[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 12]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 17975-17976]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE U.S.-MOROCCAN ECONOMIC AND SECURITY PARTNERSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. STEVE COHEN

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 21, 2013

  Mr. COHEN. Mr. Speaker, this week I had the pleasure of attending a 
business meeting with a high level delegation from Morocco during His 
Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco's visit to Washington. During this 
meeting, we discussed U.S.-Morocco trade and I am glad that FedEx, a 
major provider of high value-added logistics, transportation and other 
business services that is headquartered in my district, was also able 
to take part in this constructive meeting. As Morocco was the first 
country with whom the U.S. signed a treaty of commerce and friendship, 
I commend this week's meeting as symbolic of our long and trusted 
relationship.
  The business delegation meeting was hosted by our former colleague, 
Toby Moffet, and the Mayer Brown law firm. The Moroccan delegation 
included: Mr. Abdessalam Ahizoune, CEO of Maroc Telecom; Mr. Mohamed El 
Kettani, CEO of Attijariwafa Bank; Mr. Karim Hajji, CEO of the 
Casablanca Stock Exchange; and Mr. Said Ibrahimi, CEO of the Moroccan 
Finance Board. In addition to FedEx, which is present in 55 African 
countries and growing, American companies represented at the meeting 
were JP Morgan Chase, BNY Mellon, Citi, Bank of America, Chevron and 
the Global Cold Chain Storage Alliance. We heard from Mr. Said 
Ibrahimi, who also serves as the head of the Casablanca Finance City 
project, on how the city of Casablanca is positioning itself as a 
location for U.S. multinational companies to consider for their African 
headquarters. This would significantly increase economic opportunities 
in the region and expand markets for U.S. companies.
  In addition to our strong business ties, the U.S. and Morocco share 
similar democratic values and common foreign policy goals in North 
Africa and the Middle East. In August 2011, I spearheaded a letter to 
His Majesty King Mohammed VI recognizing Morocco's constitutional 
reforms that included protections for the rights of vulnerable groups 
and a national plan to promote human rights. His Majesty King Mohammed 
VI also established the Economic and Social Council to ensure that all 
Moroccans are afforded opportunities for economic independence. Since 
that time, His Majesty King Mohammed VI has shown great leadership in 
his dedication to his people and support for broader democratic reforms 
and decentralization of decision-making to the local level. Morocco has 
also lent its support to emerging democracies across the African 
continent as well as long-overdue peace agreements between Israelis and 
the Palestinians. It is indeed refreshing to see the enormously 
constructive role Morocco continues to play not only in its region but 
across the continent and beyond.
  As we welcome His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco and his 
delegation to Washington, let us remember that Morocco was the first 
country to recognize our independence and that today, we share 
commitments to peace, democracy, regional stability and economic 
stability. Through our continued cooperation and increased business 
relationships, we will continue to meet our common security and 
economic goals while strengthening our relationship for years to come.

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