Mr. Mohamed BOUSSAID, Minister of Economy and Finance, received Monday, April 13th , 2015 at the headquarters of his department, Mr. Michel SAPIN , Minister of Finance and the Public Accounts of the French Republic.
During their discussions, the two Ministers noted with satisfaction the positive momentum in the relations between Morocco and France.
In this regard, Mr. BOUSSAID stressed that Morocco and France have close and strong relationships at all levels. These relations are characterized by a density of trade between the two countries and a well-established mutual trust.
On the other hand, Mr. SAPIN recalled that his visit reflects Morocco’s prominent place among France's partners and that his country considers cooperation with Morocco as a priority area for French cooperation.
The two ministers then reviewed the current situation of bilateral relations and welcomed their upward momentum that made France the first partner of Morocco in economic and trade matters and one of its major donors.
On this occasion, the two ministers had signed two agreements. The first relates to the “French Guarantee Fund for French equipment acquisition projects by Moroccan SMEs or Franco-Moroccan joint venture development" and the second is on the "transfer of the Guarantee Fund for Financial Restructuring of the SME Guarantee Fund".
These agreements are part of the framework of the implementation of the memorandum of intent signed in 2013 between the two countries.
The first agreement relates to an amount of 26 million euros and aims to stimulate the flow of business between SMEs of both countries by providing them with a credit line to finance the acquisition of equipment by French Moroccan SMEs and the development of Franco-Moroccan projects.
The second contribution relates to the amount of 180 Million Dirhams and aims to help strengthen the Moroccan guarantee system by redirecting the resources allocated by the French side to the "Financial Restructuring Guarantee Fund" towards the "SME Guarantee Fund ". This is likely to accompany and facilitate access to funding to more Moroccan SMEs.
At the end of their meeting, Mr. Mohamed BOUSSAID and Mr. Michel SAPIN reaffirmed their commitment to strengthen bilateral relations and take them to the highest levels.