A Moroccan business delegation, led by the kingdom's Ambassador to the united states Youssef Amrani, met with senior executives and major operators of the New York Stock Exchange on Monday. This visit underscores the «new impetus given to the strategic relations uniting the Kingdom and the United States in various fields, including the promotion of capital markets», reads a press release by the Moroccan Embassy. The mission, jointly conducted by the Casablanca Stock Exchange and the Moroccan Capital Market Authority (AMMC), aims to strengthen cooperation and exchange between financial operators in both countries. During this meeting, Ambassador Amrani highlighted the «solidity of the multidimensional relations uniting Morocco and the United States» and the «dynamic cooperation underway across the entire ecosystem of the Moroccan and American capital markets». The Free Trade Agreement (FTA) signed in 2004, followed by its implementation in 2006, has significantly strengthened US-Morocco economic ties. Morocco is the US's fourth-largest trading partner in Africa, and the US is Morocco's third-largest globally. Ambassador Amrani pointed to a «substantial increase in American investment» in Morocco, with US operations accounting for over 30% of total foreign direct investment (FDI) in 2023. Bilateral trade has also seen a significant rise, reaching five billion dollars in 2023 compared to just 925 million in 2005. The delegation included representatives from leading Moroccan financial institutions such as the Casablanca Stock Exchange, AMMC, Banque Centrale Populaire, CFG Bank, and MAROCLEAR.
