The creation of a US fund to benefit Moroccan small and medium (-sized) enterprises (SMEs) topped talks held here between officials from the US State Department, the US embassy in Rabat and representatives from the Moroccan SME Federation, affiliated to the Employers Association (CGEM).
According to a CGEM release circulated, the fund would either focus on financing investments or on buying stakes in Moroccan small and medium-sized capital.
The federation hailed the keen interest of the American government in the SME sector, adding that this move will only enhance further bilateral cooperation within the framework the Free Trade Agreement project between the two countries.
Morocco will be the second country in the Arab World and the fifth in the world to have such an accord with the USA. Jordan, Canada, Mexico and Israel are already bound to the USA by a covenant of this kind.
Source: MAP news agency web site