Italian employers’ organization CNA Toscana Centro and the Moroccan Chamber of Commerce in Italy (CCMI) signed a memorandum of understanding on Friday in Prato, in central-western Italy, to strengthen economic ties between the two countries and expand opportunities for Italian companies to enter African markets, with Morocco serving as a key gateway to the continent.
The agreement also seeks to promote and develop trade and institutional exchanges between Italy and Morocco, supporting the growth and international expansion of Italian businesses, including those in the Prato and Pistoia regions affiliated with CNA Toscana Centro. The organization is a member of the National Confederation of Crafts and Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises, which represents artisans, entrepreneurs and SMEs across Italy.
Through the agreement, the two parties aim to establish a stable framework for cooperation, facilitate bilateral investment and partnerships, organize trade and institutional missions, and take part in trade fairs and sector-specific events.
“Thanks to its network of contacts and expertise, the Chamber will provide Italian companies with specialized services, including company profiling, targeted guidance on potential partners and tailored support for business development in the Moroccan market,” CCMI President Marouan El Mansoub said.
He added that the agreement also provides for regular business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-government (B2G) meetings to identify commercial and industrial partners and support the creation of joint ventures and long-term cooperation between Italian and Moroccan companies.
CNA Toscana Centro President Emiliano Melani described the signing as a “major step forward” for his organization, citing Morocco’s “increasingly central role as a logistics, trade and manufacturing hub between Europe and Africa, as well as its emergence as a market of significant interest to SMEs.”
“This is an innovative agreement that gives our companies practical tools to pursue international expansion and develop new business opportunities in a highly dynamic and strategic Moroccan market, in a country positioning itself as a gateway to the African continent,” he concluded.
