MEDI1TV Afrique : Les échanges commerciaux entre le Maroc et l'Espagne avec Mohamed Benchekroun - 14/01/2025
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00:00Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to Mediain TV.
00:12Trade between Morocco and Spain is the subject of Focus Eco.
00:16In 2024, Spain confirmed its position as the first commercial partner of Morocco.
00:22The kingdom, however, retains its rank as the first supplier of the Iberian country.
00:27Morocco and Spain have brought nearly 20% of its fruit and vegetable needs to Morocco
00:32in the first ten months of last year, for a value of 801 million euros.
00:38In total, trade between the two kingdoms exceeded 21 billion euros in 2024.
00:45We are going to talk about these figures and about this commercial and strategic partnership
00:50between Morocco and Spain in this Focus Eco with Mr. Mohamed Ben Choukhroun.
00:55Professor of Economics at the Collège de Paris, it's a pleasure to have you with us.
00:59The pleasure is all ours. Thank you very much.
01:01So, what does this intensification of trade between Morocco and Spain
01:07and the commercial and strategic partnership between the two kingdoms reveal?
01:12You know, globalization is a form of regional globalization.
01:20That is, when neighboring countries have good political relations,
01:25this leads to an intensification of trade relations.
01:30So, since 2022 and since Spain recognized the autonomy plan of the Moroccan Sahara,
01:39relations have actually intensified,
01:44which has led to a growth of 9% of trade.
01:49Morocco has become, in the eyes of Spain, the second partner outside the European Union,
01:55surpassing traditional partners such as China.
01:59So, this is something that is very good news
02:02when border countries have such strong commercial interdependence,
02:08like Morocco and Spain.
02:10And precisely, in figures, if we were to talk about this commercial partnership?
02:14So, Spanish imports from Rabat have seen an increase of 6.9%,
02:24and the amount is rising to 10 billion euros.
02:28And in fact, the main advancements are fruits and vegetables,
02:35because in fact, Spain has experienced, like Morocco, a fairly severe water drought,
02:42which has led to an increase in fruit and vegetable prices.
02:46And so, for Spain, Morocco is an alternative to reduce fruit and vegetable prices.
02:53But it's not just that.
02:54There is also the industrialization of Morocco,
02:56which has also led to an increase in its export to Spain, such as cars.
03:02And in relation to imports,
03:04Morocco imports mainly refined oil from Spain.
03:11And so, this is something related to our dependence on hydrocarbons,
03:17and also, it is the main consequence of the cessation of Samir's activities.
03:24So, this is something that explains a little bit this interdependence between Morocco and Spain.
03:30Let's also remember that Moroccan exports to Spain have also increased by more than 9%,
03:359.1% exactly, over the year 2024.
03:39How do we analyze this commercial balance?
03:44So, we have a commercial balance with Spain that remains deficit-driven,
03:49but there is, compared to the projections of the future,
03:55there is a potential for the curve to reverse.
03:59Because Morocco's structural projects, its energy transition,
04:04the gas pipeline between Nigeria and Morocco,
04:09can effectively reduce our dependence on the refined oil that comes from Spain.
04:17And the massive industrialization of Morocco,
04:21whether in the field of aeronautics, cars,
04:24and soon in other areas of activity,
04:27such as railways and also armament,
04:30can lead to a reversal of the balance.
04:35A curve that could therefore reverse itself, as you just explained.
04:39The sectors, apart from energy, that would lead to this reversal of the situation,
04:46what would they be?
04:47The sectors that lead today, in any case,
04:49and that enter this strategic partnership between the two kingdoms.
04:53So, there is the tourism sector,
04:55there is also, in terms of goods, agriculture, agri-food.
05:00Now that Morocco has started important projects
05:04to be less and less dependent on rain,
05:09which could lead to a much more competitive agriculture.
05:16So, that's in terms of agriculture, in terms of aeronautics,
05:22and in terms of cars.
05:23So, these are two sectors that represent the umbilical cord
05:28of the Moroccan export to Spain.
05:30But let's not forget that the transition of energy to Morocco,
05:35renewable energy,
05:36the gas pipeline between Nigeria and Morocco,
05:40can also be a game-changer.
05:42And it can actually go from a country that imports refined oil from Spain
05:48to a country that exports energy to Spain.
05:51So, that's a bit of the big challenge that Morocco is trying to face.
05:55What are the prospects for the evolution of this ancestral relationship
06:00between the two countries?
06:01So, you know, the development of port, railway and maritime infrastructures
06:10can only lead to an intensification of relations.
