In order to prospect the Maghreb market, the team of the Local Development Agency of Alicante formed by María del Carmen de España, Councilor for Employment and Development and president of the Local Development Agency of the City Council, Manuel Amorós, manager of the ADL, and the investment attraction office ALIA, traveled to Casablanca on October 24, as part of the Trade Mission to Morocco 2022 organized by the Chamber of Commerce of Alicante, with Luis Ferrero, head of International Area, at the head. The purpose of this visit was to present to the Moroccan associations, the Investment Attraction Office, ALIA, and the institutional support services that, from this agency, are offered to foreign companies wishing to establish in our city.
The trade mission has shown signs that Morocco may be an interesting market for Alicante, with potential investors who put their focus on our city as an investment destination.
In this mission, representatives of the Alicante City Council and ALIA had three key interviews with some of the most relevant agents in the country’s economy: CGEM, equivalent to Morocco’s employers’ association; CMAES, Morocco-Spain Economic Council; and two of the main banks active in Morocco: La Caixa and Attijariwafa Bank.
DLA and ALIA participants in the mission, led by Maria del Carmen de España, met with personalities such as Ignacio Pino (Director of La Caixa), Houda Benghazi Akhla (General Director of CEMAES), and Adil Rais (Co-President of CEMAEs and President of CGEM Tangier.) In these meetings, there were indications that Morocco can be an interesting market with potential investors interested in exploring Alicante and in choosing the city as an investment destination.
Taking stock, this mission has been able to clarify the importance of each sector in Morocco; being the agri-food, pharmaceutical, tourism and construction the ones with the greatest potential. The most important economic sectors in Alicante were presented, as well as the innovation ecosystem. The Moroccan agri-food sector expressed great interest in learning about the Mercalicante ecosystem, as well as in establishing an agreement or alliance with food companies in Alicante. As for the pharmaceutical sector, they have focused on SMEs, showing their enthusiasm to establish alliances with local companies or to carry out acquisitions in this sector. Alicante was presented as a destination to be explored in the tourism sector, as well as in construction.
Spain and Morocco remain in contact, working to create synergies simultaneously.
After the success of the mission and the contacts made, Maria del Carmen de España, has decided to maintain relations with future follow-up actions, such as a possible visit of the Moroccan representation to Alicante to get in touch with our agri-food sector and a webinar for the presentation of ALIA – the investment attraction agency – and its portfolio of support and services to members of the CGEM and CMAES; as well as follow-up meetings with the Moroccan chamber of commerce.
In relation to the meeting with Attijariwafa Bank, ALIA has committed to cooperate, institutionally, with Moroccan companies interested in contacting and establishing partnerships with Alicante companies in the food sector, as well as to support those entities and corporations in the training area in Morocco for the interest raised in future collaborations and agreements in tourism studies with double degrees.
