Somed is the main reference point for investors interested in tapping into Morocco’s many riches and an important source of job creation on a national scale

The Kasbah Agadir Hotel is a premier holiday village with 212 rooms and five hectares.

ince its independence from France in 1956, Morocco has become a stalwart of the Arab League – the group of 77 developing nations under the auspice of the United Nations, the Froncophonie and the Mediterranean Dialogue Group, among other international cooperative organizations. It is also a major ally of the United States, although not yet a member of NATO. Indeed, in its half-century of self-governance, Morocco has become a paradigm for bridge-building Arab nations, strengthening ties with western states while fomenting accord between the myriad nations of the Arab League.

Somed was formed in 1982 as an economic and strategic alliance between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. Designed to foster the social and economic progress of a liberated Morocco, the group was the brainchild of the late King Hassan II and His Highness the late Sheikh Zayed Bin Sultan Al-Nahyan.

Focusing primarily on tourism, Somed has grown to become an integral part of the development of the nation as a whole. Its shareholders are the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development, the Moroccan Treasury and various private institutional investors. With a share capital of nearly 100 million dirhams ($12.5 million), the function of Somed is to nurture investment in Morocco from the UAE and other international partners.

In order to achieve its goals, the principal target being to attract ten million tourists to Morocco annually by 2010 under a government-envisaged national plan, Somed works in collaboration with international industry leaders including Accor, Kerzner International, Sheraton, Ramada, Véolia Environnement and Sevena. At present, the group is responsible for the running of seven hotels and holiday resorts with a capacity of 3,500 beds in the cities of Casablanca, Marrakech, Agadir and Tangiers. These businesses are operated through shareholdings in Delma, SFAPM, Atlantis, Palmare and UMET. As a collaborative arrangement, investment is met by Somed’s application of its land use and planning permission agreements, which allow for investors to side-step officialdom. It also provides local knowledge to facilitate a mutually beneficial business environment and to provide a reference point for joint ventures.

MOUATASSIM BELGHAZI Chairman and CEO of Somed Group

Key to Somed’s plans are its consortium partners Kerzner, Istithmar, CDG and MAMDA/MCMA. In conjunction with these companies, Somed plans to construct a five-star luxury hotel in the Aguedal quarter of Marrakech by the end of the year, a four-star hotel in Fez and to see the completion of the Mazagan Project in the resort of El Jadida.

“Relations between Morocco and the UAE have been historically exemplary thanks to the friendship between the two heads of state,” explains Mouatassim Belghazi, Chairman and CEO of Somed. “The strongest expression of the excellence of these relations is the private Emirate investors who believed in these political relations. They are present in Morocco today and they reinforce the dynamics the country is experiencing. In the last decade in particular, under the reign of His Majesty Mohamed VI, the liberalization and dynamism of the economic foundation of Morocco have experienced an unprecedented acceleration.”

Mr. Belghazi adds, “Since 2000, Morocco has adopted a realistic strategy when dealing with key sectors such as tourism. Reforms of this nature require political courage and the result of this policy today is an open Morocco that provides a promising building site for the coming years.

“All of our facets have been mobilized, the economic factors, the civil state and public authority – for the first time all of these aspects have converged towards one objective only: to build the Morocco of tomorrow. I have met new investors who see our country as one of the best destinations for investment in the Arab world, as well as on the international stage. For those people, Morocco is a priority.”