North Africa Post
King Mohammed VI started Tuesday a few day working and friendship visit to the United Arab Emirates, a sisterly country bound to Morocco by a large number of diplomatic and economic cooperation agreements, reports the news outlet le360.
The Monarch will discuss with the leaders of the United Arab Emirates various bilateral, regional and international issues, as well as means of boosting political and economic relations between the two countries.
The King’s latest visit to the UAE dates back to November 2017, when the Monarch had attended the opening ceremony of the Louvre Abu Dhabi Museum and conferred with the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi, Sheikh Mohammed Ben Zayed al-Nahyan.
Cooperation between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates encompasses several areas. The UAE is actually the first country of the Gulf Cooperation Council to have a strong position in the Moroccan economic fabric.
Trade between the two countries, which are linked by a free trade agreement that came into force in 2003, amounts annually to around 2.22 billion Dirhams, according to figures of the Moroccan Exchange Office.
A boost was given to bilateral ties in June 2013 with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Morocco and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, under which Morocco was extended a grant of $1.25 billion, to finance a series of development projects.
The Tangier-Casablanca high-speed train (TGV), the Tanger-Med port complex and the Mediterranean ring road are among the major projects financed by the Abu Dhabi Fund, recalls the news website, adding that Emirati investors are now among the leading Arab operators in the Kingdom in sectors as diverse as real estate, tourism, agriculture, finance and energy.
In this connection, the UAE supports the national renewable energy development plan, which has benefited from financial facilities estimated at $300 million.
Emirati economic support to Morocco is also reflected in the contribution of Aabar Investments PJS to the financing of the investment fund Wessal Capital, considered as the largest sovereign fund in Africa and which finances the realization of major structural and development projects in Casablanca and Rabat.
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