After the strict conditions that Morocco set against Turkey in order to keep the free trade agreement between them, the Turkish side asked the Moroccan government to extend the negotiation period, which ended today, Thursday.
Hafeez Al-Alami, Minister of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital Economy revealed today, Thursday, during the work of the Government Council, that the Turkish side requested that it be given an additional deadline until next week to respond to the demands of Morocco.
El Hassan Abiaba, Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports, the government's spokesman, said in the press conference that followed the work of the government council that Morocco has the right to review the trade agreement with the Turkish side in accordance with what is included in international laws.
In his answer to the press’s questions, “The Government’s Lips” stated that “all countries review international agreements on the basis of mutual benefits for the exchange of goods and services.”
On January 1st, it was agreed between Morocco and Turkey to "review the terms of the current free trade agreement in order to achieve more balanced trade." It was also agreed at the time that the two countries would start immediately to work on the points of contention regarding the free exchange agreement, and to assess the progress recorded around it until January 30.
Hafeez Al-Alami, Minister of Industry, Trade and Green and Digital Economy, had a meeting with a Turkish delegation headed by Rohsar Bekjan, Turkish Minister of Trade, to discuss solutions to overcome the damage of the free trade agreement.
The parties agreed, according to the joint statement, to reduce the losses caused by Turkish trade to the Moroccan economy, by "raising bilateral trade between the two countries to a more balanced level, and encouraging Turkish investors to invest in Morocco in the productive industry, and encouraging Moroccan exports to Turkey."
Minister Hafeez Al-Alami previously confirmed that Morocco cannot continue the free trade agreement with Turkey in the current form, and said: "I clearly told them to either find solutions to review this agreement, or tear it apart."
Al-Alami stressed in his statement that "the most important thing is that the current agreement in which Morocco registers a deficit of about two billion dollars (equivalent to 19 billion dirhams), and considered it" impossible to not address it. "
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