400 million for Spanish companies in Morocco

The Spanish government will finance with 400 million euros investment projects by Spanish companies in Morocco, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy told a joint press conference with his Moroccan counterpart Abdelilah Benkiran at the end of a bilateral summit yesterday in Rabat. Rajoy said that, at a time of crisis, Morocco represents an internationalization opportunity for Spanish businesses which the government means to continue to support with the extension of a credit line opened in 2008 and new funding totalling 400 million euros. After stressing the good relations existing between the two countries, the Spanish premier noted that Morocco's economy has significantly grown in the past decade but needs to continue promoting investments in several sectors including infrastructure, education, health care, energy, telecommunications, agriculture and tourism. He also recalled how the Maghreb country is the second main non-EU market for Spain after the United States with some 20,000 Spanish businesses exporting to Morocco and 700 companies, mostly small and medium-sized, operating in the country.