UAE and Morocco have agreed to increase cooperation in priority areas such as trade, investment, finance, banking, food security, industry, innovation, technology, energy, renewable energy, logistics, infrastructure, tourism, culture, education, and health over the course of the next seven years.

The Joint Economic Committee meeting, which was held in Rabat and presided over by the ministers of both countries’ economies, came to this agreement.

The UAE delegation included representatives from various government agencies and private sectors.

The committee fits into the framework of the two countries’ leaders’ desire to improve and strengthen their nations’ economic and trade ties in order to support their respective future goals and objectives.

With investments totaling more than 50 billion dirhams (14 billion dollars) by the end of 2021, the UAE will overtake Saudi Arabia as the largest Arab investor in Morocco and the second largest investor globally.

By the end of 2020, Moroccan investments in the UAE will total 289.9 million dirhams (or 79 million dollars). Moroccan investments in the UAE range over a number of economic sectors, whilst the UAE’s investments in Morocco are based on several areas of shared interest.

Morocco’s second-largest Arab trading partner in 2021 will be the UAE. The UAE minister examined a set of economic policies that had been put in place by the UAE to encourage investment and raise it to levels that were more competitive and flexible at the committee sessions.

The UAE government and the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development were complimented by the Moroccan minister for their support of planned development initiatives in the Kingdom.

Read Also: Morocco, UAE discuss means to strengthen cooperation in agricultural investment

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Mohcine Jazouli, the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Investment, Convergence, and Evaluation of Public Policies, will travel on Monday for a roadshow in Shanghai and Beijing sponsored by the Moroccan Agency for the Development of Investment and Exports (AMDIE).

Jazouli will also take part in a Morocco Now conference on “bridging” the Moroccan and Chinese economies through trade and investment as part of this roadshow, as well as the 20th Auto Shanghai.

The trip will be an occasion to convey the Kingdom’s offer and quicken the pace of Chinese investment in the country.

“Under King Mohammed VI’s direction, Morocco has made a name for itself as a favorable location for investments. A true Moroccan dynamism is now evident, and we want to share it with Chinese businesspeople, according to Jazouli.

Meetings with top Chinese government officials and business figures are also on the itinerary of this journey.

Read Also: Morocco gives Syria ultimatum to restore diplomatic ties

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Casablanca – BMCE Capital, the investment banking arm of Bank Of Africa-BMCE Group, has been awarded the prize of the “Best Investment Bank in Morocco in 2023” by the “International Investor Magazine”.

This award confirms that BMCE Capital is a top investment bank and that it is committed to providing excellent service to its partners and clients.

International Investor Magazine is a digital publication dedicated to providing information, analysis and news on the world’s financial markets, aimed at the international community of investors looking for information and investment opportunities around the world.

BMCE Capital is a financial institution that provides services such as dealing room, asset management, private banking, financial advisory, private equity, stock exchange intermediation, securitization, financial research, and post-trade solutions. BMCE Capital is also present in Morocco, Tunisia, and the West African Economic and Monetary Union (WAEMU).

Read Also: Madrid: Hotel employee arrested for racism against Morocco’s national team

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The Mohammed VI Multidisciplinary Technical University Campus in Benguerir hosted a symposium on Saturday with the theme “Investment Promotion and Investor Support with Moroccan Experts in the Field of Finance and Business.” This symposium highlighted, in particular, the participation of Moroccan experts from international financial and investment institutions and bodies.

The symposium, which was jointly organized by the Polytechnic University of Mohammed VI and the Moroccan Community Council Abroad, focused on how to best utilize the experience Moroccans with backgrounds in finance and business have amassed and put it to use for all of the Kingdom’s development workshops.

By discussing the reality of investment in Morocco and its prospects, ways to strengthen it, develop it, and overcome its obstacles, as well as developing “practical” recommendations and proposals on how to attract Moroccan investments worldwide and enhance their participation in development in their home country, it also hoped to benefit from the expertise and competencies of Morocco in the worlds of finance and business.

The meeting served as a chance to highlight Morocco’s business-friendly environment, which supports the creation of high added value and observable socioeconomic benefits, and to thank international organizations for their support in choosing Morocco to host the World Bank and International Monetary Fund annual meetings in October.

