/ 29 August 2001

BRITAIN TO BOOST TRADE WITH MOROCCO

BRITAIN is due to launch a huge campaign in Morocco aimed at boosting trade between the two countries. Key areas to be targeted during the campaign, the first of its type, include “new information technologies, financial services and the exploration and distribution of oil,” an official source said. The three-year campaign has a budget of $1,8-million and will open in October with a fisheries trade fair held in the southern city of Agadir. Britain’s ambassador to Rabat, Anthony Layden, said he was “pleased to see Morocco be part of 14 countries picked by the British government” for a trade campaign, in an interview with the local daily L’Economiste. The campaign will be marked by a series of fairs across Morocco and various commercial exchanges, and Layden said he would call upon “British businesses to encourage others to invest in Morocco.” By the end of the campaign, Layden said he hoped Britain would become one of Morocco’s main trading partners, along with France and Spain. – AFP