A new era to start in Moroccan-Hungarian relations

According to globoport.hu, the Hungarian-Moroccan economic joint committee held talks in Rabat for the third time. Several agreements were concluded to boost cooperation.

Besides industry, the agreements also concern the fields of culture, trade, agriculture, water economy and academic research. The contracts were signed by the state secretaries of the responsible departments – on the Hungarian part, by Levente Magyar, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. As a result of the agreements, Hungary will invest 600 million dollars in Morocco in the next years.

As it was mentioned during the negotiations, both countries aim to develop trade and encourage investments.

Prior to this, a Hungarian-Moroccan business forum was held in Casablanca, where the participants agreed on the main fields to strengthen the cooperation between Hungary and Morocco. The colleagues of the Moroccan-Hungarian Business Council (camh.org.hu) and the Hungarian Trade & Cultural Centre (HTCC.org.hu) have been working on the development of trade and cultural ties between the two countries for a long time.

The volume of the trade between the two countries was 191 million euros last year – out of this, the Hungarian export added up to 160 million euros.

The topic of touristic cooperation was also touched upon in Casablanca. This is facilitated by the recently launched direct low-cost flights between Budapest and Morocco: Ryanair takes passengers to Marrakesh, while WizzAir takes them to Agadir twice a week.

Levente Magyar offered a strategic partnership to Morocco based on the fact that Hungarian investors think of the country as the gate of Africa.

Similarly to the Moroccan state secretary, he believes that the cooperation could be boosted with the involvement of new actors form the private sphere in highlighted sectors like tourism, agriculture and industry.

A great reform programme was launched in Morocco with the goal of modernising the economy and connecting it to the world economy. According to the programme, local and foreign investors get different discounts in the North African kingdom.

As Moroccan State Secretary Rakiya Eddarhem noted, thanks to the strengthened cooperation Hungary receives a bigger access to the African market, while it will be easier for Morocco to access the Central European market as well. Levente Magyar highlighted that besides the fields of economy, trade, tourism and culture, the exchange of expertise and experiences between the two countries will also be more intense regarding the fight against illegal migration.

Featured image: www.globoport.hu

Source: http://www.globoport.hu/