In a similar vein, the decision to remove Morocco from the Financial Action Task Force’s Grey Regulation in order to increase foreign investors’ trust in the Moroccan financial system is anticipated to strengthen Morocco’s position as a significant investment destination in the region, particularly for foreign investors seeking to access developing African markets as well as Moroccan investors living abroad.

Abdellah Boussouf, the Secretary-General of the Moroccan Community Council Abroad (CCME), highlighted the fact that Mohammed VI University is a “scientific supplication for honor. By hosting this symposium, it acts as a platform to receive the skills of Moroccans around the world, with a focus on assuring “networking with these capabilities and competences of international financial bodies like London capitals, Dubai, and Frankfurt.”

Having emphasized the necessity of bridging their connections with the university’s study frameworks, with a view to achieving “Profit and positive returns from these energies,” they identified the Moroccan diaspora as “The reservoir of talents,” citing His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s speech on the occasion of the sixty-ninth anniversary of the King and People’s Revolution, in which he urged His Majesty to establish closer contact with members of the Moroccan community living abroad and to establish a mechanism for communication in the field of investment.

In addition, it reviewed the Council’s authority and duties, which go beyond conventional frameworks and formulas and instead adopt a rational, academic and scientific perspective, noting the need to define the term “knowledge economy” in order to properly credit economic literature, as suggested by the New Development Model Committee in this section.

In light of the country’s strong economic performance and resilience, Mr. Boussouf stressed that “academic research and scientific knowledge on investment, conducted by the Moroccan diaspora working in this field, are essential to enrich the national economic arena.” According to him, these people “possess scientific information and knowledge, which is predicated on being able to contextualize, through a realistic study of financial risks, which can only have praiseworthy returns on investment,” as a result of their positions.

He emphasized that “the appropriate scientific information at the right time alters a lot of financial calculated values” in this regard and urged the University to “invest the momentum that this meeting will produce” as a trustworthy and loyal partner.

For his part, the President of Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), Hicham El Habti , praised the partnership that links this university institution with the Moroccan Community Council abroad, noting that this meeting is the “third” of its kind in which the world’s Moroccans participate, after the first research on the topic “Water”, and the second on the “Education”.

He emphasized that the university had started a number of initiatives that would keep pace with the event, similar to the “Road to Marrakech,” which is a favorable ground for clarifying a topic that is current in “innovation economy,” highlighting the societal roles of Mohammed VI Polytechnic university and its opportunistic programs. He went on to mention that the university will host the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank in October.

The symposium also took place in a “special unique setting for Morocco, especially with the hosting of the annual meetings of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank next October. This provided an opportunity to highlight the steps taken by the African continent in this regard, such as the creation of think tanks for the economy and the management of financial risks at the center of research.

He emphasized that the national economy is resilient to global volatility because of its “diversification of the economy, a living force that supports investment and the fortification of the economy,” and he cited Morocco’s diaspora remittances, which totaled AED 94 billion last year and are expected to continue on an upward trajectory this year.

He stated that a thorough understanding of His Majesty King Mohammed VI’s speech, given on the occasion of the sixty-ninth anniversary of the King and People’s Revolution, in which His Majesty allocated space to the Moroccans living abroad for the success of their investment projects, followed by the Investment Charter’s pragmatic audacity, would help to win the investment bet because “The Moroccans living abroad are a real pillar that helps to achieve development, once there is a selectivity for all interventions in the investment field, and the administrative difficulties that prevent optimal investment behind which the Moroccans of the world are behind them have been resolved.”

According to Mr. El Habti,  Mohammed VI University has 200 university professors, 60% of whom are Moroccans and 40% of whom are foreigners. The majority of these professors are Moroccans from the diaspora who “have influenced the return to their home country in order to enable him to accumulate experience and make it available to students.”

Leading experts, officials, and advisers from international economic, financial, and investment organizations, including the World Trade Organization, the Davos World Economic Forum, the Bloomberg World Economic Group, the American General Investment Group, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and the African Development Bank Group, are represented by Moroccan competencies abroad, which took part in the symposium.

