Highlights

Speaking at a meeting with some fifty managers and representatives of businessesand financial institutions in Spain, Mr. Baraka highlighted the business climate in the Kingdom and the significant political and economic reforms in recent years which make Morocco a platform to attract foreign investments, notably from Spain.

Mr. Baraka quoted in this regard, strengthening legal certainty to attract foreign companies, the adoption of a bill on public-private partnership aimed at creating more transparency onprocurement, simplifying administrative procedures, as well as another project on strengthening the entrepreneurial competitiveness.

Among the steps taken by the Government to promote foreign investments, is regulating the right to strike in consultation with the unions, with the aim of upholding the rule of law and ensure a better functioning institutions in public and private companies, noted the Minister, emphasizing the strength of the Moroccan financial sector that managed to show resilience to the global economic crisis.

After presenting the advantages and facilities granted to foreign companies, Mr. Baraka called on Spanish traders to profit fromthe economic and political stability of the Kingdom and the opportunities offered by the free trade agreement signed with the EU to support the dynamic development currently facing Morocco.

Mega projects initiated each year by the Moroccan public sector, particularly in the fields of agriculture, fisheries, industry, tourism, logistics, renewable energy, aircraft industry, automotive and services offer tremendous opportunities to strengthen the presence of Spanish companies in the Kingdom, statedMr. Baraka who was previously the guest ofa conference organized by "Nueva Economia Forum".

During the meeting, the Spanish Secretary of State for Trade, Mr. Jaime Garcia-Legaz, welcomed the increased trade between the two countries, adding that Morocco alone, received 35% of Spanish exports to the African continent in 2012.

Morocco is also the first destination of Spanish investments in Africa, he noted, recalling that nearly 800 Iberiancompanies are established in the kingdom.

The Spanish Secretary of State for Trade took this opportunity to welcome the economic policy adopted by the Kingdom and its openness to the international market, which is, he stated, a guarantee for Spanish companies interested in investing in Morocco.

Thanks to its geographical location and its economic reforms, Morocco can also constitute a way for Spanish companies to African market, he noted.

The speech ofmanagers and representatives of businesses and financial institutions taking part in the meeting organized by the Confederation of Spanish entrepreneurial organizations (CEOE employers) and the Spanish Institute for Foreign Trade (ICEX), highlighted the favorableclimate and the progress made by Morocco in recent years.

In this regard, they welcomed the efforts made by the Government, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, in order to facilitate the setting up of Spanish companies in the Kingdom, ensuring that the reforms undertaken by Morocco have reinforced the confidence of operators in the Moroccan economy.

At this meeting, several companies present in Morocco described their experiences in the Kingdom as being "successful".They pointed to the government`s commitment to entrepreneurialtransparency and good governance.