A strategic cooperation framework was signed by Morocco and the UK as a show of their commitment to stepping up their collaboration in areas including sustainable energy.

The agreement was signed on Tuesday in Rabat during the fourth round of the UK-Morocco strategic dialogue by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and Lord Tariq Ahmed, Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, and the UN.

The strategic framework seeks to facilitate cooperation between the two nations in a variety of fields, such as environmental protection, clean energy, and sustainable economic development.

Additionally, the agreement aims to support Morocco’s efforts to create a low-carbon and robust economy.

Lord Ahmed referred to the signing as “another milestone in the UK-Morocco relations as we reaffirmed our common vision for the establishment of a strategic partnership and deepening friendship between our two Kingdoms.”

For a long time, the UK has underlined how interested it is in increasing collaboration with Morocco in a range of fields, including agriculture and renewable energy.

In a recent interview from May of last year, UK Ambassador Simon Martin made similar plea, highlighting how Morocco’s new approach to development provides a chance to more effectively take advantage of emerging prospects for the economies of the two nations.

“This will allow a new impetus to bilateral relations between the two countries which have just celebrated the 300th anniversary of the first diplomatic treaty signed between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United Kingdom in 1721,” he said.

Many nations have recently become interested in Morocco due to its potential in the field of renewable energy sources.

Numerous significant renewable energy initiatives are located throughout the nation, including the largest power plant in the world, the Ouarzazate power plant. With a 580 megawatt capacity, the plant provides energy to nearly 2 million Moroccans.

Along with renewable energy, Morocco and the US want to increase economic, political and cultural exchange, and sector-specific collaboration.

The United Kingdom reaffirmed its commitment to the Western Sahara peace process during the fourth dialogue session and its support for Morocco’s initiatives.

Read Also: UK Values Morocco’s Serious Efforts in Western Sahara Political Process

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By investing in its “enormous” potential in the sector, which the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC) referred to in a report, Morocco is expected to generate 75,000 employment and more than $1 billion in gross value added to the local economy within five years.

Since 2016, Morocco has started sweeping changes to expand its renewable energy industry. In particular, the monarchy has targeted meeting more than half of its energy requirements through the use of renewable resources by the year 2030.

Morocco is already taking action to fulfill its amended 2021 Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) targets under the Paris Agreement, according to the GWEC, as a developing nation with low per capita emissions.

The organization highlighted that the kingdom remained “primarily dependent on the international energy market, since it imports more than 90% of its energy needs” in its new research, which focuses on the Moroccan experience.

The necessity for Morocco to implement a more self-sufficient energy policy is highlighted by the fact that domestic energy costs have climbed dramatically as a result of the country’s recent focus on energy security.

In this regard, the Moroccan government aims to improve supply security by lowering reliance on energy imports, notably by increasing the use of renewable sources for the production of power.

Morocco may install 43% of its onshore wind capacity in an accelerated transition scenario and provided impediments linked to legislative frameworks, transmission infrastructure, and permitting regimes are addressed, according to a new analysis from the World Wind Energy Council.

The kingdom, after South Africa and Egypt, has one of the largest onshore wind farms on the African continent, according to GWEC, and it has exceptional wind resources.

By 2035, installed capacity is anticipated to reach 5 GW thanks to aggressive renewable energy targets.

Regarding the country’s energy mix, the same source notes that Morocco has already surpassed its target of 42% renewable energy by 2020. This makes a 10% increase in renewable energy until 2030 look “realistic.”

“Wind capacity targets may be more challenging to meet, though.

The country “has not been able to fulfill its 2 GW wind energy objective in 2020, despite capacity increasing continually up to that point,” according to the report.

Furthermore, even if the proportion of renewable energy has consistently increased over the past ten years, Morocco’s energy balance is still heavily dependent on fossil fuels.

The existing obstacles to wind energy in Morocco are also described by GWEC. According to the council, “grid law,” which it cites, turbine providers “are struggling to meet some of the requirements” of the new rules for grid connection, which “complicates the project development process and delays them.”

“New expenses for using the grid have been added, increasing the selling price of electricity for independent power producers, making their projects less competitive compared to those carried out by ONEE,” it claims.

Also, the article discusses “competition with solar,” lamenting the fact that “current legislation does not permit wind and solar projects to share grid connection points.”

“Projects that combine solar and wind energy are likewise prohibited. The GWEC explains that this makes it more difficult for developers to co-develop dual-technology projects and raises competition among them for available space.

The GWEC offers a number of solutions to address these issues, including “equalizing the costs of the network for independent power producers and ONEE” to “improve the competitiveness of private wind projects, reduce the costs of long-term projects, and boost returns on investment.”

According to the council, this will increase investor trust and installation rates. It also says that “allowing wind and solar projects to share grid points” will take away “the element of competition between projects,” “encourage collaboration between renewable energy project developers,” and “use Morocco’s significant green hydrogen targets to further encourage wind power generation.”

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The United Nations Framework for Collaboration for Sustainable Development 2023–2027 was signed today in Rabat by the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita and the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Morocco Nathalie Foster.

