Morocco has unveiled an unprecedented historical challenge in the African continent, with the complete manufacturing of an airplane in Morocco. During a session at the Chamber of Representatives, the first chamber of the Moroccan Parliament, Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, announced this new Moroccan challenge, raising the bar by asserting that "a complete plane will take off from Morocco for the first time." According to the Moroccan minister, Rabat is now part of the club of the twenty major countries that manufacture aircraft and all its components.
In his address to the members of the Moroccan Parliament, the Minister of Industry and Trade shared details about Morocco's journey in aircraft manufacturing, stating that "the most difficult components needed for the aviation sector are being produced in Morocco," and he announced for the first time an "ambitious project."
For at least the past 22 years, according to Moroccan economic experts, the kingdom has engaged in a challenge with itself, aiming to manufacture everything possible, from cars to airplanes to connectors and cables. During the COVID-19 pandemic, while the world struggled to purchase masks, Morocco swam against the tide, achieving self-sufficiency in mask production and becoming the first African exporter to European countries.
In 2024, Morocco will officially move closer to realizing a dream that is gradually becoming a reality: "the production of the first airplane that will take off from Morocco for the first time," with all its parts assembled there. However, the Minister of Industry and Trade clarified, according to observers, the specifics of the Moroccan dream in the aviation sector: "To avoid misleading Moroccans, this plane will not be 100% Moroccan, as no country in the world manufactures a plane that is 100% its own," explaining that "the ambition is to manufacture a plane that will take off for the first time from Morocco, after its components are assembled in the country."
