Moroccan nearshoring aims hinge on targeted investment

Significance

The kingdom offers better infrastructure and a more inviting regulatory environment than some of its neighbours, but also suffers from skills shortages and major challenges in ensuring that the benefits of economic growth are evenly distributed.

Impacts

• The focus will be on existing strengths like automotive and textiles, while expanding the digital sector remains a more distant aspiration.
• Fears of exclusion from Europe’s strategic sphere may help spur compromise in stuttering talks on a deeper free trade agreement.
• The pandemic could prompt the kingdom to devote more attention to building a truly indigenous industrial and knowledge base.
• A national development model, established in January, may help redress some imbalances in the distribution of economic benefits.