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New Zealand ’s bilateral relationship with Morocco is friendly but mostly limited to trade. Exports to Morocco for the year to June 2007 amounted to NZ$33.3 million. Traditional products such as butter, cheese and casein remain the most important exports from New Zealand. Fonterra/New Zealand Milk Products has a distribution agreement with a major importer in Morocco. Imports from Morocco totalling NZ$167.9 million during the same period, comprised mainly of phosphate and fertilizer. Morocco is New Zealand’s main source of phosphates. In 1998, the Auckland Regional Chamber of Commerce signed a business cooperation agreement with the Confederation General des Enterprises du Maroc.
Fisheries has been identified as a developing area for co-operation, facilitated by a Memorandum of Conversation between the New Zealand and Moroccan Fisheries Ministers signed in November 2001. Two New Zealand fisheries companies, Sealord and Prepared Foods Limited, are currently exploring joint venture project opportunities in Morocco.
Morocco 's programme of economic reform is expected to improve New Zealand's access to an increasingly important butter market. But, over the longer term, Morocco’s Association Agreement with the European Union is likely to have a negative impact on the prospects for exports of traditional agricultural commodities from New Zealand. There are good prospects for further cooperation between the New Zealand and Moroccan fishing industries.
New Zealand supports UN processes aimed at resolving the stalemate that has developed over the question of self-determination by the Sahrawi people in Western Sahara. There is a sizeable Sahrawi community in Australia. The Polisario Liberation Front has sent representatives to New Zealand on a regular basis to raise awareness of the issue. New Zealand has not taken an active role in the Western Sahara debate, but New Zealand maintains a strong commitment to the processes of the United Nations, and peace efforts endorsed by subsequent UNSC resolutions. top of page
Official Name - Kingdom of Morocco - Land Area - 710,850 sq km (including the disputed territory of the Western Sahara which covers 252,120 sq km) Population - 30.9 million (2006 est., including Western Sahara) - Capital City - Rabat - Language - Arabic. Berber languages, French (for business) and Spanish are also used. - Religion - Muslim (98%)
Political system -
Constitutional monarchy, in which the king is the dominant political figure with
a dual role as temporal leader and spiritual and moral guide.
- National government -
Council of Ministers, chosen and headed by the Prime Minister. The king appoints
the prime minister and approves appointments to the Council of Ministers
- National
legislature -
Bi-cameral Parliament, consisting of a directly elected 325-seat lower House
of Representatives and a 270-seat upper Chamber of Advisers indirectly elected
by an electoral college
- Last election -
September 2003 (local); September 2002 (House of Representatives); Chamber of
Advisers elected every nine years - Next election due - 2012 - Head of State - King Mohammed VI (since July 1999) - Head of Government – Prime Minister Abbas El Fassi (Istiglal Party)
GDP - US$63.3 billion (2006 EIU estimate) - Real GDP growth - 9.4% (2006 EIU estimates) - Exports - US$11.4 billion (2006 EIU estimates) - Main Exports - Textiles (US$1,990 million); electric components (US$677 million); Phosphoric acid (US$860 million)- Imports - US$20.9 billion (2006 EIU estimates) - Current account balance - US$228.6 million (2006 EIU estimate) - Inflation - 3.4% (2006 actual) Gross external debt - US$16.6 billion (2006 EIU estimate)
NZ Exports (FOB) - NZ$33.3 million (for year ended June 2007) - Main Exports - Butter (55%); cheese and curd (17%); casein (16%) - NZ Imports (CIF) - NZ$167.9 million (for year ended June 2007) - Main Imports - Calcium phosphates (50%); fertilisers (45%)
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The most recent visit to Morocco was made by the Minister of Energy, Hon Pete Hodgson, who visited Marrakesh in November 2001 for the Seventh Conference of the Parties on Climate Change. Mr Hodgson, as Minister of Fisheries, also met with his Moroccan counterpart in the margins of the Marrakesh conference. The Minister of Fisheries, Hon John Luxton, visited Morocco in March 1999 to discuss possible commercial cooperation. Other Ministerial visits have been infrequent although the Hon Philip Burdon attended the final Ministerial meeting of the Uruguay Round in Marrakesh in April 1994. The Moroccan Secretary of State for Commerce, Industry and Handicrafts lead a trade delegation to New Zealand in November 1997. The Moroccan Minister of Employment and Vocation Training, Mr Mustapha Mansouri visit New Zealand in July 2005.
The New Zealand Ambassador in Madrid is cross-accredited to Morocco. The current Ambassador is Geoff Ward. The Moroccan Embassy in Canberra is accredited to New Zealand. There is a Moroccan Consulate-General in Auckland.
The Safetravel website provides a travel advisory for travellers to Morocco [external link].
