MEDI1TV Afrique : Ligne maritime Agadir-Dakhla :quels enjeux? - 17/01/2025
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00:00Ladies and gentlemen, good morning and welcome to Median TV.
00:11A new line of maritime freight, Agadir-Dakar, is the subject of Focus Eco.
00:17This maritime link will make it possible to serve all the Sahel countries,
00:21facilitate the circulation of trade, reduce transport costs
00:26and increase the efficiency of the transport of goods and trucks.
00:30What is expected of this Agadir-Dakar maritime line?
00:35What issues are we talking about in this Focus Eco?
00:37With Zakaria Firano, you are a professor of economics at the University of Mohamed V in Rabat.
00:43It is a pleasure to have you with us today.
00:45Pleasure to share. Thank you for the invitation.
00:48Thank you for accepting it.
00:49So, Agadir-Dakar maritime line, what are the issues?
00:54How does this maritime line fit into the global economic development strategy of the Kingdom of Morocco?
01:01Very well. The new line between Agadir and Dakar,
01:05which will allow to further strengthen relations with Dakar,
01:09as a very important commercial partner for Morocco,
01:12fits into a strategy that was initiated by our sovereign Auguste
01:17on the fact that we need a merchant navy
01:20to serve all the countries of the Atlantic.
01:24And we started with this new line between Morocco and Agadir-Dakar.
01:31Now, the underpinnings of this decision,
01:34or the creation of this freight line between the two countries,
01:37it comes primarily from the exponential effort in terms of international trade.
01:42And so, it must be added that trade between Morocco and also, I would say, Dakar,
01:49is a trade that is very important and constitutes the fourth partner in Africa,
01:53after Egypt and also after the Ivory Coast.
01:56And so, automatically, it was necessary to find solutions that allow to optimize
02:01and make more efficient these transactions or these trade exchanges.
02:05It should be remembered, just in terms of figures,
02:07that the Moroccan exports are very important compared to imports.
02:11That's why Morocco was the initiator.
02:13We're talking about, I think, 1.4 billion dirhams of goods
02:18that are transported in terms of exports from Morocco to Dakar.
02:21And so, automatically, the question arises on several elements,
02:25whether it's the cost, the time, the security in relation to this transport, etc.
02:30Several elements that have been put in place.
02:32Today, if we take a look at the more microeconomic elements,
02:35we find that transport is currently done with trucks,
02:41passing through Gilgaret and also passing through the journey to Dakar.
02:46And so, it takes time and it also takes cost.
02:49I think the estimates that have been given by the practitioners of the field
02:53speak of around 200 dollars, 2,000 dirhams,
02:56to be able to make the journey in terms of fuel only,
02:59forgetting all the other charges.
03:02And also, if we add to that the question of security,
03:05because there is a transcendence by the experts of the field
03:08and especially those who work in transport through trucks,
03:11they speak of 500 to 600 kilometers or 400 kilometers,
03:14which becomes a bit of an unsecured zone at 100%.
03:17And so, automatically, if we get to a figure of 1.4 billion dirhams
03:22of transactions in terms of exports and, I would say,
03:26about 120 million dirhams of imports,
03:29we automatically needed to find a solution,
03:31whether it was both to optimize in terms of costs,
03:34reduce transport costs, but also to find more time,
03:37or, I would say, to be faster in these transactions.
03:40Just as an indication, the statistics tell us that per day,
03:43that is, per day, we have between 70 and 80 trucks
03:46passing through the route.
03:50And so, automatically, if we manage to have this line of freight,
03:53of transport, it will allow, first of all,
03:56to increase commercial transactions,
03:59but it will also allow to give more speed
04:02to these very important transactions,
04:05whether for Morocco or for Dakar.
04:08There is also a very important element that I would like to add,
04:11it is that we must not forget that, certainly,
04:14our partner Dakar is a third partner at the African level,
04:17after Egypt and the Ivory Coast,
04:19but it will also allow to forge more relations
04:21with a country like the Ivory Coast
04:23and the other countries with which we will have partnerships,
04:26like Nigeria, with whom we will have transactions in the future
04:30through the gas that will be established,
04:33but also all the countries with which we have transactions,
04:36especially in sectors that are key,
04:38like the phosphate sector, like the agricultural sectors, etc.
04:42I am talking here about the 13 countries
04:44that are on the Atlantic coast,
04:46and so automatically, I would say,
04:49this new line of freight will not serve only the two countries,
04:53but it will also allow to accelerate,
04:56to accelerate a little also the transactions
04:59that are established with the other countries of the Atlantic.
