MEDI1TV Afrique : Les perspectives de partenariat Maroc - Royaume Uni avec Najib Benamour de l'IMIS - 13/09/2024
Category
🗞
NewsTranscription
00:00Welcome to Focus Economique, the future cornerstone of the British post-Brexit strategy in Africa.
00:20Here is the title of the Policy Paper published this week by the Moroccan Institute of Strategic Intelligence,
00:27a document examining the historical relations between the two countries and the two kingdoms,
00:33highlighting the strengthening of this cooperation through the UK-Morocco Partnership Agreement signed in 2021.
00:41The report also includes 10 recommendations to strengthen the commercial partnership between the two kingdoms.
00:49Why is Morocco a crucial strategic partner for the United Kingdom in Africa?
00:55Today, in this Focus Economique with Mr. Najib Ben Amor, you are an economist,
01:02General Secretary of the Moroccan Institute of Strategic Intelligence.
01:06You are also a former Director-General of the Compensation Fund,
01:10former Director of Studies and Investment,
01:14and you are also a former member of the Council of Banque le Maghreb.
01:18Hello, it's a pleasure to have you with us today.
01:21Thank you very much. I am really honoured to be among you.
01:24Thank you for this invitation.
01:27I hope to be up to the task of clarifying certain points in this Policy Paper,
01:33which I had the honour of writing with my other friends on behalf of IMIS.
01:37Thank you for accepting it. It's a pleasure to have you.
01:40For the person who wrote this paper, there is nothing better to talk about.
01:45So, this IMIS paper, which analyzes the impact of Brexit on international relations in the United Kingdom.
01:53How is the United Kingdom redefining its relations in Africa today?
01:59Listen, you will understand that the exit of the United Kingdom from the European market,
02:10from the European Union, has created problems in this country,
02:13notably in financial, economic, growth and inflation.
02:21And this, unfortunately, came at a time when there was a pandemic.
02:29So, the impact has been…
02:32Doubled.
02:33Exactly. And it is difficult to quantify what exactly is the influence
02:39or the consequences of Brexit on this situation.
02:43That being said, we must start from what exists.
02:46The United Kingdom was outside the European Union.
02:53The United Kingdom had barriers to access this market, which had been theirs since 1973.
03:03As a result, it was obvious that the United Kingdom sought to diversify its exchanges.
03:12For this reason, our English friends set up what they called the Global Britain,
03:21which is a way of remodeling their trade and economic relations on a multilateral level.
03:34And especially for the neighbouring countries.
03:37And the closest neighbouring country is Morocco.
03:40Morocco, because there are both…
03:43We are two maritime facades,
03:46the Mediterranean Morocco in front of Gibraltar
03:52and the Atlantic Morocco, which are a bit apart,
03:55in the same line of maritime relations with the UK.
04:06So, trade exchanges have been remodelled,
04:09relations have been redefined,
04:12notably in Africa,
04:14and given the geographical situation of Morocco,
04:17which is now the bridge between Europe and Africa,
04:20which is a hub for globalisation.
04:23Why is Morocco a strategic partner today,
04:26which is crucial for this region?
04:30It is strategic because of its geographical position.
04:40It is strategic because of the reforms
04:43that have been undertaken in Morocco for decades
04:46and which have resulted in results that everyone can see,
04:51whether inside or outside.
04:54It is strategic because the economic, financial and institutional structures
04:59that are stable constitute an undeniable asset
05:03for the penetration of foreign investments.
05:07And when I say foreign, I naturally mean the United Kingdom.
05:12Morocco is a country that has recently put in place
05:18an investment charter,
05:20which is very promising in terms of capturing investments.
05:26Morocco is also developing certain sectors
05:35that are promising for the future,
05:38namely the renewable energy sectors,
05:41the automotive sector,
05:43the renewable energy sector,
05:46which we may talk about later,
05:49the wind sector,
05:51for example the Tafaya plant,
05:54the solar sector,
05:57the Nour plant,
05:58which is one of the largest in the world,
06:00if not the largest,
06:01and the green hydrogen sector.
06:06Morocco is a gateway for British investors,
06:11as you have explained,
06:13in sectors that are key to the economy today.
