Morocco, Nigeria to set up Business Council
The Morocco Africa Cultures and Developments Organization (OMA) and a Nigerian business delegation signed, Monday in Rabat, a partnership agreement providing for the setting up of a Nigeria-Morocco Business Council.
By bringing together business operators from the two countries, the council will help support the various memoranda of understanding signed by the heads of state of Morocco and Nigeria.
The partnership is set to strengthen cooperation between Morocco and Nigeria, which OMA describes as “two most important countries on the continent.” It also aims to promote the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCTFTA) and African civil society organizations.
The creation of the Business Council is part of all the steps initiated by King Mohammed VI to open up to the African depth of the Kingdom and to develop and consolidate the ties of friendship between Morocco and Nigeria, said OMA’s president Najib Kettani who signed the agreement along with the head of the Nigerian delegation, Yusuf Hamisu Abubakar.
This council will further develop economic and trade relations between the two countries, he added, recalling that Nigeria is the first economic powerhouse in Africa with a GDP of 467 billion U.S. dollars in 2019 and is among the world’s leading producers of hydrocarbons.
For his part, Hamisu Abubakar stressed that this initiative is likely to promote the interests of Morocco and Nigeria at the sub-regional, regional continental and international levels as well as in international circles and institutions.
It will also promote investment and cooperation in various sectors, including agriculture, economy, telecommunications, youth development and sports, gender relations, infrastructure development, energy, economic diplomacy, finance, in addition to the development of culture, tourism, education, digital sciences and technology, he added.
On the sidelines of the signing ceremony, Moroccan and Nigerian businessmen held a series of B2B meetings that prospected investment opportunities in Morocco, especially in the region of Rabat-Salé-Kénitra.
