An economic forum bringing together Moroccan and Ivorian businessmen was held on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire. The forum focuses on investment opportunities in the water and sanitation sector in the two countries. It is an initiative of the Moroccan Association for Drinking Water and Sanitation (AMEPA) and the Moroccan Center for the Promotion of Exports (Maroc Export) in collaboration with the Ivorian Center for the Promotion of Investments and the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Côte d'Ivoire.

The achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) Number 6, “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all,” requires a sustained investment policy. Indeed, the United Nations is alarmed that the Earth risks facing a water deficit of about 40 percent by 2030 if water resources continue to be consumed as they are today. Therefore, the Moroccan Association for Drinking Water and Sanitation (AMEPA), a member organization of the African Water Association (AfWA), and the Moroccan Center for the Promotion of Exports (Maroc EXpo) organized this economic forum on investments in the water and sanitation sectors in a bid to increase investment opportunities through a South-South Cooperation approach. AfWA was represented on this occasion by its Programs Director, Dr. Siméon KENFACK.

At the opening, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Côte d'Ivoire, HE Mr. Abdelmalek KETTANI, welcomed the excellent quality of the economic and trade relations between the two countries. The presence of Moroccan investors alongside Ivorian businessmen reflects the good dynamics of South-South cooperation for the increase in bilateral financial flows, he said. The two countries are, thanks to mutual investments, the driving force behind the development of the West African region, added the Director of Maroc Export, Mrs. Zahra MAAFIRI.
“Low wastewater treatment rates, inadequate connections to drinking water in rural areas, maintenance and operation of water systems in urban areas, access to adequate sanitation services are all challenges for which investments are necessary,” Mrs. MAAFIRI continued. More than 420 B-to-B meetings were planned for the day and attended by about a hundred Ivorian companies in the drinking water and sanitation sector.

Water and sanitation are issues in which Morocco is a model of expertise recognized and envied by Côte d'Ivoire. The creation of the current National Office for Drinking Water was inspired by the example of Morocco, underlined Mr. BERTHE Ibrahima, the Director General of ONEP. The B-to-B meeting phase took place at the end of the speech series. Long before, Mrs. Caroline VERSTEEG, the Director of Attractions at the Center for the Promotion of Investments in Cote d'Ivoire (CEPICI), presented on investment opportunities and the business environment in Côte d'Ivoire.

This day was an opportunity for Moroccan and Ivorian investors from the water and sanitation sector to present the opportunities, their expertise and know-how, in order to build strong and beneficial partnerships for both parties. Leaving behind a "lessons-giving" and "wealth-takers" model, and embracing a "win-win" partnership approach for the economic development of the African continent, as welcomed by Mr. Mohamed IDRISSI Jamal-Eddine, the Deputy Director-General of the MARCHICA MED Group.

The MARCHICA MED Group is a Moroccan company engaged in Côte d'Ivoire in the vast program for the development of the Bay of Cocody for an investment of 450 million US dollars co-financed by the State of Cote d'Ivoire to the tune of 18%. The rest of the funds is provided by donors including the African Development Bank, the Kuwait Development Fund and the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa.
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