EBRD Opens 3rd Office in Morocco

The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development will open next Monday an office in Agadir, said on Thursday the Bank’s Vice-Pdt Alain Pilloux, who is currently on a working visit to Morocco.

“I will inaugurate a new EBRD office in Agadir Dec.02, after having opened recently another one in Tangier”, said Mr. Alain Pilloux at a press conference held in Casablanca in presence of EBRD’s chief in Morocco, Marie-Alexandra Veilleux-Laborie.

The two new offices, which come after the Casablanca office, show the importance of having continuous contact with local companies, he said. The Agadir office will cover the Souss-Massa and Marrakech-Safi regions known for their thriving agriculture, fisheries and tourism sectors, he added.

Morocco is endeavoring to make of the Souss-Massa region an economic hub linking Morocco’s north to its south – from Tangier, in the north, to Oujda, in the east, to the Sahara provinces, in the south. In this connection, King Mohammed VI called, in recent speech, for establishing a rail link between Marrakech and Agadir as part of a regionalization plan that aims at achieving and equitable distribution of wealth between all regions.

“We are very happy to open our third office in the country which will strengthen our outreach in the southern region and contribute to the economic growth in Morocco”, Mr. Alain Pilloux said.

Morocco is a founding member of the EBRD and became a country of operations in 2012. To date, the Bank has invested close to €2 billion in 58 projects in the country. The Bank has also supported more than 600 Moroccan SMEs by providing business advisory services.