the Parliament of the Economic Community of South American Countries / Common Market of the South (MERCOSUR), Rubén Anibal Basigalupe .
This visit is part of the consolidation and strengthening of relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and Mercosur and aims to present the significant progress made by Morocco, particularly in terms of economic development, indicates the Department of Industry and Commerce.
On this occasion, the two parties welcomed the dynamics of trade and the quality of the relations that Morocco and Mercosur have maintained to date, and which make it possible to consider with optimism their consolidation on the economic and industrial.
In this regard, Ryad Mezzour highlighted the advantages of Place Maroc as a platform for production and export to a market of more than one billion consumers thanks to its free trade agreements, in particular with USA and the EU and which make it an international hub.
The common economic interests of the two parties as well as their economic potential easily allow their cooperation to move from an essentially commercial relationship to a multi-sectoral partnership, particularly in the industrial sector, the Minister further noted, calling for the deployment of cooperation triangular Mercosur-Morocco-Africa, and take advantage of the competitive advantages of Morocco as a gateway to Africa, in the context of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area (ZLECAf).
For his part, Rubén Anibal Basigalupe did not fail to salute “the efforts made by Morocco in terms of economic performance and underlined the strong commitment of Mercosur to explore all the opportunities for partnership with the Kingdom”, to especially since this group aims to strengthen its trade relations with the countries of the MENA region, given the potential for complementarity of interests.
The two parties also underlined the importance of organizing a Business Forum to bring their respective business communities closer together, as well as seeking complementarities between the two economies, particularly in the field of agro-industry. -food and renewable energies, in the light of the challenges that these two sectors represent.
It should be noted that trade between Morocco and MERCOSUR amounted to $4.70 billion in 2022 ($3.6 billion in 2021). Moroccan imports from Mercosur reached $2.53 billion and exports recorded $2.17 billion. Brazil remains the Kingdom’s leading trading partner in this grouping with $2.97 billion in 2022.
As a reminder, Rubén Anibal Basigalupe is making a working visit to Morocco from June 9 to 14, accompanied by a delegation made up of members of the Mercosur Parliament.