The development experienced by Morocco is the outcome of a more modern conception than elsewhere of the benefits of open trade, said Lamy in an interview published Monday by the daily "L'Economiste", noting that this policy, "imagined, desired and deliberate", has made the Kingdom an "influential country in Africa and the rest of the world".

"The opening up of trade has its happy and unhappy moments, but looking at Morocco's track record, I think it validates the idea that an economic policy based on openness, competition and liberalization is the one that pays off most in economic terms", he stressed.

"I think the Moroccan experience shows that it pays off," said the former European Trade Commissioner.

Lamy also welcomed Morocco's determination to develop Africa's Atlantic strip, as emphasized by HM King Mohammed VI in his speech on the occasion of the 48th anniversary of the Green March, seeing it as "a sign that ocean and hydrosphere issues are taking the place they should have had a long time ago in global, continental and national policies".

"For me, what the Sovereign said is a sign of the progress that is gradually being made, which consists of putting the Ocean in its rightful place in public attention and national policies, both to avoid its degradation and to invest in the blue economy, which is a promise not only for food, but also for energy and pharmaceuticals," he underlined.

In this respect, Lamy noted that Morocco looks out over both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean, and has a more advanced infrastructure than many other African countries, whether in terms of exports, fisheries or tourism, citing the example of OCP, which has a large export capacity to virtually every continent thanks to its extensive port infrastructure.