Morocco Is Now a Trade and Manufacturing Powerhouse

The country's ports and factories are humming.

- 

The sprawling port of Tanger Med on Morocco's north coast looks out onto the busy Strait of Gibraltar. Departing ships carry cars and goods to 180 locations across the globe.

In the port itself, lorries zip about on roads that shimmer in the heat. Tanger Med is set to become even larger, showing off the country's ambitions as a manufacturing and trade hub.

Morocco's position on Europe's southern doorstep (and as a northern entry to Africa) has helped it insert itself into global supply chains. Foreign investment has risen swiftly.

According to fDi Markets, a data firm, the country has drawn about US$40 billion (S$51.3 billion) of greenfield manufacturing investment since 2020, catapulting itself into the list of the world's largest recipients. As a result, Morocco's exports have risen by two-thirds in the past five years.

The country's officials attribute this success to the investor-friendly policies of King Mohammad VI, Morocco's leader. To please overseas businesses, his government has poured money into electricity generation, ports, railways, roads, and solar facilities. It spent between 25 per cent and 38 per cent of gross domestic product a year on infrastructure from 2001 to 2017, which is among the most in the world.

The results include a high-speed train that runs up the country's west coast. On the road into Tanger Med, drivers pass endless wind and solar farms, as well as special economic zones ready to welcome investment.

Perhaps the biggest draw for European firms is a free-trade agreement that was struck with the European Union in 2000. Preferential deals with 60 other countries have followed.