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Moroccan investors seek untapped business opportunities in Rwanda

Xinhua, October 19, 2016 Adjust font size:

A high powered Moroccan delegation composed mainly of high profile business leaders and entrepreneurs will explore potential areas of investment.

The team is in Rwanda to establish mutual and strategic business partnerships with the Rwandan private sector and expand Moroccan business ventures to the central African nation.

The Moroccan business delegation comes at a time when the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, visits Rwanda to strengthen bilateral ties.

King Mohammed VI arrived in Kigali on Tuesday night, which was the first tour of the monarch made to East African nations since his 1999 coronation. He will also visit Tanzania and Ethiopia.

The three-day state visit to Rwanda comes within the strategy designed by King Mohammed VI in recent years, which aims to diversify its partnerships, strengthen its ties with the most important players on the African continent.

Speaking to reporters on Wednesday during the Moroccan investor's breakfast meeting with members of Rwanda's private sector, Francis Gatare, Chief Executive of Rwanda Development Board said that business personnel from Morocco have expressed interest in investing in several sectors of the Rwandan economy.

"Rwanda has huge, abundant and untapped investment opportunities that need to be explored. That is why our government has put considerable attention for sectors like energy, telecommunication, agriculture, real estate, tourism, mining, manufacturing and infrastructure," he said.

"Our country needs increased investment to build its economy, lift its citizens out of poverty as well as enable the country reach middle income status," he said.

Gatare added that Rwanda has put in place investor-friendly legislation with attracting incentive packages to encourage its growth.

According to Mohamed Boussaid, Minister of Economy and Finance, Kingdom of Morocco, members of Moroccan business community have identified several areas of investments in Rwanda.

"We are looking forward to increasing our business engagements with Rwanda in various sectors of the economy. Each member of the delegation has his own area of interest," he said.

Rwanda has offered investment incentives to investors engaged in prioritized sectors. In addition, the government is currently expanding industrial parks, special economic zones with adequate infrastructure to speed up industrialization in the country.

Later in the day, 19 bilateral cooperation agreements in the areas of finance and banking, manufacturing, pharmaceutical tourism, security, as well as housing and real estate, among others, were signed by respective officials from both Rwanda and Morocco in the presence of the King of Morocco, Mohammed VI, and Rwanda President Paul Kagame in an event held at the President's Office, Village Urugwiro. Endit