It also belongs to the London Stock Exchange, the German Stock Exchange, the Bank of England, the German Bank, Rothschild Bank and partners in Paris, BlackRock Global Investment Management Group, The Dutch Vitol Group specializing in energy, as well as the Jump Trading International Group specializing in technology and algorithmic trading strategies, Morgan Stanley British Group, Boston American Consulting Group, as well as academic and financial institutions and sustainability organizations from the United Kingdom, Germany, Switzerland, Côte d’Ivoire, France, the United Arab Emirates, the United States of America and Morocco.

The seminar addressed with the subjects of “Investment in Morocco: calendar and foresight” and “Ways to promote and expand investment in Morocco: for an attractive and competitive business climate”.

The topics of “Investing in Moroccan World Competencies and its Role in Attracting Investment from the Moroccan Community Abroad,” “Investing in Moroccan Culture: Cultural Industries and Economic and Sustainable Development,” “The Role of Moroccan World in Promoting the Dynamic of Moroccan Investment in Africa: Ways, Priorities and Gains,” and “Investments of Morocco and the Economy of the Future” were also highlighted.

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The Ministry of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development revealed that investments in oil and gas exploration in Morocco reached a total of 29.4 billion dirhams between 2000 and 2022, 96% of which were financed by foreign partners.

Responding to a parliamentary question from the Justice and Development parliamentary group on the “outcome of oil and gas exploration”, the ministry noted that Morocco, through the National Bureau of Hydrocarbons and Minerals, is making great efforts to attract investors and competent foreign companies to develop the oil and gas potential, and thus discover these resources, which Morocco desperately needs to reduce the costs of the energy bill of our country.

The ministry explained that gas was discovered in the West, in Essaouira, as well as on the coast of Larache at the beginning of 2022, and that the efforts made by the office and its partners in gas exploration have led to the discovery of gas reservoirs produced in the Western basin, which, despite its small size, is important and profitable from an economic point of view, thanks to the presence of an important network of gas pipelines, connecting these reservoirs to the factories located in the region of Kenitra, which are supplied by this gas.

They also pointed out that for the Essaouira basin, the production of gas and condensates started from this basin since the 80s of the last century, and the production is still going on with the “maskala” concession permit, noting that the gas produced in this basin is transported to the OCP mining centre in Youssoufia, to meet the energy needs of the phosphate drying and calcination units, and the condensates are sold to the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water.

Regarding Tendrara area, the ministry pointed out that the company “Sound Energy” drilled exploration wells, and based on the investigation, processing and extrapolation of three-dimensional seismic data, two of them confirmed the presence of natural gas, stressing that based on these encouraging results, the exploitation concession was granted to Tendrara in August 2018 to develop the gas reservoir and the production of this discovery will start through two stages.

They added that the first phase depends on the implementation of a small LNG project, and in the second phase, the National Office of Electricity and Potable Water will be supplied with gas via the Maghreb-Europe GME gas pipeline, after the realisation of a 120 km pipeline project connecting the field and the Maghreb-Europe GME gas pipeline

As for the marine area of Larache, the National Bureau of Hydrocarbons and Minerals and its partner chariot, after carrying out geological and geophysical studies, drilled an exploration well in the width of the coast of Larache, between the period of mid-December 2021 to mid-January of the current year 2022, where the results of the drilling process and the subsequent extraction of preliminary data showed the presence of gas potential in this area.

The office is also conducting geological and geophysical studies to assess its own capacities in the Tangier-Tarfaya-Tarfaya-Lagouira Atlantic Sea and Mediterranean Sea sections, as well as in the Errachidia Laayoune-Boujdour and Assa-Zag land areas.

Read Also: Details of a new report Morocco’s potential as a gas exporting country

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The Spanish Ministry of Industry, Trade and Tourism has invited Spanish companies established in Algeria to leave the country following decisions taken by the Algerian government and to favour Morocco instead. This comes down to the unpredictable and unstable nature of Algeria.

After Algeria’s decision to suspend the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbourliness and Cooperation with Spain, the Algerian authorities began to block the flow of goods and the work of operators between the two countries.

