The Moroccan Association of Exporters (ASMEX) hosted the annual meeting of the Country Coordination Committee (CCC) of the SIPPO program (Swiss Import Promotion Programme) in Casablanca.
A meeting which brought together the representatives of the various professional groups that are partners of the program in Morocco, namely ASMEX, FENIP (National Federation of Fishing Industries) and AMITH (Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing Industries ), who presented their assessment of the first year of phase 2 of the SIPPO program and shared their vision, their roadmap and their objectives and actions for the next 4 years.
In a press release, ASMEX specifies that this phase 2 is characterized by several keywords including sustainability, digitalization, development of synergies with focus on new European markets in addition to the Swiss market.
The meeting was marked by the presence of Monica Rubiolo Gonzalez, Section Head of the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) Bern – Trade Promotion.
Also taking part were Monika Gueissberger, Director of Operations Head of operations SIPPO Global Bern, Nathalie Marville Dozen, Deputy Head of Mission and Cooperation at the Swiss Embassy in Morocco, Myriam Sif, Representative of the SIPPO program in Morocco and Messrs Didier Krumm, Director of Swisscontact in Morocco, Christophe de Figueiredo, President of the Swiss Chamber of Commerce in Morocco, and Karim El Haoud, Export Promotion Manager of the SIPPO Program.
« A year has already passed since the start of phase 2 in 11 countries including Morocco with six sectors, namely agro-food, fish and seafood products and value-added textiles. We are extremely satisfied with this collaboration with ASMEX, FENIP and AMITH and the various Moroccan organizations and professionals associated with the program. “Said Myriam Sif, country representative of the Sippo Program in Morocco, quoted by the press release.
Always committed to the promotion of exports and service offers for the benefit of its members, ASMEX indicates that, in partnership with SIPPO, it has been able to make considerable progress in terms of the integration of women’s cooperatives operating in remote areas of Morocco.
Among its achievements, ASMEX notes the ASMEX, SIPPO & GIZ cooperation agreement to integrate into the ASMEX network women’s cooperatives operating in outlying areas of Morocco in local products, namely organic saffron and dried roses. and derivatives (essential oil, rose water, etc.).
Also, the deployment, with the support of a SIPPO expert, of a selection grid and categorization of cooperatives and companies ready for export and the organization of a workshop in Agadir to train and guide SMEs and Cooperatives on participation in international fairs in their digital version.
The beneficiaries of the program were also able to participate in major international fairs such as SIAL or Natexpo in Lyon, in addition to several training and support actions for the promotion of their product and service offers on professional social networks such as Linkedin, specifies the same source.
The meeting was also an opportunity to present the objectives and areas of development for 2023 with in particular the widening of the scope of action of ASMEX to other local products under supervision, the diversification of markets and products sustainability, the digitalization of processes at the level of Moroccan companies as well as the awareness of companies on the challenges of sustainability.
« We would like to thank the SIPPO teams for their strong mobilization, attentiveness and responsiveness. This partnership has enabled us to strengthen our skills thanks in particular to the digital tools made available to us for better preparation for trade shows. The key to the success of these first steps is undoubtedly the strengthening of actions in the field through direct meetings to listen to and identify the expectations of VSMEs and cooperatives. », underlined Mounir Ferram, executive director of ASMEX.
