Senegalese Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko called for a Morocco–Senegal economic partnership based on co-production and the integration of value chains, on Tuesday in Casablanca.
“We want to move from economic ties that are still largely centered on trade flows to one founded on productive complementarity, co-production, local processing, and the integration of our respective value chains,” Sonko said at the opening of an economic meeting held on the sidelines of the 15th Morocco–Senegal High Joint Commission, in the presence of Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch.
Referring to the volume of bilateral trade, the Senegalese Prime Minister noted that “the figures show that our economic relationship is progressing, certainly, but remains well below its strategic potential.”
He added: “We do not simply want to buy and sell. We want to produce, invest, process, and export together. Above all, we want to consume together.”
Sonko emphasized the importance of boosting trade on a more balanced basis through the establishment of a joint trade committee and the exchange of economic and commercial information to gain a better understanding of the Moroccan and Senegalese markets.
He further welcomed the cooperation and partnership agreements, memoranda of understanding, and protocols signed on Monday in Rabat, considering that these agreements create new opportunities for collaboration that the private sector must seize in order to further consolidate cooperation between the two countries.
He also affirmed that the presence of the Senegalese delegation at this meeting illustrates the commitment of both countries, under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the President of the Republic of Senegal, Bassirou Diomaye Faye, to support and accompany initiatives led by private-sector operators.