CASABLANCA, December 03. /ITAR-TASS/. Morocco is Russia’s strategic partner on the international scene and the two countries’ trade and economic relations register an ascending trend, director-general of INTER RAO Engineering, Yuri Sharov, who co-chairs the Russian-Moroccan Business Council, said in an interview with Itar-Tass on Monday.
Sharov arrived in Morocco’s business and financial capital as a member of the Russian delegation to take part in the Russian Business Week in Morocco.
“The priority areas of the two countries’ cooperation are energy, industry, agriculture, fishing, construction, advanced technologies and tourism,” he said. “Moreover, cooperation in innovative technologies and renewable sources of energy is also of interest.”
“The activity of the Russian-Moroccan Business Council acquires special importance for boosting trade and economic cooperation between Russia and Morocco. It helps expand and enhance contacts among our countries’ business circles, medium and small business and stimulate bilateral relations at the federal and regional levels,” Sharov said. “We see our priority in taking traditionally friendly relations between Russia and Morocco to a qualitatively new level and in giving a fresh impetus to economic interaction.”
“High on the agenda are such pressing tasks as better investment activity, joint implementation of large-scale projects and creation of new enterprises to manufacture competitive produce,” he said.
Speaking about Moroccan business partners’ mood Sharov said “it is very friendly, active and aggressive in a good way.”
Russian ambassador to Morocco Valery Vorobyev greeted delegates and organizers of the Business Week in fluent Arabic. In particular, he called for “developing economic diplomacy between Russia and Morocco.”
The Russian diplomat emphasized importance of the Russian Business Week as “Morocco is a door to Africa.”
“Morocco and Russia have a vast potential to diversify their cooperation, especially taking into account Morocco’s intention to attract Russian investments,” said Hasan Sentissi, co-chair of the Russian-Moroccan Business Council. “Moroccan private sector is ready to cooperate with Russian partners in most different spheres.”
He said the annual trade between the two countries totaled $2.5 billion.
Representatives of almost 30 Russian companies arrived in Casablanca for the Russian Business Week.