French carmaker Renault has signed agreements with Morocco to invest more than $1 billion and create 50,000 jobs in the North African country, the Moroccan industry minister said. "This strategic project alone will give Morocco 50,000 new jobs and combine investment of more than 10 billion Moroccan dirhams" (more than $1 billion/912 million euros), Moulay Hafid Elalamy said, after the deal was signed on Friday in the presence of King Mohamed VI.
The agreement "definitively changes the automotive sector in Morocco", the minister said, adding that it has been the kingdom's main exporting sector for the past three years. Renault's head of operations for the Africa-Middle East-India region was optimistic about the deal.