Madrid corrects Sánchez’s mistake on the €45 billion to invest in Morocco

News

#Madrid #corrects #Sánchezs #mistake #billion #invest #Morocco

Press conference by the President of the Spanish Government Pedro Sanchez. Credit: MAP

Madrid clarified on Thursday February 22 that the investments in Morocco of 45 billion euros to which the President of the Government, Pedro Sánchez, referred during his visit to Rabat refer to Moroccan investments which involve contracts to which Spanish companies can choose, but it is not a Spanish investment, reports the EFE news agency.

Sánchez mentioned this amount during the press conference he gave at the end of his visit to Morocco, during which he was received by King Mohammed VI.

In front of journalists, the head of the Spanish executive highlighted the evolution of trade and the increase in investments in both directions, recalling that in 2022 trade between the two countries will exceed 20 billion euros.

“To this very positive development – he added – Added to this is the positioning of Spain as a leading investor in Morocco, with planned public investments of around 45 billion euros until 2050.”

He then noted that “In this sense, Morocco is making an enormous effort to modernize its economy, its country, in which Spanish companies are undoubtedly actively participating.”

Given the erroneous interpretation that these 45 billion were Spanish investments, government sources clarified that this figure corresponds to the Moroccan investments already discussed during the high-level meeting between Spain and Morocco held in Rabat on last year.

The Minister of Transport, Óscar Puente, also raised this issue in the same sense on social networks.

Also Read: Robert Fico and the coalition will not fulfill the most important thing they promised - Petr Bárdy's comment

“The one who will invest 45 billion in its infrastructure is Morocco, and those who opt for these contracts are our companies. This is why Sánchez went to Morocco,” he writes on X.

The one who is going to invest 45,000 million in its infrastructure is Morocco, and the one who opts for these contracts is our companies. That’s why Sánchez went to Morocco. Punctual 24 hours of lying, every single minute of those 24 hours. pic.twitter.com/L4le1JFEou

— Oscar Puente (@oscar_puente_) February 22, 2024

At last year’s summit, the two countries expressed interest in increasing Spanish investments in Morocco and signed an 800 million euro financial protocol to facilitate them.

Spanish sources then explained that the Moroccan government plans to develop the country with an investment of 45 billion euros until 2050, including areas in which Spain is at the forefront.

They added that the objective is to increase the number of Spanish companies operating in Morocco and to take advantage of existing investment opportunities, mainly in the railway and water treatment fields.

During this Wednesday’s visit to Rabat, government sources explained that they had mentioned the growing number of Spanish companies in Morocco but at the same time the still little presence of Ibex35 companies and the possibility of working for increase.