Morocco, Russia Prospect Investment Opportunities beyond Agricultural Sector

The fourth Moroccan-Russian Business Forum, held in Rabat on the eve of an official visit by Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev to Rabat, prospected opportunities to further boost trade between the two countries in the agricultural sector as well as new fields such as energy, the car industry, pharmaceutical industry, infrastructure, construction and new technologies.

The Forum is the fourth of its kind held bilaterally within four years. This edition is held by the federation of Morocco’s employers in partnership with the Russian export center and the Russian-Arab Business Council with the participation of leading Russian companies and businessmen.

This high-level meeting was attended by Morocco’s agriculture and fisheries minister Aziz Akhannouch and his Russian counterpart Alexandre Tkatchev, who both delivered opening speeches stressing the untapped potential of bilateral relations and invited investors to grab the business opportunities offered in their respective countries.

Moroccan-Russian trade is dominated by agri-food products, which make up 97% of overall trade. Russia imported 18% of Morocco’s overall agri-food production for a total value of 1.8 billion dirhams in 2016.

In terms of volume, Morocco exported to Russia a total of 351,000 tons of agri-food products, thus becoming the first supplier of the Russian market with tomatoes and the second with citrus fruits.