MEDI1TV Afrique : Visite d’Etat d’Emmanuel Macron au Maroc : Entretien exclusif avec Ariane de Rothschild - 28/10/2024
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00:00Hello and welcome to this special interview on the occasion of the visit of the French President Emmanuel Macron to Morocco.
00:18This is a three-day visit on the invitation of His Majesty King Mohammed VI.
00:24And in this context we receive several personalities to come back on the strategic partnership between Rabat and Paris.
00:31A partnership well and truly relaunched the last time that the head of the Elysee went to the kingdom.
00:37It was in November 2018 to inaugurate the high-speed line Tangier-Casablanca alongside the sovereign.
00:44Six years later, Morocco and France are ambitious to write a new chapter in their relationship which was somewhat wheezed.
00:52And it is a new breath that characterizes these relations now, in particular since the firm support of President Macron
01:00to the autonomy plan on the Moroccan Sahara, a support formulated in person by the head of the French state
01:06in a letter sent to His Majesty King Mohammed during the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the accession to the throne of the sovereign.
01:13And today I have the pleasure of receiving from Geneva Mrs. Ariane de Rothschild, CEO of Edmond de Rothschild
01:21to evoke this visit that some call historical. Ariane de Rothschild, hello and thank you for accepting the invitation of Mediain TV.
01:31Thank you, thank you very much, thank you.
01:36So what are your views on this rapprochement between Morocco and France?
01:40A rapprochement that is illustrated today by the visit of French President Emmanuel Macron to the kingdom.
01:46So I am really very, very happy to see that France resumes much stronger relations with Morocco
01:56because I think that Morocco has always been and remains a strategic country for France.
02:03For France and I would also say on a personal note, for my family too.
02:08So Ariane de Rothschild, could you tell us about Edmond de Rothschild's links with Morocco?
02:18So I think we have links. First of all, we have historical links because they date back to the beginning of the 20th century
02:26through what my family did in terms of education and school development throughout the Mediterranean basin, but in Morocco.
02:37We also have links, I would say, through philanthropy, through our hospital and the Sheikh Zayed Hospital in Rabat.
02:47And then, of course, long-term economic relations and in particular in terms of investment in Morocco.
02:56So precisely, as an investor, what are your views on investment opportunities here in Morocco?
03:08So Morocco for us is really a priority of investment through our AMETIS fund, which is the fund that invests on the entire African continent.
03:17And Morocco is really a hub for all of our activities, knowing that CAZA is the largest office we have in Africa to cover this continent.
03:30It is true that until today we have invested more than a billion dirhams in Moroccan AMETIs.
03:36And I think there are two very strong factors that matter a lot to us.
03:41One, I think it is an alignment of interests and I would say a common DNA, because in Morocco 90% of the Moroccan economic fabric is made up of family businesses, as we are.
03:53We have the same DNA, the same language, the same long-term vision.
03:58And then we are investors, I would say, committed or we could say impactful.
04:06That is to say, we really like to invest in companies that meet specific needs, whether economic or social.
04:15And maybe to illustrate it better, I will give you two examples.
04:19We have invested in a company called Magrizer, which does micro-irrigation.
04:28And what is interesting, we know that Morocco suffers from water stress, and in particular agriculture consumes more than 70% of the water.
04:38And it is true that through this type of investment, we are able to address these needs, to reduce water stress,
04:50by saving about 100 million cubic meters per year, which represents the annual consumption of 4 million Moroccans.
04:59This is an example of how we invest in Morocco.
05:07And I think we have companies that are in health, in energy transition, in telephony, in insurance.
05:17All of these are areas that we strongly believe in in Morocco.
05:25So Ariane de Rothschild, if you don't mind, we will continue to talk about investment.
05:31As you know, one year after the General Assemblies of the IMF and the World Bank in Marrakech,
05:36the World Bank has recently strengthened its partnership with the Kingdom,
05:40and has supported many of its initiatives in development.
05:45What does this mean for Morocco today in terms of connectivity and growth?
05:54I think it is a very strong signal.
05:59It is a signal that proves the international credibility of Morocco, its economic and political stability.
06:10I think it is the stamp of credibility of the 25 years of rule of Mohamed Sy.
06:20I think it is the result of an economic and social policy that was launched 25 years ago, by His Majesty.
06:27And I think it is also a guarantee of the potential growth of Morocco, as well as its ability to transform.
06:37As for connectivity, I think it is clear, and in any case this is also our case,
06:45that Morocco is a very credible hub, a meeting point between Europe, the African continent and the Middle East.
06:56I think Morocco has a very important strategic place, which has been highlighted, as you say, by the IMF and the World Bank.
07:06So, your activities in Morocco are not only banking, Ariane de Rothschild.
07:14You are also engaged, and for a long time, in areas such as health and economy.
07:22How does this translate into Morocco?
07:27In terms of health, we are very, very happy to have signed a partnership with Cheikh Zayed Hospital in Rabat,
07:37between this hospital and our world-renowned hospital-logic foundation,
07:44on everything related to head and neck expertise, in particular the eyes, and certain diseases such as epilepsy or infantile epilepsy.
07:56The partnership consists of, first, the benefit of high-level medical imaging and RARA operating blocks.
08:05Second, we are able to send our own doctors and treat them in tandem, which is also a very good sharing of knowledge.
08:17Third, we are able to welcome a dozen intern doctors in Paris to train them in order to continue operating in Morocco.
08:29So, I think it's a really beautiful project that we are very, very excited about.
08:37Well, thank you very much, Ariane de Rothschild, for being with us, for being the guest of Média1 TV.
08:44It was a pleasure to have you.
08:46Thank you very much. Thank you, it was a great pleasure. Thank you very much. Thank you.
08:52And I would like to remind you that you are the CEO of Edmond de Rothschild, and that you have been with us since Geneva.
08:57Merci à vous, c'est la fin de cet entretien.