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Morocco named best connected maritime hub in Africa in UNTAD study

MOROCCO has established itself as Africa's best-connected country in terms of maritime transport over the last 10 years, says a United Nations report.

Morocco has consolidated its position, owing to the strategic positioning of the Straits of Gibraltar, which links Africa with Europe, according to the UN Conference on Trade and Development's (UNCTAD) Maritime Connectivity Index 2017.

Morocco has improved its performance with a grade of 67 out 100 in 2017, rising up from under 10 in 2007. It is followed by Egypt at 54.6 and South Africa at 37.4, reports New York's Morocco World News.

The report attributed the "sharp increase" in Morocco's rating to the Tangier Med Port, which attracts deep-sea container vessels on the slope of the Strait of Gibraltar.

The 2017 Maritime Connectivity Index states that the "largest container ships of up to 18,506 TEU capacity are deployed on services between Europe and Eastern Asia, calling also at ports in southern and south east Asia and in North Africa, especially Morocco.

UNCTAD called for increasing global maritime connectivity as some developing countries, small islands and weaker economies cannot reach world markets due to expensive transport connections.

Maritime transport is the backbone of international trade. In 2008, around 80 per cent of goods exchanged in the world were transported by sea, according to the UNCTAD report.

But 80 per cent of country pairs do not have a direct connection, including large trading nations that lie across the same ocean like Nigeria and Brazil.

Further, a statement issued by UNCTAD notes that "in many countries, domestic shipping services for [transport of goods] are protected from foreign competition. Such market restrictions can lead to unnecessary inefficiencies and a loss of maritime connectivity".