Rabat — The 14th US-Africa Business Summit 2022, which took place from July 19 to 22 in Marrakech, was a success, according to the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Participants in this summit, organized under the High Patronage of HM King Mohammed VI, were able to exchange during 3 days around the opportunities to strengthen industrial links, investment and trade between our continent and the United States, said the ministry in a statement.
This event brought together senior U.S. and African government officials from more than 50 countries, 6 FMs and over 20 ministers representing different sectors, in addition to representatives of U.S. and African government agencies, investment and pension funds and international and regional organizations.
The summit gathered more than 1,500 participants, 80% of which were from the major U.S. and African business communities and 40% of which were women.
The event was divided into 37 sessions dealing with issues of health and food sovereignty, innovation, new technologies, energy and infrastructure, topics covered by more than 200 representatives of national and African media, the same source said, according to the same source.
This event, which was attended by more than 450 U.S. economic operators including Pfizer, Visa, Citi, Procter & Gamble, Chevron, Coca Cola, Google and major African groups, has achieved more than 5,000 connections with many business contracts signed.
This summit was an opportunity for Morocco to consolidate its role as a bridge between Africa and the United States and to encourage the construction of a forward-looking African economy, drawing strength from its integration into the global system and international value chains.
The closing plenary of the event, organized under the theme “Building the Future Together,” provided an opportunity to collectively reflect on the future of a promising continent at all levels.
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On this occasion, the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, emphasized the vision of His Majesty the King in adopting “a coherent and integrated policy towards our African brothers, based on a joint investment of wealth, human development and strengthening economic cooperation.”
Despite a difficult context full of challenges and marked by the reconfiguration of the international economy, Africa has all the assets to be an active player and better integrate into the global value chains and transformation.
African companies have a key role to play and are called upon to take commercial risks to seize the opportunities offered by a larger market by expanding their manufacturing base.
“Our priorities as African countries must be to put sovereignty at the heart of all sector strategies and to see it as a priority for securing supply and employment. We must commit to encouraging local manufacturing, creating strategic reserves for certain key products, and diversifying sources of supply for energy and food,” Mezzour said.
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