"We were surprised and impressed by the infrastructures that exist in Laayoune", particularly in the areas of sport and urban planning, said Maria Tato, a Basque businesswoman at the head of more than 30 companies and hotels during a meeting with the wali of Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, governor of the province of Laayoune, Abdeslam Bekrate.

Tato, who is leading a delegation of Basque businessmen, said she is willing to build up partnerships with businessmen from the Moroccan Sahara to launch co-development projects in the sectors of fisheries, renewable energies and recycling industries.

"Before, our economic relations were limited to France and South America," she noted, stressing that Basque businessmen are now open to Morocco, a country they knew little about before.

"The growth of the Moroccan economy and security encourage us to seriously consider the possibilities of investment and the development of economic collaborations for a sustainable human development", said Tato, who is also the director of women's football at the Spanish Women's Football Federation (RFEF).

Basque companies have diversified their activities internationally and are now interested in sectors that can be the subject of interesting and fruitful collaborations with Moroccan partners, she noted.

She assured that the Basque delegation will return to Morocco to concretely study the possibilities of launching investment projects with local partners, recalling the "fruitful" exchanges that the delegation had on Tuesday in Casablanca with the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM).

On this occasion, the wali of Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region highlighted the "huge" and "limitless" opportunities offered by the Moroccan Sahara to investors and its strategic position as a gateway to Africa.

He added that this region is experiencing "remarkable" growth thanks to the substantial investments injected since the launch by HM King Mohammed VI of the new development model for the southern provinces, adding that the human development indicators in Laayoune are the highest in comparison with all the other regions of the Kingdom.

Bekrate also informed the Basque delegation of the recent reform of the regional investment centers for the acceleration of the examination and validation procedures of investment files, stressing the readiness of local authorities and elected officials to provide all the necessary assistance to Spanish and Basque investors wishing to do business in the region.