AFP, Rabat :
With contracts across Africa running into billions of dollars, Morocco is placing business at the heart of its strategy to win support for its re-entry into the African Union.
From Senegal to Madagascar, King Mohammed VI is leading a drive to invest in banking, insurance, telecoms, manufacturing and construction projects.
And while it has long nurtured warm ties with its francophone neighbours in West Africa, Morocco is now using mega-projects to mend ties with East African countries long at odds with Rabat over the Western Sahara issue.
Rabat officially requested in September to rejoin the African Union, 32 years after quitting the bloc in protest at its decision to accept Western Sahara as a member.
“The Moroccan vision consists of making its national companies real ambassadors in Africa,” said Amine Dafir, professor at Hassan II University in Mohammedia near Rabat, who labels the strategy “economic diplomacy”.
It is a drive that has seen the monarch lead a cohort of ministers and business leaders on official visits across the continent.
In recent months they have been hosted by Rwanda, Tanzania, Gabon, Senegal, Ethiopia and Madagascar, where they finished a 10-day visit on Thursday. Nigeria and Zambia are next on the list.
With contracts across Africa running into billions of dollars, Morocco is placing business at the heart of its strategy to win support for its re-entry into the African Union.
From Senegal to Madagascar, King Mohammed VI is leading a drive to invest in banking, insurance, telecoms, manufacturing and construction projects.
And while it has long nurtured warm ties with its francophone neighbours in West Africa, Morocco is now using mega-projects to mend ties with East African countries long at odds with Rabat over the Western Sahara issue.
Rabat officially requested in September to rejoin the African Union, 32 years after quitting the bloc in protest at its decision to accept Western Sahara as a member.
“The Moroccan vision consists of making its national companies real ambassadors in Africa,” said Amine Dafir, professor at Hassan II University in Mohammedia near Rabat, who labels the strategy “economic diplomacy”.
It is a drive that has seen the monarch lead a cohort of ministers and business leaders on official visits across the continent.
In recent months they have been hosted by Rwanda, Tanzania, Gabon, Senegal, Ethiopia and Madagascar, where they finished a 10-day visit on Thursday. Nigeria and Zambia are next on the list.
