« Pour construire l'avenir de l'Europe, nous devons nous concentrer sur l'Afrique », déclare l'AMDIE

euronews (en français)

02/06/2025

« Pour construire l'avenir de l'Europe, nous devons nous concentrer sur l'Afrique », déclare l'AMDIE

« Pour construire l'avenir de l'Europe, nous devons nous concentrer sur l'Afrique », a déclaré Ali Seddiki, directeur général de l'Agence marocaine pour le développement des investissements et des exportations, dans The Big Question.

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00:00En order to build the future of Europe, we need to focus on Africa.

00:03We are also the only country in Africa to have a free trade agreement

00:06with Europe and the United States.

00:09When we commit, we deliver.

00:16Welcome to The Big Question.

00:19Now, this is a series from Euronews

00:21where we speak to some of the most influential people

00:24in the world of business.

00:26And it's my pleasure to welcome to the stage this evening

00:31for this special episode Mr Ali Siddiqui,

00:34General Director of AMDI,

00:36the Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development.

00:41Pleasure to have you on the show, Mr Siddiqui.

00:43Thank you for having me.

00:43Take a seat.

00:44So lots to talk about, Mr Siddiqui.

00:46But first of all, let's start off by talking about how Morocco has emerged,

00:52of course, as we know, as a gateway between Europe and Africa.

00:56Can you just talk us through how the kingdom is leveraging its strategic position

01:02to foster regional growth and attract long-term partnerships?

01:07I would say that the first thing that has been spoken about Morocco was stability.

01:17Morocco is the second oldest monarchical system in history.

01:21This is the ground and the foundation of our nation.

01:24And that gives us the ability to project and to have long-term planning.

01:30So combining stability with vision, I think, is the first and most important asset

01:36Morocco was able to provide investors with at a time where there is a lot of uncertainty in the world.

01:42On top of that, we have the best graded economy in Africa.

01:46Even our grade was upgraded last year.

01:49We went from BB plus with stable outlook to positive outlook.

01:53And now we're talking about something that happened after COVID, after the energy crisis.

01:57So it's telling of our capacity to provide our partners with a stable environment overall.

02:04This stability led to another leading asset of Morocco, which is a world-class infrastructure.

02:09We're not an oil and gas country, so building the quality, the infrastructure with this quality

02:16in Morocco took sophistication and dedication and engagement.

02:22And this helped us build world-class industrial ecosystems.

02:27If you add to that the fact that we are one of the most open economies in the world,

02:30we have free trade agreements with 90 countries, more than 55 free trade agreements,

02:34that open a market of more than 2.5 billion consumers worldwide.

02:38And we are also the only country in Africa to have a free trade agreement with Europe and the United States.

02:46Fun fact, we're also the closest country to Europe to have a free trade agreement with the United States.

02:51So again, the openness was part of the recipe.

02:54And to add to that, human capital, trained, educated, with an average age of 29,

03:01which is compared to Western Europe, you know, the average age is 44.

03:04And at a time where you have shortages in talents, in HR, this is the greatest asset of Morocco.

03:12And last but not least, and this is something that is difficult to explain because you actually need to experience it.

03:17Morocco is execution-driven.

03:20When we commit, we deliver.

03:22We honor our signature.

03:24And to take very simple examples, when you're in one of our special economic zones

03:29and you request a construction permit, it takes less than two weeks.

03:33So we are dedicated and we're execution-driven.

03:36What specific incentives or reforms has Morocco introduced recently

03:47to make the investment process essentially easier and more transparent for European businesses?

03:54Even from years ago, we've been adapting the regulatory framework to be compatible to the one in Europe.

04:00And a European investor in Morocco, I mean, does not think that the environment is different from the one he has in Europe.

04:07I'm talking about the regulatory framework.

04:10On top of that, His Majesty the King Mohamed VI in 2021 called for a complete new charter for investment,

04:17which would provide, of course, incentives for investors.

04:21But even more than that, it works on creating a suitable environment for investors, less bureaucracy,

04:29more efficiency in the way we deal with the administrative processes.

04:34And a dedicated ministry for investors has been created to assist and to help and support investors.

04:42And, of course, there is the Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development

04:45that was specifically created to help investors answer the question and provide end-to-end services.

04:53And we work as a one-stop shop for any kind of investor.

04:57And Morocco has also been making strides, Mr. Siddiqui, in the renewable energy sectors.

05:01How are you encouraging investment into Morocco's green economy, particularly from Europe again?

05:08To be frank, we don't really need to encourage investments in the green energy or the green economy sector,

05:15because now people know and understand that Morocco has a key role to play, and they come by themselves.

05:21What we do, of course, we support them and we connect them with any stakeholder in the industry in Morocco.

05:28IRENA, which is the International Renewable Energy Agency,

05:31has estimated the potential, the capacity for green energy generation in Morocco of more than 40,000 gigawatts.

05:40This is huge, enough to power the entire European continent.

05:45It's a fact.

05:46What we want to make sure of is that this potential is used to impact positively the Moroccan economy.

05:54We, as I said, we have a great young population entering the job market.

05:58That's a huge opportunity, but also it's a challenge.

06:00We need to create jobs.

06:02So now the strategy is how can we leverage our natural resource, sustainable resource,

06:07in order to create sustainable jobs for our young people entering the job market.

06:13And the good news, they're talented, skilled and educated.

06:16So investors are now working.

06:18We're working with them in order to build together this Euro-Mediterranean green economy.

06:24Looking to the future, Mr. Siddiqui.

06:26Let's look ahead to 2030.

06:27What's your vision for Morocco's role in the global economy?

06:33And how critical will partnerships with Europe be in achieving that vision?

06:37Well, the vision is pretty clear.

06:40As I said, Morocco is a world-class hub for sustainable investment and trade.

06:45So we do everything to keep on supporting this Moroccan value proposition.

06:50When we discuss with our European counterpart, we understand that green and ESG compatible industries are important for Europeans.

06:58They are also looking for additional cost efficiency, competitiveness, and also for future markets.

07:04And so Morocco has that opportunity to be a medium between Europe and the rest of Africa, building the continent.

07:13I mean, Morocco is definitely a market of the present, but Africa is also the market of the future.

07:18And if you want to make sure that we have all the elements required in order to build the future of Europe, we need to focus on Africa.

07:25This is exactly what Morocco has done.

07:27And so our agenda for 2030 is pretty clear.

07:29It means keeping on sharing our experiences with the rest of our continent.

07:33It's also putting ourselves as a great partner to Europe.

07:37And clearly, we think that Morocco is part of the solution for the European companies.

07:42Thank you very much for sharing your insights with us on The Big Question.

07:46It's been a pleasure to have you on the show.

07:48And thank you very much to all our viewers at home for watching.

07:51See you again next time.

07:53Thank you.

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