France-Morocco Economic Forum to Convene Near Nancy
Marrakech – Morocco will be the guest of honor at the fifth edition of the CCE Grand Est Economic Forum, scheduled for March 31 in Maidières, near Nancy.
The event, organized by the Lorraine chapter of France’s Foreign Trade Advisors (CCE) in partnership with Morocco’s Consulate General in Strasbourg, will bring together institutional and economic actors from both countries to discuss industrial cooperation and co-investment opportunities.
The forum will be held at the Saint-Gobain PAM Technocentre from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. It aims to facilitate concrete partnerships between French and Moroccan companies in areas including industrial implantation, co-investment, supply chain structuring, and skills development.
Morocco’s Minister of Industry and Commerce, Ryad Mezzour, will present the North African country’s economic opportunities and its outlook toward 2030.
Introductory remarks will be delivered by Jérôme Lionet, CEO of Saint-Gobain PAM; Jérôme de Lavergnolle, executive board member and treasurer general of the National CCE Committee; Valérie Debord, Vice-President of the Grand Est region; and Lalla Soumia Bouhamidi, Morocco’s Consul General in Strasbourg and liaison with the Council of Europe.
The program features two roundtables. The first, moderated by Luc Bertossi, General Delegate of MEDEF 54, will focus on identifying shared value chains and industrial complementarities between Grand Est and Morocco in a 2030-2040 co-development perspective. Discussions will center on the water and hydraulic infrastructure sector, as well as the circular economy and sustainable development.
Panelists include Romaric Faivre, Commercial and Operational Director at ER Ingénierie for France, Morocco and Côte d’Ivoire; Youssef Akka, CEO of United Industrial Experts Morocco; Arnaud Tréguer, Export Sales Director for Southern Europe at Saint-Gobain PAM; Delphine Krieger, CEO of Pôle AQUANOVA; Yann Thomas, CEO of Microhumus; and Cédric Demeurie, CEO of Thin Section Lab. CGEM Vice-President Mehdi Tazi will also be interviewed during the session.
The second roundtable, moderated by Fabrice Schutz, Head of International Engineering at Caisse d’Epargne Grand Est Europe (CEGEE), will tackle the practical tools and financial and strategic levers available to companies seeking to operate internationally.
It will be introduced by Mohcine Benjelloun, Director General of the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra Regional Investment Center, and Loïc Vautrin, Director General of Lorr’up, the Nancy South Lorraine economic development agency.
Panelists on this table include Loubna Abid, CEO of PRAMEX International Morocco, on implantation support; Violaine Terreaux, Grand Est Regional Director of Business France, representing Team France Export; Laurence Marchal, Head of International Engineering at CEGEE; Pierre-Alban Villeroy De Galhau, Export Director at LDE, speaking as an entrepreneur with an established project in Morocco; and Meryem Kaddadj, Head of the Aeronautics, Electronics and Space Department at Morocco’s Agency for Investment and Export Development (AMDIE).
Bénédicte Clarenne, member of the CEGEE board in charge of Regional Development Banking, will also deliver a partner segment. A cross-interview will feature Abdelhamid Souiri, President of Morocco’s Federation of Metallurgical, Mechanical and Electromechanical Industries (FIMME), alongside Nathalie Vaxelaire, President of UIMM Lorraine.
Closing remarks will come from Henry Lemoine, Mayor of Pont-à-Mousson and Grand Est Regional Councilor; Gilles Abensour, President of the Morocco CCE Committee; Bruno Roth, President of the Lorraine CCE Committee; and Yves Séguy, Prefect of Meurthe-et-Moselle. A cocktail dinner will follow.
Read also: France, Morocco Deepen Economic Ties with New CFCIM Agreements
The forum comes at a time of sustained momentum in bilateral economic relations. Bilateral trade reached a record €14.8 billion in 2024. French exports to Morocco grew by 13.1% that year, reaching €7.4 billion, while Moroccan exports to France held steady at €7.4 billion. Over the past decade, trade between the two countries has doubled.
France remains Morocco’s top economic and financial partner. The stock of French direct investment in Morocco stood at nearly €9 billion in 2024, according to France’s Banque de France. Over 1,000 French subsidiaries operate in the kingdom, employing nearly 135,000 people. French investment is concentrated in real estate, industry, commerce, and financial activities.
In the other direction, Moroccan FDI in France has grown from €372 million to €1.8 billion, making Morocco the top African investor in France.
French economic engagement with Morocco is now extending to the Sahara region. France’s development agency AFD has announced plans to invest €150 million in Morocco’s southern provinces, with a focus on economic development, entrepreneurship, and clean energy. Since the end of 2024, the AFD has been authorized to operate in Western Sahara. The Franco-Moroccan agribusiness group Azura, which has operated in Dakhla for over two decades, also announced a new MAD 200 million investment in the city.
A CGEM-MEDEF economic forum was held in Dakhla in October 2025, focused on promoting investment opportunities in Morocco’s southern regions, particularly in renewables, infrastructure, fisheries, and tourism.
President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit to Morocco, accompanied by a delegation of over 40 business leaders, followed his recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the Sahara.
The post France-Morocco Economic Forum to Convene Near Nancy appeared first on Morocco World News.