06:16What can we say about the relations between the two kingdoms?
06:20How have they evolved in recent years?
06:23And this agreement, the Morocco-United Kingdom Association Agreement,
06:27signed in 2021,
06:28does it constitute a new step in these relations
06:31or a turning point in the relations between the two kingdoms?
06:35If there is a British interest in Morocco,
06:40it is because the relations between the two countries are secular.
06:47They were practically born in the time of the Almohads,
06:53in the 13th century,
06:55and the first is materialized on a legal level
07:02by the signing of a first commercial agreement in 1721,
07:10practically 300 years ago.
07:12A second agreement came just after this first agreement in 1761.
07:18So, it is to tell you that the relationship is very, very old,
07:24and alongside this relationship,
07:28it also denotes the depth of the Moroccan dynasties,
07:34the depth of the Moroccan state,
07:36which has always been a stable state,
07:39with stable political institutions,
07:42with a vision that has always been the same.
07:46These relations,
07:51which benefit from this mutual trust
07:55between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Kingdom of Britain,
08:02are an asset to move forward for cooperation.
08:08So, it is already an asset.
08:10We know each other very, very well,
08:12and we have known each other for centuries.
08:14These relations have always been marked by mutual trust,
08:19by respect.
08:22Now, these relations have evolved,
08:27naturally, over time,
08:29through geopolitical situations.
08:31They have evolved in the right direction.
08:34Although, from 1973,
08:37when the United Kingdom joined the European Union,
08:42these relations have been diluted in this agreement with the European Union.
08:49As a result, Morocco has been subjected,
08:53in full swing, to the rules of the European Union.
08:57In these relations, naturally...
09:00So, this agreement of 2021 marks today a break and a new turning point in these relations.
09:06So, this agreement, which was put in place following Brexit,
09:11as I said,
09:12which was, after the 2016 referendum in Great Britain,
09:17which said yes to this Brexit,
09:22in 2020, Morocco signed with England.
09:28This proves the speed with which Morocco anticipated all this.
09:34Because it anticipated this Brexit,
09:37it put in place the ways and means
09:41to restart with the United Kingdom.
09:51It's been three or four years,
09:58and in this commercial agreement,
10:01which was made a bit quickly,
10:07it has still brought back the advantages and principles
10:13elucidated in the agreement with the European Union.
10:17An agreement that is already bearing fruit in one year, between 2021 and 2022.
10:21I would like to add something, if you allow me.
10:23Go ahead.
10:24In this agreement, it was planned that in 2023-2024,
10:29to review this agreement in a broader framework of liberalization of exchanges
10:35and improve what needs to be improved.
10:38This is what is currently happening.
10:40Discussions are underway, both in the United Kingdom and in France, I suppose,
10:46to put in place, in 2024, this new agreement.
10:52Discussions to broaden this agreement you are talking about.
10:55In one year, as I said earlier,
10:57exchanges increased by 2 billion sterling.
11:01So, we can already see the effects of this agreement,
11:04of this partnership, which continues to be strengthened.
11:07Now, to come back to this paper you published,
11:10there are ten recommendations.
11:12To conclude, tell us about these ten recommendations.
11:15First of all, there is a kind of proposal to improve the 2020 agreement.
11:25This agreement, first of all,
11:29includes the abolition of tariff barriers and customs barriers,
11:36the revision of the binding rule on the direct transport of goods
11:42imported or exported, which strongly penalizes the Moroccan economy.
11:47There is also the facilitation of all exchanges
11:57and the setting up of corridors,
11:59which go from Tangier-Maid to Lagos,
12:04by extending the gas pipeline.
12:10There are ten recommendations.
12:13We may be running out of time.
12:16We will have the opportunity to talk about this in more detail next time.
12:20Thank you, Mr. Najib.
12:22I would like to remind you that you are an economist
12:24and Secretary-General of the Moroccan Institute for Strategic Intelligence.
12:27Thank you for all these details.
12:29It was a pleasure.
12:30Thank you, and thank you to Medianti.
12:32This is the end of Focus Economique for today.
12:35Thank you for your loyalty.
12:37Have a very good day. See you tomorrow.