Regional hub at the center of the Europe-Africa relationship

As part of the 26th edition of the Forum Horizons Maroc (FHM), the main recruitment fair for Moroccan young people and professionals interested in Morocco, a conference was organized on Sunday in Paris under the theme “Morocco: Regional hub at the center of the Europe-Africa relationship”. Marking the closing of the Forum, this meeting was marked by the participation of political scientist Abdelmalek Alaoui, CEO (CEO) of “Guerpard Group” and author of the book “Le temps du Maroc”, Rym Sahnoun, CEO of Orange Business Services in Morocco and Youssef Hansali, Head of Capital Markets at Attijariwafa Bank Europe. Having given a lecture on this occasion, Abdelmalek Alaoui noted that the Kingdom of Morocco, being the most liberal country on the entire southern shore of the Mediterranean, is on the way to emerging as a “new power” through this region in various and many fields, notably those of the automobile, aeronautics and remote services thanks to the combination of several factors illustrating its political and institutional stability, its sustained reforms and its social assets. He also stressed the need for Europe to emerge from its “ambiguity” in its relationship with Africa, taking serious care to promote a fair distribution of the benefits harvested, through the creation of added value in Africa and by multiplying mutually beneficial investments for and on the continent. Morocco, under the enlightened leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, has never ceased to clearly affirm and demand a real dialogue of equals between the two continents of Europe and Africa, said the speaker, also noting the crucial importance of implementing plans to retain African skills and talents on their continent while going beyond the classic approach of official development assistance to the advantage of a vision oriented towards in-situ investment. For the political scientist and researcher, Morocco is committed to sharing its experience but also to contributing fully to the development of Africa in a context of win-win partnership, far from any attempt to dominate. He developed on this that throughout history and through economic exchanges, Morocco has always maintained a “strong” relationship with Europe, stressing, in this regard, that the Kingdom nourishes the ambition to develop and renovate its bilateral relationship with the European Union “so that it can best serve its position and its vision of its future”, particularly with regard to the question of its territorial integrity. In this regard, fifteen years following the announcement of its autonomy plan for the southern provinces, Morocco considers that its European partners must take the plunge, especially following the full and frank recognition of its territorial integrity by a large number of countries including in particular the United States of America and all the more so as certain European countries are in the process of granting a large autonomy to some of their territories, he strongly supported. For his part, Youssef Hansali noted that Morocco has managed to get ahead of certain major powers, according to its ranking by international rating agencies, thanks to the major reforms carried out for several years by the authorities, the proven transparency of its financial system and ambitious policies for the establishment of efficient basic infrastructure (LGV, Tanger-Med, etc.). Highlighting the remarkable place occupied by Morocco with regard to foreign investment, he pointed out that the repercussions of the crisis of the Covid-19 pandemic, having revealed the dependence of several countries on distant influences, Morocco, with its strengths and its particularly advantageous geographical position, is called upon to position itself well in this niche. “The latest crises have only reinforced the strategic choices made by Morocco, on which it must capitalize and position itself,” he underlined. As for Rym Sahnoun, while reporting a notorious acceleration of the digital transformation in Morocco, which has been accentuated, moreover, particularly in the exceptional circumstances of the health crisis of Covid-19, she estimated on the other hand that if most companies are in the process of transformation, much remains to be done in different sectors (health, smart cities, cloud). Morocco, in his eyes, is full of skills, human potential and talents capable of promoting the acceleration of this digital transformation. To this end, she noted, her group has chosen Morocco for its state of development and for the quality of its skills and infrastructure…