Morocco has moved to deepen integration with West Africa, participating in the first conference with the West-African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU). The meeting in late January highlighted the growing regional influence of the North African kingdom, which has been aggressively pursuing investments in Senegal as well as other sub-Saharan economies. It also paved the way for a flurry of investment interest on the part of Moroccan businessmen in its aftermath. Organized by the Moroccan business association CGEM (Confédération Générale des Entreprises du Maroc) and the Senegalese association CNP (Conseil National du Patronat), the two-day meeting analyzed means of increasing the level of trade driven by the private sector in fields as diverse as financial services and infrastructure development. The WAEMU zone represents an attractive market of close to 74 million potential consumers in Benin, Burkina-Faso, Guinée-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Niger, Senegal and Togo, all united by a single currency,
