"The future growth of Valencian companies lies in Morocco"
The Business Meeting "Doing Business in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region (TTA)" has arrived this Thursday in Valencia under the slogan "A business potential open to the world", with the aim of exceeding 17.4 million euros of joint investments between companies in the Valencian Community and Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Region (TTA).
During the inauguration, the Director General of the Regional Investment Centre of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, Jalal Benhayoun, said that "Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima is a region that enjoys exceptional geographical proximity, just 14 kilometres from Spain. This makes it a preferential destination for Spanish and Valencian investors, with access to the Moroccan, Arab and African markets thanks to Morocco's free trade agreements".
Likewise, the Consul General of Morocco in Valencia, Said Drissi, defended the need to "build solid bridges between the TTA regions and the Valencian Community towards a more prosperous and sustainable future that enriches the connection between Europe and Africa through trustworthy and transparent commercial relations". Drissi stressed that "Morocco is Spain's first partner outside the European Union, which favours an interesting synergy towards the African market without administrative obstacles or trade barriers".
20,000 million euros in 2023
Adil Rais, President of the Morocco-Spain Economic Council (CEMAES), stated that "the growth of Valencian companies is in Morocco" and that "Spain is Morocco's leading trading partner, with a turnover of 20,000 million euros in 2023 and that, by May 2024, it already stood at 10,000 million euros, which means a 6% increase compared to the same period last year".
The aim of the event was to strengthen the commercial and economic links between Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (TTA) and the Valencian Community, as well as to inform the Valencian business community about the advantages of investment, the technical-financial advice mechanisms and the business opportunities in this growing Moroccan region.
960,000 vehicles per year
During the meeting, it was stressed that "there is interdependence between the two countries in the automotive, textile and agro-industrial sectors". In this sense, he gave as an example "the production of 960,000 vehicles per year by Renault, Citröen and Peugeot in the TTA region with engines from Zaragoza and parts from Asturias and the Valencian Community". Something similar to what is happening with textiles, "a sector in which Spain designs and Morocco manufactures and exports", and with agro-industry.
More than 800 Spanish companies, which generate more than 30,000 jobs, "have made Spain the fourth largest investor in Morocco thanks to the capacity for joint development based on institutional and business collaboration such as that of TTA and the Valencian Community", Rais pointed out.
The networking between the Moroccan and Valencian business fabric has taken place through the previous presentation of different examples of investments in the region and with the presentation of success stories in sectoral workshops.
Sectoral panels
In fact, the event has favoured the exchange of corporate experiences between entrepreneurs from both regions through three working panels. The first focused on the territorial offer and incentives for investment in the region of Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima. The second focused on the advantages and offers of support for the internationalisation of companies. And finally, the third of the panels dealt with success stories by sector, such as tourism, renewable energies, advice on training and administrative processes of implementation, agri-food, automotive, as well as other industries and logistics.
The event is jointly organised by the Regional Investment Centre of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region (CRI-TTA), the Official Spanish Chamber of Commerce in Morocco, the Consulate General of the Kingdom of Morocco in Valencia, the Council of the TTA region, the Moroccan Agency for the Development of Investment and Exports (AMDIE), the Morocco-Spain Economic Council (CEMAES), the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region. And the participation of the Chamber of Commerce of Valencia, the Valencian Business Confederation (CEV) and the Valencian Institute for Business Competitiveness (IVACE).
