The Russian-Moroccan Business Forum was held in Moscow in June 2014 amid preparations for the state visit of Mohammed VI, the king of Morocco to Russia, scheduled to take part in 2015. The Forum was jointly organized by the Russian-Arab Business Council and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) with support from the Embassy of Russia in Rabat, the Embassy of Morocco in Moscow. The event was attended by a representative delegation from Morocco that included Moulay Al-Alami, Misiter of Trade, Industry and Digital Economy, and the Chairman of Moroccan-Russian Business Council, head of ASMEX Union Hassan Sentissi.
According to , the Moroccan Minister of Tourism, Lahcen Haddad, who participated in the Morocco-Russia Economic Forum, said that attracting tourists from emerging economies, especially Russia, is one of the basic goals of Morocco’s tourism vision for 2020.
According to a communiqué of the Ministry of Tourism, Haddad, who was leading a Moroccan delegation composed of stakeholders from private and public tourism sectors, stated that many effective measures have been adopted with respect to promoting and marketing tourism to Morocco and providing incentives for investment.
Haddad noted that Morocco had attracted more than 47,000 4Russian tourists in 2013, an increase of 59% over 2012.
“Though the initial results are so far encouraging, intensive efforts should be made to ensure easy access to the Moroccan market which is full of enormous potential,” said Lahcen Haddad.
He also mentioned that the Kingdom has a strategic location on the African continent which enables it to be a favorable partner for Russian investors.
Morocco seeks to attract 800,000 Russian tourists in 2020. To reach this goal, the ministry aims to accelerate the rate of maritime and coastal tourism which are magnets for Russian tourists, as well as to promote airline travel with Russia.
More than 15 million tourists travel every year to Morocco and spend about 1,300 MAD per day.
The communiqué stated that the Morocco-Russia economic forum aims to encourage information exchange and better economic relations between the two countries.
It also stated that “it is a great opportunity for both sides to promote economic relations and discover future mutually beneficial plans.”