Royal message to National Industry Day participants

His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him, translated a message to the participants in the first edition of “the National Day of Industry”, which opened on Wednesday in Casablanca.

Here is the full text of royal messageread out by the Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour.

“Praise be to God, Prayer and Greetings on the Prophet, His family and His companions.

Ladies and gentlemen,

It is particularly pleasant for Us to address the participants in this first edition of the “National Industry Day“. We wanted to place this event under Our High Patronage, thus reaffirming all the interest that We have in the promotion of this vital sector of the national economic fabric, considered as an essential lever and a catalyst for inclusive socio-economic development and sustainable.

Also, we want this National Industry Day be part of the calendar of major economic events, as an annual meeting of the sector and its operators. We also give as orientation that its next editions will be declined at the regional level in order to highlight the local industrial potentialities and to deal with the challenges specific to each region.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Over the past two decades, Morocco has made significant progress in the industrial field. The key to this success lies in the fact that the national industry is based on the principle of global economic openness and relies on ambitious strategies, clearly defined and deployed within the framework of a global territorial vision.

These strategies were designed to makeindustry a central lever of the economic development of morocco, a major provider of investment, a catalyst for production and export and a vector of growth and development at the service of citizens. Their support was provided through the establishment of a network of industrial, logistical and energy infrastructures and the implementation of structural reforms to improve the business climate, skills training and the competitiveness of industry. Moroccan.

These achievements and these assets, coupled with the political and macro-economic stability of the Kingdom and its industrial know-how, have enabled themoroccan industry to position itself in highly technological professions and specializations and to be an engine of growth, production and export.

This is how the Morocco has become today an essential world destination in cutting-edge sectors, such as the automobile industry, in which our country has become a continental leader, as well as the aeronautical industries for which the Kingdom constitutes an attractive platform providing materials, parts and components they would come.

At the same time, the Kingdom confirmed its status as a major player in the global food security in general and in Africa in particular, through the development of its fertilizer industry, offering farmers quality products that are affordable and adapted to the needs of the soils and crops of each region.

For its part, the national agro-food industry, by contributing to the development of the fisheries and agricultural resources of our countries, contributes to the strengthening of the food sovereignty.

The textile and leather sector has also been able to take advantage of changes in global value chains by positioning itself in sustainable segments with higher added value.

All of these sectors and many others that have experienced similar growth dynamics, particularly in exports, have strengthened the resilience of our industry. They enabled him to curb the impact of the Covid-19 crisis and to play a vital role in consolidating the industrial, health and food sovereignty of our country.

Ladies and gentlemen,

The global economic situation, characterized by geopolitical conflicts, has caused areas of turbulence which are gaining in intensity under the effect of climate change with ever-increasing impacts; so much so that the securing of vital supplies and the inflation of their prices have been negatively activated. Faced with the vulnerabilities of global value chains and the strong dependence on imports, the sovereignty of our country in this area is at the heart of priorities. For this, our industry is called, today more than ever, to make local production more competitive in order to reduce this dependence, to further strengthen our resilience and our competitiveness, to provide Morocco with a foothold in promising sectors.

Also, we must prepare to inaugurate a new industrial era carried towards and by the notion of sovereignty. To succeed in this challenge, our country needs an industry integrating new activities and new know-how and offering more job opportunities.

This is why the industry must make its ability to create long-term jobs for young people its first challenge. Industrial ambition can only be driven by human capital with enhanced capacities and skills.

Also, the new industrial tissue must generalize the adaptation of human capital to the specific needs of industrial projects and strengthen managerial skills. To this end, it is necessary to provide young people with quality training in tune with new needs and new changes and open to new technologies, within the framework of a private public partnership more reinforced.

It will also be necessary to set up and expand the support mechanisms in favor of strengthening the technological infrastructure and R&D (Research and Development) within Moroccan companies and the creation of an ecosystem of industry-university-research centers. research, to support innovation and make it an engine of growth for Moroccan industry.

On the other hand, this move upmarket that the industry will have to operate, necessarily implies its accelerated transition towards low-carbon production through access to electricity produced from renewable sources at competitive prices and the improvement of its energy efficiency.

Furthermore, themoroccan industry is called upon to contribute to the preservation of water resources by rationalizing the use of water and reusing wastewater and by resorting to new technologies and solutions.

The Kingdom can thus become a reference in terms of carbon-free, responsible and sustainable production methods and attract foreign investors seeking opportunities in green economy sectors.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Given the importance of the priorities we have defined, and given the role and responsibility for which the private sector must perform alongside the State in the industrial field by taking up the current challenges and exploiting the existing opportunities, We call on this sector to take advantage of the momentum set in motion by the new Investment Charter. We also urge it to take advantage of the many incentives granted by the regions to private investment, according to the specific characteristics, resources and potential available to them, so that in each of them there is an economic pole capable of to create jobs and realize the full productive potential of the territories.

We also invite it to direct its efforts towardsproductive investment, including in cutting-edge and future sectors, carried by Moroccan brands and to aim for the emergence of a new generation of companies throughout the national territory. Thus, he will be able to contribute to the development projects that our country is experiencing and serve the interests of the Nation and the citizens.

Finally, we hope that this national meeting will be an opportunity to put in place sound and solid foundations to further promote the industrial sector in our country, in order to make it a vector of growth and sustainable development, generating value. and jobs.

May God guide your steps and grant you full success in your work.

Wassalamou alaikoum warahmatoullahi wabarakatouh”

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