Minister Hujaira dismayed by the low participation of eastern businesses in the government's foreign trade program
Oriental Eco
On Friday, December 05, 2025 in Nador, the first stage of the National Forum of Regions on the theme “Regions as a Lever in Export” kicked off, after recording low rates of response to the Foreign Trade Program 2025-2027 at the level of a number of the Kingdom's regions.
The meeting was attended by Jamal El Shaarani, Governor of Nador Province, Mina Atif, Vice President of the Orient Region, Abdelhafid Jaroudi, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services in the region, Bachiri Noureddine, Vice President of the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises, and a representative of the Moroccan Confederation of Exporters, in addition to several public sector officials, private sector representatives and youth active in the field of foreign trade.
Omar Hujira, Morocco's Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, as well as the Director General of Nador West Mediterranean Port Benjelloun, the Director General of the National Agency for the Promotion of Small and Medium Enterprises (Maroc PME) and the General Manager of the Moroccan Export Insurance Company (SMAEX) also participated in this meeting, where technical explanations were given regarding the accompanying procedures to enable enterprises to access international markets.
Omar Hujira, Morocco's Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, provided accurate data regarding the level of participation of the eastern region in the government support program related to foreign trade, stressing that the participation rate did not exceed 2 percent, distributed among only four companies, two from Taweret and two from Oujda, a figure that was considered an indicator of the need to increase the level of regional involvement.
In the same context, Mohamed Djamel Benjelloun, General Manager of Nador West Mediterranean Port, emphasized that the eastern region is now a direct competitor to Tangier, noting that Tangier Med started with a capacity of 2 million containers, while Nador West Med will start with its first capacity of 5 million containers, representing an important logistical transition at the level of the national export system.
For his part, Abdelhafid Jaroudi, President of the Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Services of the region, said that the completion of the Nador West Mediterranean Port is a milestone that has been awaited for years, adding that more important than the completion of the structure is that export operations began a full year before the official opening, which is a positive indicator of the seriousness of the commercial transformation of the region.
The sessions also focused on the challenges associated with accessing foreign markets and the need to improve support, financing and guidance mechanisms for small and medium-sized enterprises and actors in the traditional industry and the social and solidarity economy, in order to enhance the ability of the East Region to compete within the international trade system.
This meeting is part of a series of regional stations that will be organized in several regions of the Kingdom, with the aim of providing direct field explanations, activating mechanisms to accompany enterprises, and strengthening their presence in foreign markets in accordance with the logic of regional justice in export opportunities
