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This Executive-Led Trade will visit Casablanca and Tangiers, Morocco. Participants will visit port and free trade zone facilities and meet with high level officials responsible for managing logistics systems and for purchasing equipment and services in ports, as well as equipment and services for: infrastructure development, safety and security and energy infrastructure.

Morocco – March 29 - April 1

Since the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement went into effect in 2006, exports to Morocco have tripled, reaching $1.6 billion in 2009. During the last several decades, even throughout the economic crisis, GDP has grown more than 5% annually. GDP per capital is $4,600 in a country of 33 million people. U.S. industry has captured only a fraction of the existing imports into Morocco, making Morocco one of the best opportunities in the region. This trade mission will showcase the key opportunities available.

The Kingdom has leveraged its location into a logistical center for distribution systems, including ports, rail, airports and roads, to the EU, Northern Africa and Sub Saharan Africa. The Trade Mission coincides with Tangier Mediterranean Special Agency's fourth annual MedLog Conference, which attracts senior level government officials and logistics companies to discuss best practices and plans for the free trade zones and port facilities of Tanger-Med. When the $3.8 billion project is completed in 2015, Tanger-Med will be Africa's largest port – handling 7 million passengers, 2 million vehicles, 10 million metric tons of oil products, and 8 million containers annually. The U.S. will be the highlighted country for the 2011 Conference, presenting a unique opportunity for U.S. supply chain, logistics, shipping, and safety and security companies to showcase their products and services for the Port, a logistics and supply chain bridge between the EU to the north and Africa to the south, and between the Mediterranean Sea ports to the east and the U.S. to the west. A direct shipping line between Morocco and the East Coast of the U.S. is part of the U.S.-Morocco Free Trade Agreement, and provides significant shipping benefits.

Additional major infrastructure projects include a $16.6 billion Green Plan, a $9 billion solar energy project, an $8 billion plan for logistical systems, $ 1.3 billion to build 4000 schools, $1.2 billion to build and upgrade airports, and $2.6 billion plan to develop tourism.