05:01Precisely, you facilitate my transition.
05:03You said it, there is a reduction in costs,
05:06we are saving time, we are talking about a trip
05:08that should be done in two and a half days instead of ten days,
05:10we are talking about 120 trucks per trip,
05:12which is still an important figure.
05:15So how is this line, let's say,
05:18maritime, will it transform the intra-African trade
05:23that must increase because the potential is there
05:26and the figures are still too low today?
05:29Very well, yes.
05:30Normally, the choice to consolidate
05:34trade relations on the maritime level
05:37is a strategic choice.
05:38Today, why are we so interested in it?
05:40There are several factors that can explain it.
05:42First, we have to help a little
05:45in the reduction of the enclave that, for example,
05:47the countries of the Sahel experience.
05:48And through that, we can only achieve it
05:50through a development of what is called the maritime fleet.
05:53And so, having a trip between Dakar and Agadir,
05:56it constitutes in itself a very important solution.
05:59Knowing that, I will say just one information
06:01that is very important,
06:02maybe people should know it,
06:04it is that before the launch of His Majesty,
06:07that is to say, to say that Morocco proposes
06:09to solve the problem of Atlantic accessibility
06:12for the countries of the Sahel,
06:13there was only one way, it was the way of Dakar.
06:15And so today, if we have this possibility
06:18to have a maritime line with Dakar,
06:20it will allow to consolidate the royal offer
06:23to open a little the platform of infrastructure,
06:25especially maritime, for the countries of the Sahel.
06:28There is also a very important element,
06:30it is that when we take up, I would say,
06:33the question of costs and the question of speed,
06:36the question of time,
06:37it will allow to increase competitiveness.
06:39Today, we have Morocco,
06:41it is settling in economic partnerships
06:45with these countries,
06:46but what is most important is to be competitive.
06:48And we can only be competitive
06:50if we manage to manage the cost of transport,
06:52which constitutes, in most cases,
06:54between 20% and 30% of the cost of production.
06:57And so automatically,
06:58it is a strategy that will not be beneficial
07:00only in Morocco,
07:01it will also allow Dakar products,
07:03Ivory Coast and other countries
07:04that are nearby,
07:05even the countries of the Sahel,
07:06to reduce a little time
07:08and reduce with time the cost of transport
07:10and also secure this transport.
07:12I said in the introduction
07:14that there is not only the question of costs,
07:16there is also the question of security.
07:18You know, the journey with the trucks
07:21on the road,
07:23it is a bit risky,
07:25and that is known.
07:26On the maritime front, there is no risk.
07:28So normally,
07:29you will not have costs to pay
07:31in terms of transport to secure,
07:33well, I would say hidden costs
07:35in terms of road transport,
07:38you will not have that in maritime transport.
07:41There is also a very important element,
07:43it is that we have,
07:45there was the announcement
07:46that we would have an African merchant navy,
07:48I think that there,
07:49we are putting the first joints
07:51of this merchant navy
07:52through a first link with Dakar,
07:54which will, I would say,
07:56that it will be only the beginning
07:57for an even wider partnership
07:59with the 13 countries of the Atlantic region.
08:01So, being more competitive today, yes,
08:05but also favoring the export
08:08of products of higher added value?
08:11Very well, yes.
08:13Now, what we know
08:14is that Morocco,
08:15in African countries,
08:17we have, especially with Dakar,
08:21we have transactions
08:23that are a bit on the primary sector.
08:26That means we are in phosphate,
08:29agricultural products, etc.
08:31We are also in services,
08:32we must not forget,
08:33the service, Morocco is very present,
08:35not only in Dakar,
08:36but several countries in Africa
08:37benefit from services,
08:38whether it is infrastructure, telecom, etc.
08:40and even the banking system.
08:42Now, in terms of added value,
08:44I think that the momentum has been made
08:46in terms of services,
08:47because the services that are exported,
08:49whether it is the banking sector,
08:50the telecommunications sector,
08:52the infrastructure sector,
08:54are sectors with high added value.
08:56Now, what is very important in the future
08:58is to be able to penetrate these markets,
09:00the African markets,
09:01with products of high added value.
09:03I am talking here about the car sector.
09:05That means the sector that allows a little,
09:07which is in demand,
09:08is very important in Africa,
09:09we know it very well.
