This is the third time in recent weeks that Moroccan officials have met their Turkish counterparts in the field of transport. In this sense, the Minister of Transport and Transportation, Mohammed Abdeljalil, received, on Monday June 10, 2024 at the ministry’s headquarters, Mustafa Ilker Kiliç, Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey in Rabat.
This meeting follows another held last month in Leipzig, Germany, with the Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, focused on examining ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the transport and infrastructure sector. logistic. At the start of this meeting, the two parties discussed the Turkish experience in the field of road safety and examined the prospect of developing a memorandum of understanding (MOU) relating to road safety between the two countries, and plan an exchange of visits to inquire about expertise and experiences in this area. The two officials also discussed the Turkish experience in the implementation of the digital tachograph in international road transport (TIR), expressing their desire to prepare a legal framework in this area to benefit from this experience. Concerning air transport, the two parties examined ways to strengthen air connectivity between the two countries, through the creation of new air routes. This meeting was also an opportunity to explore cooperation opportunities in the railway sector, through the development of a MOU defining the aspects of technical cooperation in this area. But it is the maritime industry that seems to capture the attention on both sides of the Mediterranean. Regarding the maritime transport sector, the two officials discussed the Turkish experience in the maritime field and agreed to schedule visits for the benefit of Moroccan experts in Turkey.
This meeting comes just a few days after the reception at the headquarters of the Ministry of Transport of a delegation of Turkish businessmen. Indeed, an economic mission from the “Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEiK)”, led by Zayneb Bodur Okyay, president of the Turkey-Morocco Business Council, has just traveled to Morocco. In this sense, Ms. Bodur Okyay indicated that the visit of the Turkish delegation aims to strengthen economic ties between Turkey and Morocco and consists of bilateral meetings with several institutions to explore mutual opportunities for cooperation. “We are here to explain the interests of Turkish industry and discover the opportunities offered by Morocco,” said Ms. Bodur Okyay, noting that the objective is to deepen knowledge about Morocco and the African region, as well as to determine Turkey’s potential contributions to this economic dynamic. In addition, she expressed the hope of establishing strengthened relations and increasing the volume of trade and investments between Morocco and Turkey. It should be noted that the Turkish delegation was received by the Secretary General of the Ministry of Transport and Logistics, Khalid Cherkaoui. A few weeks earlier, the Minister of Transport and Logistics had a meeting in Leipzig (Germany) with the Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure, Abdulkadir Uraloglu, focused on ways to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the transport sector. transport and logistics.
National Pavilion
During their meeting, held on the sidelines of the work of the 2024 FIT summit which took place last May under the theme “Making transport more ecological: Let’s stay focused in times of crisis”, the two parties praised the excellence of the relations that link Morocco and Turkey in the fields of transport and logistics, expressing their desire to further promote bilateral cooperation in this sector. In the field of maritime transport, the Turkish minister presented his country’s rich experience in the port sector and the development of the commercial maritime fleet, expressing Turkey’s willingness to make this experience available to Morocco for its ambitious project. development of its national maritime fleet, which is part of the vision of HM King Mohammed VI. The interest of Turks as well as other nationalities is shown as Morocco wants to restore the image of its national flag following the royal call to strengthen the national fleet. “If, through its Mediterranean facade, Morocco is firmly anchored to Europe, its Atlantic side opens up, for its part, complete access to Africa and a window onto the American space.
This is why We are determined to undertake a national upgrade of the coastline, including the Atlantic coast of the Moroccan Sahara,” HM the King affirmed in his speech addressed to the Nation on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the glorious Green March. “We are also committed to ensuring that this geopolitical space is structured on an African scale,” the Sovereign underlined. “We are committed to providing the necessary means of transport and logistics stations. This also includes thinking about building a strong and competitive national merchant marine fleet,” continued HM the King. A few weeks later, the Minister of Transport and Logistics announced that his department was working on the preparation of a strategic study concerning the creation of a strong and competitive national maritime commerce fleet. In Parliament, the responsible minister affirmed that the maritime transport sector is strongly linked to the development of the port sector, stressing that Morocco has carried out the transformation of important port centers along the Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts and ensured to connect them to the motorway and rail networks. He noted that this approach made it possible to attract international investments in the maritime transport sector and, therefore, improve Morocco’s maritime connectivity index, now ranked 20th internationally, thanks to its connectivity to more than 184 ports in 71 countries.
Economic partnership
Trade relations. The General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) is strongly committed to making economic cooperation between Morocco and Turkey a model of successful and mutually beneficial partnership, said Thursday in Casablanca, the president of the Morocco Business Council -Turkey at CGEM, Najib Chraibi. Speaking during a visit by the delegation of Turkish economic operators from the “Foreign Economic Relations Board (DEiK)”, led by Zayneb Bodur Okyay, President of the Turkey-Morocco Business Council, Mr. Chraibi highlighted the importance of a solid development of economic relations between the two countries within the framework of a win-win partnership. Mr. Chraibi thus highlighted the commercial potential between Morocco and Turkey which have dynamic and diversified economies, noting that the volume of trade between the two countries of 6 billion dollars in 2023 remains below capacity. In this sense, he identified promising sectors for collaboration, such as automotive, agri-food, textiles, tourism, renewable energies and mining. Furthermore, Mr. Chraibi highlighted the economic attractions of Morocco, considered an attractive investment destination due to its infrastructural advances, its integrated industrial ecosystems, its renewable energy initiatives and its numerous commercial agreements.
