From International Times
While many North African countries have seen violent uprisings over the last two years as part of the Arab Spring and suffered economically as a result, Morocco has avoided the carnage and instead furthered its appeal as one of Africa’s top business destinations. The centerpiece of that appeal is its burgeoning aeronautical industry, which has drawn hundreds of millions of investment dollars since 2010 from American and European aeronautical companies.
A meeting Friday between President Obama and the Moroccan king Mohammed IV to discuss Morocco’s growing stature in North Africa and the business links between the two countries underscores just how strategically important Washington regards the nation, which is advancing both industrially and politically.
Morocco has developed an aeronautical region within the country where more than 100 companies operate, including The Boeing Company (NYSE:BA), Bombardier Inc. (TSE:BBD.B) and United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX). In addition, the country has more than 10,000 engineers graduating every year who supplement the growing industry, according to Minister for Industry, Trade, Investment and the Digital Economy Moulay Hafid Elalamy. This large influx of engineers is set to grow further after the government established the Moroccan Aerospace Institute, a vocational school that opened in May. The result is that 10,000 Moroccans are employed directly inside the country’s aerospace industry, which has doubled in size in less than five years and where employees earn about 15 percent above the average national monthly wage of $320, according to the Moroccan Ministry of Industry.
Written by Christopher Harress/ Read more at International Times
