In this context, the activities of the “Morocco-USA” investment forum were launched in Dakhla, with the aim of reviewing the qualifications and capabilities of the Dakhla region, and exploring promising investment areas in the region.
The investment forum seeks to enhance cooperation and partnership in various economic fields between the two countries, and encourage new direct US investments in the fields of agriculture, tourism, minerals and renewable energies.
The convening of this forum comes in the midst of the diplomatic and economic momentum in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, especially after the United States of America recognized Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara, and Washington’s decision to open a diplomatic representation in the city of Dakhla.
Attracting American investors
This forum, which concluded on Wednesday, included working sessions between economic actors in the public and semi-public sectors, to shed light on the business climate in the region and its development qualifications.
These sessions were devoted to introducing investment opportunities in various fields in the region, including trade and industry, handicrafts, agriculture, fishing, and tourism.
During the forum, the Moroccan Minister of Industry and Trade, Riad Mazour, stressed that the Dakhla region constitutes an important center at the continental level, based on its qualifications. These meetings aim to open new horizons for economic and trade cooperation between Morocco and the United States and discuss the various economic and investment opportunities offered by the region.
For his part, Boudija Mohamed Salem, regional director of the tourism sector in the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, confirms that the “Morocco-USA” investment forum falls within the framework of the region’s openness to American investors, and attracts new actors by highlighting the region’s qualifications.
He added in a statement to “Sky News Arabia” that this forum, which seeks to highlight investment opportunities in the Dakhla Governorate to the American investor, is part of a series of meetings that were launched in the UAE capital Abu Dhabi last November, with the aim of attracting investments from the Arab Gulf region.
According to Boudega, the American delegation interacted positively with the presentations of the participants in the forum, as many sectors attracted the interest of the members of the American delegation, especially the renewable energies sector, agriculture, tourism and other fields.
promising sectors
The investment forum constituted an opportunity to explore promising business opportunities in Dakhla, and to review the development projects that were launched during the past years. It was also an opportunity to explore the business climate in the region.
Boudija Mohamed Salem says that the forum was an occasion to present the incentives provided by Morocco to attract foreign investments to Dakhla, such as tax concessions and administrative facilities.
Boudega points out that during the forum’s work, the investment opportunities provided by each sector were highlighted, and the many peculiarities of the Dakhla region as an emerging tourist destination were reviewed, and what distinguishes it from other tourist destinations, whether inside or outside Morocco, especially as a global destination for water sports.
He pointed out to present the future vision of the region, in order to make it a beach tourism destination in the medium and long term, in addition to highlighting the quality of the tourism projects currently in the region; Either public or private.
The spokesman points out that the United States’ recognition of the Moroccan Sahara has clearly and tangibly contributed to strengthening the position of Dakhla as a tourist destination that attracts many tourists and investors from different countries of the world.
Africa Gate
A number of economic experts assert that these meetings constitute an opportunity to shed light on the qualifications of the southern regions, and a mechanism to enhance their attractiveness to foreign investors, especially those wishing to access African markets.
Economist Mohammed Al-Sharqi says that the visit of American businessmen to the city of Dakhla will allow the delegation to identify the promising investment sectors, in order to inject capital into that region.
In a statement to “Sky News Arabia”, Al Sharqi considered that Dakhla represents for American investors a gateway to the African continent and openness to its markets, thanks to the distinguished geographical location of this city, which is located on a peninsula overlooking the Atlantic coast.
In addition to the port of Dakhla, which is expected to be the largest Atlantic port in West Africa, the economist stresses that Dakhla provides promising opportunities for investment in multiple areas, foremost of which is the renewable and clean energies sector, such as wind and solar energy, pointing to the tourism qualifications that abound in it. , which makes it the focus of attention of foreign investors.
Al-Sharqi added that the expected huge US investments would contribute to strengthening the infrastructure, attracting more investors, and achieving development by creating direct and indirect job opportunities at the level of the region and the African continent as a whole.