Trade exchanges between Morocco and Brazil have shown an upward trend in recent years, reflecting the desire of Rabat and Brasília to enhance their cooperation across various fields, particularly in trade and investment. The two countries have signed numerous agreements over the past five years.
One of the key agreements signed during the official visit of Morocco’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Bourita, to Brazil in 2019 was the Cooperation and Facilitation Agreement on Investment, aimed at strengthening cooperation between Morocco and Brazil and establishing an institutional framework to facilitate investment.
In this context, the Moroccan News Agency (MAP) reported that the Brazilian Senate on Thursday approved a legislative decree concerning the Cooperation and Facilitation Agreement on Investment between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Federative Republic of Brazil. The decree was unanimously approved by the Senate members.
According to the same source, this agreement provides a framework for investors concerning technical conditions and environmental standards. It also serves as a mechanism for dialogue, dispute mitigation, and prevention, addressing issues such as expropriation, compensation for losses, transparency, transfers, precautionary and financial measures, and exceptions related to security and corporate social responsibility.
The agreement also covers governance, information exchange, and interaction with the private sector to enhance legal security for Brazilian companies and investors in Morocco and for Moroccan companies and investors in Brazil.
With the ratification of this agreement, trade relations between Morocco and Brazil are expected to witness further growth, considering the anticipated impact of increased investments between the two countries and the desire of Moroccan and Brazilian companies to explore each other's markets.
Despite a slow but steady increase, trade exchanges between Morocco and Brazil have continued to rise, reaching a total value of $2.65 billion last year, according to statistics released earlier this year by the Arab-Brazilian Chamber of Commerce.
The same source indicated that Morocco exported goods worth $1.412 billion to Brazil last year, while importing goods valued at $1.238 billion from Brazil. Morocco ranked third among Arab countries from which Brazil imports and sixth in terms of Brazil’s exports to Arab countries last year.
With the implementation of the Investment Facilitation Agreement, it is expected that the annual trade volume between the two countries could exceed $3 billion in the near future, especially considering the mutual interest of Rabat and Brasília in strengthening their relations across various sectors. A direct flight route connecting Casablanca and São Paulo was recently launched as part of these efforts.
