The first Morocco British Trade Day was held yesterday at the Intercontinental Hotel in London to promote trade between the two countries.
Her Highness Princess Lalla Joumala Alaoui, ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the UK, kicked off proceedings by stating that bilateral trade between the two countries, which reached £1bn (€1.2bn) in 2008, could be boosted further by Morocco's commitment to trade liberalisation.
UK ambassador to Morocco Timothy Harries highlighted the huge infrastructure developments that have been made to Morocco's ports, especially at Tangier, in addition to the great improvements made in quality in areas such as agriculture.
Parliamentary undersecretary of state at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office Alistair Burt described yesterday's event as 'a sign of a will to do more'.
Saad Benabdallah, managing director of Maroc Export, which organised the event, stated that Moroccan producers and exporters now had the capability and the will to do more value-added operations themselves, including pre-packaging.
He also pointed to Morocco's proximity compared to many of the UK's sources for fruit and vegetables.
'Since Morocco is only 48 hours away, it is a good source if you want to maximise shelf-life,' he said. 'Our geographical position is excellent, and now the infrastructure is much more developed. Morocco is your base to import, to export and to re-export.'
A number of challenges remained, according to Mr Benabdallah, including raising awareness, identifying markets, strengthening partnerships and sharing knowledge, but he said that the overall aim was to double the country's exports by 2015.
In order to achieve this aim, huge investments have reportedly been made to ensure food safety, gain certifications, improve growing techniques, develop new areas of production and modernise the country's irrigation systems.