06:15I think that the return to political serenity
06:20is something that is extremely favorable to an intensification of exchanges.
06:24And above all, our two economies are complementary.
06:28What Morocco is for Spain is similar to what Mexico is for the United States.
06:32It's similar to what Turkey is for Germany,
06:35what Vietnam is for China,
06:37and what China was previously for Japan and Korea.
06:40So, when we are close, when two countries are so geographically close,
06:46we are really creating an economic complementarity.
06:50Because for Morocco, Morocco can be a platform for the attractiveness of Spanish industries.
06:57And it can also be a way for the Spanish economy to gain even more competitiveness
07:04and sit even more in the Moroccan industrial ecosystem
07:09and have, let's say, an increase in productivity and competitiveness.
07:14So, it is this complementarity that we now see
07:19in relation to the two economic approaches undertaken by Morocco and Spain
07:23that can effectively lead us to extremely interesting perspectives of evolution.
07:28A complementarity, in any case, of the economy between the two countries, Morocco and Spain.
07:33These two kingdoms, therefore, working together to implement new financial instruments,
07:40precisely to boost and support small businesses in Morocco, but also in Spain.
07:47And so, to further accelerate the sharing of know-how, experience, expertise,
07:53and then economic and commercial exchanges.
07:56Absolutely. You know, in 2008, there was a conversion of the Moroccan debt towards Spain
08:06through the co-financing of important and structuring projects that were implemented in Morocco.
08:11So, it is the fact of supporting Spanish businesses to better implement themselves in Morocco.
08:16And I give examples, such as the Tanger wind park, which was carried out by the Spanish company Eugamesa.
08:23It is one of the configurations or one of the examples of this co-financing
08:29and this co-partnership between States.
08:32This debt conversion was raised to 100 million euros of project financing.
08:42So, the Spanish SMEs must have the audacity to implement themselves in Morocco
08:50in strategic projects, in strategic sectors.
08:54It is also necessary that the Moroccan SMEs, apart from the agricultural sector,
08:58must also be able to dare and go towards Spain.
09:01In the textile sector, we can be more and more a hub of attractiveness
09:07of the textile industry and clothing.
09:12And Morocco can be a gain, once again, in productivity and competitiveness
09:17for the giants of these Spanish industries.
09:20A program of debt conversion into private investment, you said.
09:26A program that brought its fruits.
09:29If we were to do the assessment 10 years later, if we remember, it was launched in 2013.
09:35Yes, of course.
09:36So, 10 years later now, a little more than 10 years later, what is the assessment?
09:40So, it is a financing of 100 million euros.
09:42So, it was an excellent alternative, an excellent solution, a very good financial engineering
09:49instead of paying the debt directly to Spain
09:52and thinking about a Spanish-Moroccan co-development.
09:56And this led us to several interesting projects,
10:00such as, for example, the project led by Abener
10:05in relation to the solar thermal plant of Eibeni-Mathar,
10:10the Tanger wind farm led by the GAMESA company,
10:14and also the control and management system of the operational strategic transport plan of the ONCF,
10:19which was led by the two companies, Adif and Indra.
10:23So, it is a very positive assessment,
10:28but now we have to reinforce, why not duplicate this model,
10:35dare in financing to encourage Spanish SMEs to settle in Morocco,
10:41and this will be for the benefit of the two countries,
10:44a creation of Moroccan jobs and an acquisition of Spanish technology,
10:49and also for Spain, the fact of developing in high-potential markets such as Morocco.
10:56To conclude, precisely, what opportunities are linked to regional integration
11:01for trade between the two kingdoms?
11:04So, for Spain, Morocco is a credible partner
11:11that has shown a legitimacy to be a gateway for Africa,
11:18so Spanish companies can indeed seize this opportunity
11:23in this beautiful political reconciliation
11:25so that Spanish companies, why not,
11:27move towards sub-Saharan African markets,
11:32and so it can be a magnificent springboard, it's a gateway.
11:35And also, Spain can be, for Morocco,
11:39an even stronger gateway to the European market.
11:45So, these are two countries that have a complementarity,
11:49that have a reciprocal interest,
11:52and we hope that this will last as long as possible.
11:55And a winning partnership.
11:57Absolutely.
11:58Thank you, Mr. Mohamed Ibn Chakhroun.
12:00You are a professor of economics at the Collège de Paris.
12:03It was a pleasure to have you with us.
12:05Thank you for this interview.
12:06The pleasure is renewed, thank you.
12:08This is the end of Focus Eco for today.
12:10We will meet again tomorrow with a new topic and a new guest.
12:12Have a very good day.