Bilateral ties between the UAE and Morocco are opening up many opportunities for investors

n the 18th and 19th June 2007, a delegation of Emirati businessmen visited their counterparts in Morocco and, in the presence of the prime minister, explored different investment and cooperation opportunities between the two nations. The focus was the fields of hotels and services, as well as environmental issues, with the overall aim of further promoting the Moroccan experience. It was more than just a business meeting, however. It was a culmination of years of mutual respect and dialogue, fomented by the two late heads of state and continued by their successors, the same which has melded the two countries together in the spirit of shared progress for decades.

“The opening up of the Moroccan economy, the political stability in the country, its diverse partnerships with EU countries and the important plans they have set in place in the tourism sector are all factors that have encouraged us to invest here,” affirmed M. Salah bin Omeir al-Shamsi, the leader of the Emirati delegation.

Furthermore, in July this year an agreement to construct a $1-billion, 200-hectare residential and tourism project in Marrakech was signed at a ceremony chaired by King Mohammed VI and the President of the UAE, Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

The resort is to be called Atlas Garden, and will feature an 18-hole golf course, three hotels with a capacity of 2,500 beds, residential housing, commercial outlets for local handicrafts, and a shopping mall. The development is slated for completion in 2012 and will create around 6,500 jobs.