On March 14, 2021, the Casablanca Financial City Authority and the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council signed a partnership agreement aimed at strengthening economic cooperation and bilateral trade between the two cities in a multi-pronged manner.

The agreement includes bilateral training, exchange programs, and blueprints for the development of senior business delegations between Casablanca and Hong Kong. The two cities will take joint measures to promote trade development.

Ibrahimi, Director General of the Casablanca Financial City Authority, said: "We are very pleased to sign this agreement with the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council to consolidate our cooperation with Hong Kong, which is one of the world's leading financial centers."

Li Zhaoxing, Chairman of the Hong Kong Financial Services Development Council, said: “The Financial Services Development Committee is very pleased to establish this cooperation framework with Morocco’s counterpart Casablanca Financial City Authority. Morocco is the first African country to join the Belt and Road Initiative. Hong Kong is promoting regional and international Play a key role in cooperation.

Important Morocco

As Asian investment in Africa reaches a record high, new partnerships will follow. Despite the economic challenges posed by the coronavirus pandemic, cooperation and bilateral trade between China and African countries will continue to grow by 2020, even surpassing the United States.

Most of China's investment in Africa is concentrated in infrastructure and technology. An observer pointed out: "Nowadays, Chinese manufacturing technology has become the backbone of the network infrastructure of a few unknown African countries."

Arthur Minsat, head of the African Department of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, believes: "African countries have established such a high level of cooperation, trade and financial flows that the backbone of their relations should remain stable."

The delegations of Morocco and China will hold the China-Africa Cooperation Forum in Dakar, Senegal in 2021 to discuss further opportunities for bilateral cooperation. Editor/Tian Zengpeng