BENAGLURU: Morocco, which is a major source of phosphates for India, is planning to open a consulate in Bengaluru. It already has consulates in Mumbai and Kolkata. “We have a national plan to increase our presence in India. Our aim is to grow together and have India as one of our top 10 partners by 2025,” said Mohamed Maliki, Ambassador of Morocco to India, who is leading a high-level trade delegation from Morocco to India on a six-day visit, beginning with Bengaluru.
“We have outsourced visa services whereby potential investors can apply in cities wherever they are and multiple visas for a period of one year will be processed within 3 to 5 days,” he added. Morocco Now is the national brand that promotes investments and exports in the country. It is expected to boost bilateral trade between Morocco and India, which is currently around $2.1 billion. While India’s exports to Morocco straddle different industries such as automotive, textiles, pharmaceutical, India’s imports from Morocco are dominated by phosphate and potash.
India is the fourth-largest trading partner of Morocco and the 13th-largest supplier to the country in the first half of 2021. “Morocco has set up a vast range of industrial acceleration zones spread across the Kingdom, which offer foreign investors several advantages including total exemption from Corporate Income Tax for the first five years of operations and a fixed 15% for every year that follows,” said Youssef El Bari, Director General (CEO) Moroccan Agency for Investment and Export Development. At least 35 Indian companies have already set up shop in Morocco including Varroc Lighting Systems, Steel Strip Wheels, Mahindra & Mahindra (M&M), among others.