Moroccan-Turkish Relations: Current Issues and Future Prospects

January 14, 2021

The Policy Center for the New South (PCNS), in partnership with the Center for Middle Eastern Studies (ORSAM) will hold a joint panel entitled “Moroccan-Turkish Relations: Current Issues and Future Prospects” scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 14th, 2021 starting 3pm (GMT+1/Morocco time) and 5pm (GMT+3/Turkish time). Moroccan-Turkish economic ties are not new; the first partnership framework facilitating trade and economic relations dates back to 1982. Since then, the two economies have embarked on a series of cooperation agreements ranging from scientific, economic and technical cooperation to reciprocal investment promotion and protection. In particular, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Turkey and Morocco, which entered into force in 2006, aimed to eliminate tariffs and other barriers to exports, expand trade between the two countries, and to promote economic growth for both. The FTA marked a new era in the bilateral economic ties and confirmed both countries’ commitment to trade openness principles and the need to foster economic integration among southern Mediterranean economies. In addition to strengthening bilateral relations, the opportunities for both countries to consolidate their efforts in expanding their presence on the African continent calls for proactive and a joint strategy. Indeed, Africa’s economic development requires increased contribution from emerging powers for technology transfer and bring new alternatives for the continent, aside from traditional economic powers. Based on this background, this webinar will contribute to a better understanding and development of bilateral economic relations between Morocco and Turkey, in light of current international economic challenges and opportunities. 15:00-15:10 Opening speech Bouchra Rahmouni, Director, Research, Partnerships & Events, Policy Center for the New South Ahmed Uysal, Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies 15:10-15:15 Introduction to the panel Moderator : Rim Berahab, Economist, Policy Center for the New South 15:15-15:45 Debate Speakers Uri Dadush, Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South Burhan Koroğlu, Associate Professor, Ibn Haldun University Recep Yorulmaz, Director of Economics Studies, Middle Eastern Studies Center 15:45-16:15 Q&A

Speakers
Ahmed Uysal
Director, Center for Middle Eastern Studies
...
Rim Berahab
Senior Economist
Rim Berahab is Senior Economist at the Policy Center for the New South, which she joined in 2014. She is currently working on themes related to energy issues and their impacts on economic growth and long-term development. Her research areas also cover trade and regional integration challenges in Africa. Previously, she has also worked on questions related to gender inequalities in the labor market of North African countries. Rim spent three months at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2016, in the Commodities Unit of the Research Department. She holds a State Engineering degree from the National Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics (INSEA). ...
Uri Dadush
Non-Resident Senior Fellow
Uri Dadush is non-resident Senior Fellow at the Policy Center for the New South, where he served as Senior Fellow from its founding in 2014 until 2022. He is Research Professor at the School of Public Policy, University of Maryland and a non-resident scholar at Bruegel. He is based in Washington, DC, and is Principal of Economic Policy International, LLC, providing consulting services to the World Bank and to other international organizations as well as corporations. Previously, he served as Director of the International Economics Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace and, at the World Bank, was Director of the International Trade, Economic Policy, and Development Prospects Departments. In the private sector before that he was President of the Economist Int ...
Recep Yorulmaz
Director of Economics Studies, Middle Eastern Studies Center
...

RELATED CONTENT

  • Authors
    June 18, 2025
    In 2000, The Economist dismissed Africa as the “Hopeless Continent”—a label reflecting a broader system of marginalization rooted in colonial legacy and post-Cold War neglect. This essay offers a realist reappraisal, arguing that Africa’s growing strategic relevance is not the result of benevolence, but of structural necessity.Amid a fracturing global order and the rise of transactional geopolitics under Trump 2.0’s Bessent Doctrine, Africa has become indispensable: rich in critical ...
  • Authors
    Pepe Zhang
    Fernando Straface
    June 13, 2025
    This Paper was originally published on cebri.org Within an ever-evolving system of multilateral development banks (MDB) currently reshaped by four structural geo-economic trends, the emergence of new MDBs like the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) and the New Development Bank (NDB) carries great geopolitical significance. Yet the new MDBs, attuned to institutional and operational realities, have not upended the MDB system. Their relationship with long-e ...
  • May 16, 2025
    The late twentieth-century neoliberal experiment, imposed upon Latin America and Africa under the banner of the Washington Consensus, failed both economically and morally. Though it promised prosperity through deregulation, privatisation, and fiscal austerity, it delivered instead economic stagnation, rising inequality, and the systematic dismantling of the instruments of national development. This was not technocratic wisdom, but a project of ideological enforcement that subordinat ...
  • Authors
    Danielle Alakija
    May 1, 2025
    The author of this opinion, Danielle Alakija, is a 2024 alumna of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program. Once upon a time—or so the story went—the Global South was cast to the margins of the global development narrative. Assigned a supporting role in someone else’s story, it was exploited for its resources and subdued by the authoritative tone of external narrators. This image, painted in tones of crisis and dependency, continues to echo through textbooks and news cy ...
  • Authors
    Isabela Carvalho
    April 30, 2025
    The author of this opinion, Isabela Carvalho, is a 2018 alumna of the Atlantic Dialogues Emerging Leaders Program. In today’s interconnected world, knowledge plays a vital role in driving change and shaping solutions. Yet despite the rise of digital tools and global collaboration, persistent gaps in how knowledge is managed and shared continue to limit the Global South’s ability to fully harness its potential. Strengthening resilient knowledge ecosystems fosters inclusive ...
  • April 23, 2025
    The United States is at a critical juncture, facing a pivotal dilemma: preserving global leadership in a world it no longer fully controls. While it proclaims its primacy in the liberal international order, its actions tell a different story—one marked by tariffs, reshoring policies, and an open attempt to contain China’s rise. This strategy is driven less by long-term vision than domestic political calculus, underscoring the urgent need for strategic recalibration. ...
  • April 17, 2025
    This policy brief explores the transformative role of BRICS as a platform for Global South cooperation and an emerging alternative to Western-dominated governance frameworks. Established with a shared goal of reforming international institutions and addressing global decision-making imbalances, BRICS has evolved from an economic concept into a multifaceted alliance that spans finance, diplomacy, development, and security. As the global order shifts towards multipolarity, BRICS has p ...
  • April 10, 2025
      Marcus Vinicius De Freitas Professor, China Foreign Affairs University Senior Fellow, Policy Center for the New South The Chinese government’s white paper, ‘China’s Position on Some Issues Concerning China-US Economic and Trade Relations,[1]’ issued on April 9, 2025, in response to the escalating tariffs imposed by President Donald Trump, is not just a diplomatic response to the escalating tensions with the United States. It is a meticulously crafted strategic document th ...