09:10I think the strategy will go in this direction
09:13for the industrial sectors,
09:14the Moroccan industrial sectors,
09:15because now we are the first exporters in Europe.
09:18This is very important,
09:19but now we will also need to have
09:21a strategy of penetration in African countries
09:23and this line of maritime freight between Rabat,
09:26sorry, between Agadir and Dakar,
09:28will facilitate a little
09:29the transport of this type of product.
09:31But for now,
09:32I don't think that the increase in added value
09:35will happen very quickly.
09:37It will also depend on the needs of African countries.
09:39We must not forget that we have a certain,
09:41I would say, a certain gap
09:43in terms of development between different countries.
09:45The needs of Moroccans,
09:46it is not the needs of other African countries.
09:48So, automatically,
09:49we have today a trade that is established,
09:51a very strong trade, 1.4 billion.
09:54It is very important,
09:55but it remains a trade that is drained
09:57more towards services,
09:58for agriculture,
09:59or towards sectors that are not very industrialized
10:02for the case of Morocco.
10:04Now, I think that this line
10:06will first give appetite to investors,
10:10because you have road transport that has been established.
10:12Today, you have maritime transport.
10:14It will also give momentum to several investors.
10:17Great Britain is joining today.
10:19It is she who will lead this operation
10:21through her expertise.
10:22But I think there will be other actors
10:24who will be interested in this line.
10:25And it will allow to greatly increase
10:29the transactions that will be established
10:31between two countries,
10:32but also with other countries.
10:33And I am targeting the Ivory Coast here,
10:35because it is the second partner in Africa
10:37for Morocco.
10:38What does this line reveal
10:40precisely on this role that Morocco is playing
10:43in the African scene,
10:45this positioning of African hubs?
10:49The vision is strategic.
10:51I think that the vision of our Auguste Souverain
10:55was clear.
10:56Today, we have several problems
10:58in the different parts
10:59through which international trade transits.
11:01You have problems in the Red Sea
11:03that can burst at any time.
11:05You sometimes have trade stops
11:08at the level of Egypt.
11:11I am talking here about real maritime transport.
11:15And you also have some problems
11:17that are established in areas
11:18that are of international trade.
11:20I am talking here in the part of Aden, etc.
11:23And so automatically,
11:24the solution that is the most optimal
11:26is to return a little to the commercial trajectory
11:28that was adopted by Portugal.
11:30It went through the Atlantic countries.
11:32And so automatically,
11:33the strategy in the long term
11:35is that international trade
11:37develops in the Atlantic zone.
11:39And so this is the vision
11:40that Morocco establishes,
11:41not only for Morocco,
11:42but also for other African countries,
11:44and especially the 14 countries
11:45that are, I would say,
11:46close to Morocco.
11:48But if we manage to do that,
11:50it will allow for trade
11:51to transit through the Atlantic.
11:55And Morocco will play a very important role.
11:57And if we manage to have
11:58this merchant navy
11:59established in this Atlantic zone,
12:01it will also allow to reduce,
12:03or I would say,
12:04to eliminate several problems
12:06at the level of international trade.
12:07I add a very important element.
12:09The question is also a question of cost,
12:11not only for Morocco,
12:12but at the international level.
12:14Today, if you take goods
12:16that must leave the United States
12:18from Europe to Asia
12:21through the maritime route,
12:22you will pay three times
12:23what you will pay
12:24if you had the Atlantic zone.
12:26That means setting up
12:27a merchant navy,
12:28setting up a commercial freight
12:30in the Atlantic zone,
12:32it will allow to reduce three times
12:34the cost of international transport,
12:36especially with the American zone
12:38and the European zone.
12:40And so, automatically,
12:41it is a long-term gain.
12:43And Morocco proposes itself
12:44as being, not a leader,
12:46but through its strategies,
12:47through its platform,
12:48as being a facilitator
12:50for other countries,
12:51especially for the countries
12:52that are in the Atlantic zone
12:53and the Sahel countries.
12:54Whether it is the Nordic countries
12:55or the South, in any case.
12:56Yes, absolutely.
12:57Thank you, Mr. Zakaria Fialano,
12:59for all these details.
13:00I remind you that you are
13:01a professor of economics
13:02at the University of Mohamed V in Rabat.
13:04It was a pleasure.
13:06This is the end of Focus Eco for today.
13:08Thank you for your loyalty.
13:09We will meet again tomorrow
13:10with a new guest
13:11and a new topic.
13:12Have a very good day.