Marrakech — French Minister Delegate for Foreign Trade, Economic Attractiveness, Francophonie and French Nationals Abroad, Franck Riester, hailed, on Thursday in Marrakech, Morocco's economic momentum, which "is based on a clear and ambitious strategy defined by His Majesty King Mohammed VI."

Speaking at the 4th Meeting of French-Speaking Entrepreneurs (REF), the French minister underlined that this strategy has been implemented notably by increasingly talanted entrepreneurs.

He also pointed out that this 4th REF Meeting is a platform to promote exchanges, explore investment opportunities and "collectively discuss the Francophonie area, its strengths and weaknesses".

The Francophonie area represents 16% of global GDP and 20% of global trade of goods, while the French language ranks 3rd among the most used languages in the business world, Riester noted.

"Our populations harbour high expectations, especially the youth, who are the true wealth and aspire to project themselves into the future, driven by a desire to undertake, innovate and create," Riester stated.

Competitiveness, growth, financing, digital transition, artificial intelligence, training and sustainable development are all challenges and opportunities for the entire Francophonie community, he said, adding that Francophonie aims to be an area of future, values and sharing, respecting multilingualism and diversity.

Held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohamed VI, the 4th REF Meeting is organized this year by the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM) in partnership with the Alliance of Francophone Employers (APF).

This meeting brought together presidents and representatives of francophone employers, APF members, of which the CGEM holds the General Secretariat, aims to connect companies from French-speaking countries to boost trade exchanges.