INVESTMENTS and tourism are set for big boost as Dar es Salaam rolled out red carpet to Moroccan King Mohammed VI who landed in Dar es Salaam on Sunday with 150 powerful delegation for a three-day state visit and private tour.
The Royal King of Morocco is in his
second stage of royal visit to East Africa that is aimed at forging
diplomatic and economic ties with a region largely ignored by the north
African country up until now.
The tour by the Royal King is expected
to pave the way for broader economic cooperation and raise the flow of
Moroccan investment to Tanzania with signing of agreements in several
key areas such as air transport, tourism, infrastructure and energy.
King Mohammed VI’s visit to Tanzania is
“an unprecedented historic event for this country of East Africa,” said
Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr Augustine Mahiga. “We are obviously
delighted by the visit of the King of Morocco that will enable both
countries to forge deeper relationships, thanks to the political ties
binding the Monarchy and President John Magufuli, who opened the way for
broader economic cooperation,” Mahiga told the press on the occasion of
the official visit of the King.
The tour of East Africa “is also a way
to get closer to countries which historically had positions which were
hostile to Morocco’s interests”, a Moroccan source is quoted by
international media.
“We have never had any presence, neither
diplomatic nor economic, nor cultural, nor historic, with East Africa,”
a high-ranking member of the king’s delegation said on condition of
anonymity.
“Aside from west and central Africa we
must open up to east Africa and that is what is under way. The context
of Morocco’s return to the African Union is there too of course, and
these are important countries in the AU.”
Rabat officially requested to rejoin the
AU in September, 32 years after quitting the bloc in protest at its
decision to accept Western Sahara as a member. Analysts say King
Mohammed VI tour of East Africa which followed another he made to
various countries in West Africa is part of Morocco’s drive to expand
its economic and political influence across sub-Saharan Africa after the
southern European region where it had focused much experienced economic
crises.
There is sound economic logic to the way
Morocco is pushing to expand its commercial ties in the south and east.
As France and Spain struggle to recover from the eurozone crisis,
Moroccan companies that have traditionally looked north are seeking new
opportunities in the fast-growing economies of West Africa.
“Southern Europe is in the doldrums, so
Morocco is looking for new markets and also opportunities for its
banking sector,” Michael Willis, a lecturer on Maghreb politics at
Oxford University, told Al Jazeera.
In Rwanda, Mohammed met with President Paul Kagame and signed 19 bilateral agreements, mostly in the economic sector.
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