The Professional Association of Banks and Financial Institutions of Algeria has blocked payments to and from Spain.

Faced with this situation, officials from the Spanish ministry headed by Reyes Maroto told Spanish businessmen operating in Algeria that the Spanish government had no way of foreseeing the consequences of its new position on the Sahara, according to the newspaper El Independiente.

According to the same source, the Spanish government believes that “commercial interests with Morocco outweigh interests with Algeria” and therefore “bets more on Morocco than on Algeria, as it seeks to benefit from the projects that will be launched in Morocco, including the short-term purchase of between eighty and one hundred new trains, with a speed of up to 200 km / h, at a cost of about 839 million euros”.

Read Also: Morocco, Spain Satisfied with New Dynamics of Bilateral Relations

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On Saturday, December 3, 2022, King Mohammed VI presided over the unveiling of the OCP Group’s new green investment program (2023-2027) and the signing of a memorandum of agreement between the government and the OCP Group on this program at the Royal Palace in Rabat.

Here is the press release from the Royal Cabinet:

« His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him, presided, this Saturday, December 3, 2022 at the Royal Palace in Rabat, the ceremony of presentation of the new green investment program of the OCP Group (2023-2027) and the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the government and the OCP Group relating to this program.

This ceremony is in line with the proactive approach adopted by His Majesty the King over the past few years to promote the transition to green energy and a low-carbon economy. It comes as a follow-up to the working meeting chaired by the Sovereign on November 22, devoted to the development of renewable energies and new prospects in this field.

At the beginning of the ceremony, the Chairman and CEO of OCP Group, Mr. Mostafa Terrab, presented to His Majesty the King the results of the Group’s first investment program, which was the subject of High Royal Directions in 2012, and which has enabled OCP to anchor itself firmly in the fertilizer market. By tripling its fertilizer production capacity, OCP Group is now positioned as one of the world’s leading producers and exporters of phosphate fertilizers.

The group relied on the research and development capabilities of the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P) in order to capture the opportunities offered by new industrial and digital technologies, and to develop an expertise on innovative technologies of reasoned fertilization able to meet the challenges of sustainable agriculture and food security.

Afterwards, Mr. Terrab presented to the Sovereign, the new green investment program of OCP Group. This program focuses on increasing fertilizer production capacity while committing to achieve carbon neutrality before 2040, by leveraging on the unique deposit of renewable energies as well as on the advances of the Kingdom in this field under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist him.

By investing in solar and wind power, the group plans to supply all its industrial facilities with green energy by 2027. This decarbonated energy will supply the new seawater desalination capacities in order to meet the group’s needs as well as the drinking water supply and irrigation of the areas bordering the OCP sites.

This investment will enable the group, the world’s largest importer of ammonia, to eventually free itself from these imports by also investing in the renewable energy – green hydrogen – green ammonia sector, allowing it to enter the market of green fertilizers and fertilization solutions adapted to the specific needs of different soils and crops.

This ambition will be supported by support programs for industrial SMEs, as well as those in the energy and agriculture sectors, promoting the emergence of an innovative national ecosystem and the creation of new job opportunities and professional integration for young people.

The new program, which will consolidate the global position of OCP, provides for a total investment of about 130 billion dirhams over the period 2023-2027, the achievement of a local integration rate of 70%, the support of 600 Moroccan industrial companies and the creation of 25,000 direct and indirect jobs.

To this end, His Majesty the King presided over the signing of a memorandum of understanding relating to this investment program, between the Government and the OCP Group, represented respectively by the Ministers of Interior, Economy and Finance, Equipment and Water, Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies on the one hand, and by the Chairman and Managing Director of OCP on the other hand.

The ceremony was attended by the Head of Government, the Advisors of His Majesty the King and members of the government ».

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Moha Ou Ali Tagma, Morocco’s ambassador to Nigeria, has stressed the value of Moroccan-Nigerian collaboration and the two nations’ desire to collaborate in many industries.

Ali Tagma emphasized Nigeria’s role as a “strategic partner for Morocco” in an interview with the Nigerian news site Daily Trust.

