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Black gold, white gold | The Economist

Morocco is “a rising star in the west,” according to a special report by The Economist on Arab world economies:

The Economist[…] In Morocco, by contrast, the mood is hopeful. A smaller country than Egypt, and far from the upheavals to the east, it has been more successful than most other Arab states at holding on to its all-important tourist industry. It is building up its manufacturing sector by seeking to link into the European supply chain, doing for French industry, in particular, what eastern Europe has done for German companies. Renault-Nissan and PSA Peugeot Citroën have built new car-assembly plants in Morocco, and plans are in hand to develop a wider network of local suppliers.

Even more ambitiously, Morocco is working to build an aircraft industry, based outside Casablanca’s international airport. Emerging from the embryo of Royal Air Maroc’s engine-maintenance business, an early step was the manufacture of high-specification electrical wiring for aircraft. On the factory floor of Matis Aerospace, red-veiled women are hunched over the cables—Boeing on one side of the main aisle, Airbus on the other.

Nearby a subsidiary of Safran, a French technology group, is making carbon-fibre casings for jet engines. Bombardier, a Canadian aircraft-maker, is setting up shop to make parts for its airframes. The government is part-funding a vocational training school for the aeronautical industry...[FULL STORY]

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