A Moroccan trade delegation recently spent 11 days in the United States, where it met with a number of American companies including computer giant International Business Machines Corporation (IBM), Amazon, and Juniper Networks.
Organized by the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA), the delegation led by Secretary-General of the Ministry of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform Sarah Lamrani visited Austin, Texas, and Silicon Valley, California from February 10-21.
The purpose of the visit was to attract investment to Morocco’s digital sector. The delegation met with American officials and held discussions focused on electronic administrative services, data centers, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, and cybersecurity.
Lamrani told news agency MAP that the business trip also provided an opportunity to promote Morocco as a regional hub. She highlighted the country’s achievements in technological infrastructure, improving quality, and developing an innovation ecosystem and the strategic direction of the “Morocco Digital 2030” plan.
“Major American companies may be interested in growth and expansion opportunities in an emerging market like Morocco,” noted Lamrani, highlighting Morocco’s strategic location, skilled labor force, and its position as a gateway to other African markets.
Given that American digital companies are at the forefront of innovation and technology, she said, “we seek to benefit from their know-how and learn from their best practices to drive growth in the digital sector in Morocco.”
USTDA’s MENA region director Gretchen Krantz Evans said that the trade agency “is delighted to share American solutions with countries like Morocco that are looking to do more to implement systems that serve their population and support economic growth.”
“We collaborate to identify viable projects that can advance local objectives and in which American companies can provide technologies and solutions,” she said. She cited the USTDA-funded 2022 feasibility study for the Marrakech Water and Electricity Distribution Authority to transform the city’s electricity distribution infrastructure into a smart grid.
“We will continue to work with our Moroccan partners to identify future opportunities in digital infrastructure and other sectors,” she added.
The Moroccan delegation included representatives from all sectors involved in the digital economy, including the Digital Development Agency, the General Directorate of Information Systems Security, the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises, the Association of Information Systems Users in Morocco, the Moroccan Federation of Information Technology, Telecommunications, and Offshoring, and Technopark.