Morocco, Poland to strengthen economic relations

Polish businessmen convened, in Cassablanca Wednesday, with members of the Casablanca Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services to discuss means to reinforce bilateral trade cooperation. The two parties deplored trade exchanges between Morocco and Poland are not up to potentials, explaining these reached 931 million MAD, 93.1 million euros, in 2003, including 687 million MAD of Moroccan imports, (i.e. 1% of total Moroccan imports). The president of Poland's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Andrzej Rajpert, said, during this meeting, phosphates, forced vegetables, and fish were the main Moroccan exports to Poland in 2003 that earned the North African country 243 million MAD, while Morocco imports Polish sulphur, iron and steal. This meeting offered the opportunity to Moroccan businessmen to inform their Polish peers on various Moroccan economy aspects, and to discuss, with them, bilateral cooperation possibilities. In this regard, the Moroccan officials highlighted the importance that Morocco accords to relations with Poland, and, recalling the FTAs that Morocco concluded with the US, Turkey and some Arab states. They also said the kingdom has the potentials to become an important platform for Polish investors. These meetings fall within the framework of a four-day visit to Morocco of a Polish delegation of MPs and businessmen, led by the Speaker of the Polish Senate, Longin Pastusiak.