The first two days of the delegation's visit to Morocco in Casablanca and Rabat focused on political and digital topics. On Wednesday, the focus in Tanger was on logistics.
The delegation travelled from Casablanca, the country's economic capital, to its largest port via TGV. As of November 2018, the train journey between the two cities takes only two hours, coursing through the North African country at speeds of over 300 km/h.
Minister of the Economy Etienne Schneider highlighted the Moroccan pride of their modern rail network. He pointed out that the country has invested much in its infrastructure over the past 20 years and continues to pour energy and funds into new projects. According to Schneider, these are all natural developments that make the economy prosper.
The Tanger-Med cargo port is the de facto logistics hubs connecting Africa and Europe. After all, there is only 14 km separating Tanger from Europe. The Moroccan-Luxembourgish hub planned for the port will be connected in a multimodal sense. As Daniel Liebermann, the Ministry of the Economy's logistics expert, explained, the broad goal is to connect a shipping line from Tanger to Barcelona or Marseille, where cargo will then travel through to Bettembourg via freight train. As Lierbemann put it, the entire CFL network will be able to benefit from wares brought in from Morocco.
Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume presided over the talks concerning both logistics and digitisation. His report on the mission was an overall positive one, praising the communal interests of both parties and the enormous potential in the spheres of logistics and digitisation.
Schneider announced the opening of a Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Morocco on Wednesday. The purpose of the office will be to provide support to Luxembourgish businesses hoping to trade in the North African country.
The minister explained that the initiative to open such an office shows the state's dedication and commitment to further developing its links with Morocco, proving to homegrown businesses and the Moroccan government that Luxembourg is committed.
Schneider also wagered that this is 'only the start of a development which will surely make great strides in the next years'. He highlighted the opportunities the initiative would provide to both Luxembourgish businesses and Moroccan businesses keen to work with Luxembourg.
Luxembourg already has 'Luxembourg Trade and Investment Offices' in other areas, notably San Francisco, Israel and Japan. The Casablanca office would become the 9th city to host such an institution. The delegation announced it would set up a mixed commission with the Moroccan government in order to institutionalise cooperation between the two countries.
