The Director General, Moroccan Centre for Export Promotion, Mrs Zahra Maafiri, on Sunday said that her centre was willing and ready to establish and strengthen business, investment and trading relations with Nigeria.
Maafiri told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that she came to Nigeria as part of a trade delegation to meet with government officials at both the state and national levels.
She said that Nigeria was an important partner for Morocco as it had a dynamic and vibrant economy.
“We want business and investment relations with Nigeria. We also want businessmen in Nigeria to come to Morocco to explore the opportunities there.
“Recently, our centre invited 30 businessmen from Morocco to Nigeria purposely to see the investment opportunities in Nigeria and to tap into it.
“We are targeting a relationship aimed at improving the economy of both countries,’’ the director-general said.
According to her, Morocco was the first investor in the Sub-Saharan countries and the second investor in Africa.
“We are still an emerging economy. Our policy is to share and to co-develop the region. We are investing a lot in this rather than do something else.
“Our promotion centre is investing a lot in making the best fertilisers and low-cost inputs available to aid agricultural growth in Africa,’’ Maafiri said.
She added that the centre was also working on obtaining a solution from the African continent to its power challenges.
“We have low rates of electricity generation in Morocco, just 16 per cent, and this has not allowed us to offer our citizens better education and welfare as we desire.
“We believe that with these investments we are trying to build, we will not only experience economic growth but other African countries will also experience development.
“We want to have a win-win partnership.
“Our business and investment interest lies majorly in the Health, Agriculture, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), as well as other related sectors,’’ the director-general said.