Morocco makes its greatest foreign investments in Nigeria, he claimed.
Additionally, he mentioned King Mohammed VI’s 2016 trip to Nigeria, highlighting how the Moroccan king and President Muhammadu Buhari mapped out the “course of what should be the relationship” between the two nations.

The relationship between the two nations, according to the ambassador, “goes back centuries to the time when royalty from Borno, Sokoto, and Kano had very deep relations with Morocco, particularly the cities of Marrakech and Fes.” The two nations are also very close geographically, historically, and culturally.

Nigeria’s exports to Morocco totaled $14.42 million in 2021, according to Trading Economics, a business and trade-focused website.

The same website reports that Morocco exported goods worth $130.91 million to Nigeria in the same period.

The Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline was officially opened during King Mohammed VI’s state visit to Abuja.

The pipeline project was started in 2016 by King Mohammed VI and President Muhammadu Buhari of Nigeria with the intention of fostering regional integration in West Africa and enhancing the continent’s energy security.

The Moroccan ambassador spoke on the pipeline project and stressed its significance, citing King Mohammed VI’s recent speech on November 6 to mark the Green March Anniversary.

The envoy said that King Mohammed VI recently stated that the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline project “works in favor of peace, economic integration of the African continent, and its common growth” and is meant for both current and future generations.

The king wants the pipeline to help all of West Africa, “a area that is home to more than 440 million people,” and refers to the project as one for both present and future generations.

According to King Mohammed VI, “This is a project for peace, for African economic integration, and for co-development: a project for the present and for future generations.”

A total of 5,600 kilometers of the pipeline—1,672 of them in Morocco—will cross multiple nations along the Atlantic coast. A budget of $25 billion is expected to be invested in the project by investors.

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Morocco is finally witnessing the positive outcome of the efforts made in the field of development. According to a new Chandler Good Government Index (CGGI) report, the Kingdom is among the top 40 countries with an “attractive marketplace”, in part because of the agricultural sector, which constitues one of the pillars of Moroccan economy.

As the report indicates, Morocco ranks 33rd, making it one of the top 40 countries in the world with an attractive marketplace. The report also places Morocco in 61st place in the world ranking out of 104 countries, thanks to its growing market.

Morocco is the only lower-middle income country to feature in the top 40 Attractive Marketplace Pillar which takes into account 5 factors namely; property rights with a global average score (GAS) of 0.56 (Morocco 0.7), macroeconomic environment (GAS 0.87/ Morocco 0.99), attracting investments (GAS 0.63/ Morocco 0.64), logistics quality (GAS 0.45/ Morocco 0.2), and finally stable business regulations (GAS 0.52/ Morocco 0.75). 

“The Moroccan economy has made significant progress over the past two decades,” notes the CGGI, referring to Morocco’s attractiveness for foreign investment and the country’s ability to firmly resist the economic crisis that has erupted after the Arab Spring.

“Morocco ranks 56th when it comes to ‘Attracting Investments’, but there are some notable recent developments that suggest an upward trend in this important area,” the report argues.

It should be noted that the Moroccan agricultural sector “has generated growth” as one of the key sectors, as reported by the same source. The sector, which has a positive impact on employment, contributes 19% to the kingdom’s GDP, thanks to the Green Morocco Plan, a project launched in 2008 that has contributed in revolutionizing Moroccan agriculture.

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The American’s net worth is estimated at 4.3 billion dollars, according to Forbes.

Morocco is a prime destination for American investors who want to do business in emerging markets and who are interested in the African continent. In this regard, the normalization agreement between Morocco and Israel raises a lot of hope for business opportunities.

According to the Israeli press, Mark Cuban is interested in investing in emerging investment segments in Morocco such as Fintech and High-tech.

Mark Cuban is a famous American billionaire entrepreneur, television personality, media proprietor and investor with an estimated net worth of 4.3 billion dollars, according to Forbes.

In addition to his numerous properties, Cuban owns the Dallas Mavericks (NBA) basketball team, which he acquired in 2000 for 285 million dollars.

The American entrepreneur grew up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh in a working class Jewish family. He became a billionaire in 1998 at the age of 40 when he sold his internet radio company “broadcast.com” to the US giant Yahoo.

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