Mr. Moulay Hafid Elalamy, Minister of Industry, Investment, Trade and the Digital Economy, received on Friday 26 May 2017, in Rabat, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman, Indian Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Commerce & Industry.

The meeting, which was held in conjunction with the 5th Moroccan-Indian Joint Commission, aims to examine the prospects for bilateral economic cooperation, in light of the potential of the two countries.

On this occasion, the two Ministers welcomed the evolution that has marked Moroccan-Indian relations in the recent years which were enhanced by the historic visit of his Majesty the King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, to India, in October 2015, to take part in the third India-Africa Forum Summit, which provided an opportunity for the two countries to gauge the outstanding ties that bring them together.

Both parties agree, moreover, on the importance of further strengthening the economic partnership by boosting trade and promoting investment as they are at the heart of future cooperation actions.

In this respect, Mr. El Alamy stated that "The potential of the Moroccan-Indian partnership can only be fully unleashed through a strong South-South cooperation promoting socially responsible and supportive partnerships and facilitating technology transfer in a proactive approach with the aim of creating sustainable employment, shared wealth and values".

For her part, Mrs. Nirmala Sitharaman stressed that this meeting demonstrates the depth and quality of the bilateral relationship based on a solid and long-lasting, partnership with the shared will to consolidate the multidimensional relations existing between the two countries.

Furthermore, the meeting was an opportunity for exchanging on many issues of common interest and to consider, in particular, the measures to be implemented to further boost business partnership.

On this subject, and as far as Indian direct investments in Morocco are concerned, it is worth mentioning that they concern sectors as diverse as the chemical industry, the production of car bodies, offshoring,and the pharmaceutical industry. They present a great scope for complementarity and shared competitiveness, which will serve the mutual interests of the two countries.

About exchanges between Morocco and India: - Trade has decreased by an average of-3,5% during the period 2011-2016, from slightly more than 2 billion $ in $2011 to 1.4 billion in 2016. - Moroccan exports to India have declined by an average of 7.12% between 2011 and 2016, reaching 756 million dollars in 2016, against 1,5 billion dollars in 2011. - Moroccan imports from India increased by an average of 9% during the said period, from 596 million dollars in 2011 to 631 million dollars in the past year. - Indian FDI in Morocco: their volume has experienced a steady decline since 2011, from 42 million dollars to 18.7 million dollars in 2015, representing nearly 0.5% share of FDI attracted by Morocco.