India-Morocco trade hits record $4.2bn as Ambassador Maliki eyes stronger ties
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "India-Morocco trade hits record $4.2bn as Ambassador Maliki eyes stronger ties")
Morocco's Ambassador to India, Mohamed Maliki Photograph: (WION)
Bilateral trade between India and Morocco reached a record $4.2 billion in 2023. Ambassador Mohamed Maliki highlighted deepening strategic ties across defence, agriculture, and tourism, positioning Morocco as India’s African gateway.
India and Morocco are deepening their strategic partnership across trade, defence, agriculture and tourism, with bilateral trade reaching a record $4.2 billion in 2023, Morocco's Ambassador to India, Mohamed Maliki, has said. In an interview with WION's Sidhant Sibal, Ambassador Maliki, one of the longest-serving envoys in New Delhi and Dean of both the African and Arab diplomatic corps, described the trajectory of the relationship as "tremendous," tracing it back to King Mohammed VI's landmark visit to India in 2001.
"In 2000 we had around $300 million in exchanges," said the Ambassador. "By 2015 we were at $1.1 billion. By 2023, we reached a record high of $4.2 billion." He attributed the growth to over 50 bilateral agreements signed since 2015 and a sharp rise in Indian corporate presence in Morocco, from 12-13 companies a decade ago to more than 45 today.
Ambassador Maliki described Morocco as an ideal gateway for Indian businesses into Africa and beyond, citing the country's more than 50 free trade agreements, including with the United States. "When new tariffs have been imposed on many countries, Morocco is becoming a very good alternative," he said, pointing to the strategic importance of the Strait of Gibraltar for global trade and security.
On tourism, the envoy highlighted Morocco's appeal to Indian travellers, noting that the e-visa scheme, offered to Indian passport holders without conditions, had helped fuel one of the fastest-growing tourist segments.
"Indians find a lot of things in Morocco," he said, citing shared values around food, family and hospitality, as well as a growing trend of Indian destination weddings in Marrakesh.
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Ambassador Maliki also discussed his book, What If… Why Not?, which carries a foreword by the late Ratan Tata. Describing it as a "non-conformist biography," he said it was a call for readers to reconnect with core values. "The value of the thing, not the price of the thing," he said. "Be yourself, and enjoy your life, because it is very short."
On his bond with the Tata patriarch, Maliki was candid. "My relation with Mr. Tata was not based at all on business. It was based on friendship. He used to call me 'your true friend.'"
Both countries expect trade figures to break new records in the coming year, with the Ambassador expressing confidence that the relationship, now elevated to a strategic partnership, still has significant room to grow.
