HM the king: National Industrial Sovereignty Placed at Heart of Priorities Given Fragility of Global Value Chains, Significant Dependence on Imports

His Majesty King Mohammed VI said that given the fragility of global value chains, and the significant dependence on imports, Morocco’s industrial sovereignty is a top priority, noting that the Moroccan industry “is called upon today, more than ever, to promote local production in a competitive manner in order to reduce this dependence, enhance our resilience, increase our competitiveness, and consolidate Morocco’s position in promising sectors”. In a message addressed to participants in the “First National Industry Day”, which kicked off Wednesday in Casablanca, the Sovereign stressed the importance of being “fully prepared to enter a new industrial era in which the concept of sovereignty is both a goal and a means”. “To rise to this challenge, our country needs an industry that incorporates new activities and skills, and creates more jobs,” stressed HM the king in the message which was read by Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, adding that the industry should make its ability to create steady jobs for young people its foremost concern, “given that we cannot achieve any of our industrial ambitions without highly qualified human resources”. “This means the new industrial stakeholders should systematically seek to strike a balance between human capital and industrial project needs, in addition to enhancing managerial skills,” said the Sovereign. To achieve that, HM the king stressed the need to “provide our youth with solid training that takes into account current developments and changes while being open to modern technology, within the framework of a stronger public-private partnership”. “Accompanying mechanisms should also be put in place and expanded to strengthen technology and research within Moroccan companies. To this end, a system bringing together industry, academia and research centers should be set up to spur innovation and make it an engine for the growth of our industry,” underlined the Sovereign. Moreover, the industrial development we yearn for should be accompanied by efforts to accelerate carbon-neutral manufacturing, through the use of competitively-priced electricity from renewable sources, and greater energy efficiency, according to HM the king. In addition, the Moroccan industry must contribute to the preservation of water resources through water conservation measures and wastewater reuse, and also through the adoption of new technologies and solutions, the Sovereign emphasized, noting that “the Kingdom can thus become a reference in the field of responsible, sustainable, carbon-neutral production patterns, enabling us to attract foreigners looking for investment opportunities in the green economy”. HM the King also called on the industrial sector to take advantage of the dynamic created by the new Investment Charter, and to make full use of the numerous incentives granted by the regions to private investments, in light of the particularities, resources and potential of each region, so as to create, in each one of them, an economic hub that provides jobs and allows for the optimal use of its production potential. The Sovereign also invited the private sector to be engaged in areas where Moroccan brands are involved, including through investment in advanced, future-oriented sectors that rely on innovation, and to help with the emergence of a new generation of businesses across the country. “The private sector would thus contribute to the development projects underway in Morocco, thus serving the country and the citizens,” stressed HM the king.