The city of Winter Haven is known for Legoland and its agriculture but if local leaders have their way the city will soon be known for their relationship with Morocco.

The city’s economic development council director, Bruce Lyon said city leaders are planning a trip to the country next year.

The goal is to grow the relationship with Morocco and establish trade opportunities.

Lyon said the process to get the ball rolling with this project was made easier, thanks to Mustapha Achoubane. He’s a dual citizen who is familiar with the country's royal family and now lives in Polk County.

“I’m a veteran or ambassador of cultures. I like to promote cultures and I like to promote sustainable development and economy,” Achoubane said.

The Moroccan native said he’s confident everyone is looking forward to building the relationship.

“I’m not here to talk on behalf of the king that’s for sure or behalf of the big people in Morocco,” Achoubane said. “But there is one thing I can let you know. If we’re promoting or having a framework, everyone will like to promote opportunities. Especially in Morocco.”

You may be thinking what do these two places have in common. Winter Haven is known for agriculture and Legoland. And Morocco known for its culture and royalty. But Lyon said the two places have more than you may think.

“There’s actually long standing connections between Morocco and Polk County relative to phosphate,” he said. “So Morocco, Polk County and Australia are three of the largest phosphate producers historically over the last hundred years.”

That’s part of what he says helped get the wheels rolling for their trip to the country next year. It’s a trip local leaders said could potentially provide jobs and benefit the entire county.

“We have interest from the Polk museum to build a relationship with a Moroccan museum,” Lyon said. “We’ve already had discussions with Florida Poly and one of the universities in  morocco to create some opportunities for trade.”

The economic development council is encouraging companies to contact their office if they want to do business in Morocco and want to take the trip with them next year. For more info visit http://www.whedc.com/.