Morocco, guest of honor at the fifth China-Arab States Expo
At the invitation of China, Morocco is participating, as guest of honor, in the fifth China-Arab States Expo, which will be held from Aug. 19 to 22 in Yinchuan, the regional capital of Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region in northwest China.
Morocco, as the guest of honor, will organize several events to showcase its culture and technological advances, organizers said at a press conference Wednesday.
More than 1,000 domestic and overseas enterprises have registered as exhibitors for offline and virtual events at the Expo, the organizers said, adding that a total of 239 companies will display their latest products and innovations at offline exhibitions covering an area of about 12,000 square meters.
The in-person events will be themed on healthcare, clean energy, new materials, the digital economy and cross-border e-commerce, the organizers said.
The participating enterprises will also hold a slew of online exhibitions based on technologies such as 5G, artificial intelligence, big data and cloud computing.
On Wednesday, forums on cooperation between China and the Arab countries on tourism and water resources were also held in advance of the expo, reported the Chinese news agency Xinhua.
“We are very much interested in China-Arab cooperation and have recently initiated a proposal welcoming the establishment of a comprehensive and long-term cooperative relationship in the field of water-resources management,” said Mahmoud Abu-Zeid, chairman of the Arab Water Council, at the Water Resources Forum.
Wei Shanzhong, China’s vice minister of water resources, said that China and Arab countries face similar problems and challenges, and have great potential for cooperation.
He added that China is willing to work with other countries and international organizations, including Arab countries, to strengthen exchanges and cooperation on water-resources utilization.
At the China-Arab States Leisure Tourism Forum, plenty of officials from Arab states expressed their confidence in the Chinese market, Xinhua said.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Morocco and China in 1958, the ties between the two countries have continued to strengthen, particularly in recent years thanks to the exchange of high-level visits and the growing trade.
Since the establishment of the Sino-Moroccan Business Council in 2003, the China Council for the Development of International Trade (CCPIT) and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) have maintained close cooperation.
China, which ranks first among Morocco’s Asian partner countries, with a share of 46% of the Kingdom’s trade with the region, posted trade growth of around 2.7% in 2020 (+1.4 billion dirhams), according to the latest figures of the Foreign Exchange Office.
More than 5,000 enterprises from over 110 countries and regions attended the previous four editions of the China-Arab States Expo in Yinchuan.