In order to accomplish the objectives of sustainable development in Morocco by the year 2030, the United Nations Development System will organize and monitor its programming using the United Nations Framework for Cooperation for Sustainable Development as a guide.

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According to Bourita, “This framework marks a new generation of inter-cooperation with the United Nations.” Bourita was expressing support on behalf of the Kingdom for the reforms made by the UN Secretary-General in the area of sustainable development.

In a speech given on the occasion before a number of officials at the ministry’s headquarters, Bourita added that “the axes of this framework are in line with the objectives of the new development model” and emphasized that “Morocco is ready to cooperate with the United Nations and transfer its experiences to other countries.”

The government official added that “there are new ideas and inventive solutions that are in keeping with the current circumstances,” saying that “Morocco is on the right route to accomplish the goals of sustainable development, and a new road map has been established to specify areas for targeting.”

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Additionally, he said that Morocco “devised a cooperative policy focused on the African continent that had an impact on security and peace in the region,” emphasizing the Kingdom’s willingness to share its expertise in the fields of sustainable development with African nations.

According to Nathalie Foster, the UN representative in Morocco, the development of the United Nations Framework for Sustainable Development 2023–2027 was done in collaboration with the Moroccan government and is based on four strategic axes that are consistent with both the transformative objectives of Morocco’s new development model and the objectives of sustainable development.

“This framework is built on four fundamental axes: comprehensive and sustainable economic transformation, human capital development, inclusion and social protection, governance, resilience, and local development,” she further stated in her speech.

“The United Nations framework for sustainable development is not simply a phrase, but it offers a road map to help Morocco’s journey to achieving sustainable development in the country that responds to the demands of citizens,” the UN official emphasized.

According to the official, “the axes of this framework are in line with the goals of the new development model,” highlighting the UN’s cooperation with Morocco.

Read Also: Morocco welcomes Indian businesses to attract investments and increase trade exchanges

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The Minister of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform, Mohamed Benchâaboun, and the Ambassador of the United Kingdom to Morocco, Simon Martin, affirmed, yesterday Tuesday, their determination to consolidate and strengthen bilateral relations of cooperation between Morocco and the United Kingdom in the field of adapting sustainable development goals to the post Covid-19 economic takeoff.

A communiqué of the Ministry of Economy, Finance and Administration Reform stated that Minister Benchâaboun held a meeting with Ambassador Simon Martin devoted to discussing a set of issues that were mainly concerned with harmonizing the economic take-off in Morocco with the goals of sustainable development, especially with regard to the activities of the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, noting that the officials confirmed their determination to consolidate and strengthen cooperation between Morocco and the United Kingdom especially in combating global warming.

The communiqué added that another objective is to mobilize the Moroccan financial sector to implement national climate goals.

The communiqué highlighted that Benchâaboun and Martin reviewed, during this meeting, the status of bilateral economic and trade cooperation between Morocco and the UK, and welcomed, in this regard, the implementation of the partnership agreement concluded between the two countries as of January 1, 2021.

This agreement aims at consolidating the existing partnership between the two partners.

According to the same source, this meeting was also an opportunity for the British ambassador to present the UK’s efforts in the field of climate, in its capacity as the President of the 26th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to be held in Glasgow in November 2021.

For his part, Benchâaboun recalled Morocco’s strong commitment to climate and sustainable development, under the  leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, which is embodied through the initiatives launched in several areas, as well as the reforms carried out at institutional, organizational, and financial levels.

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Princess Lalla Hasnaa, President of the Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, participated through a video message in the UNESCO World Conference on Education for Sustainable Development, which is being held virtually from 17-19 May.

Her Royal Highness began her speech by stressing the need for all of us to “build a new and necessary consensus by defining the priorities that we set ourselves as human beings linked by a common destiny”, and working to achieve equitable and global Sustainable Development, especially during the current Covid-19 crisis.

The Princess also noted that protecting the environment and safeguarding the planet, “our common home”, are fundamental for us to reach our goal, recalling, in this regard, the mission of Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment, which has been working, for more than two decades, to develop various programs intended to reduce or eliminate the negative impact of humans on nature.

Moreover, HRH highlighted the important role of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who has always shown big interest in this matter and never missed the opportunity to stress the importance of school, which lies “at the heart of these development issues”. The Princess continues saying, “school is responsible for teaching and transmitting knowledge, school is, more broadly and even more as a priority, a space for education and transmission of values”, explaining, in this regard, that educating the youth to respect the environment means “believing in the promise of a new, more harmonious and sustainable world.”

In the same context, HRH noted that the action of Mohammed VI Foundation for the Protection of the Environment focuses on raising awareness among the youth regarding these issues; as Education for Sustainable Development is considered the key to success.

On this occasion, Princess Lalla Hasnaa expressed Morocco’s pride of being one of UNESCO’s partners with whom “we have been working together since 2020 to integrate environmental education into (school) curricula at all levels”, recalling that Morocco is one of the only three countries in the world which is carrying out a pilot experiment for the UNESCO’s Global Schools program .

On a final note, Her Royal Highness stressed the need to hasten the process of implementing this essential measure, inviting us all, in this respect, to “resolutely commit, during this decade, to instituting education for sustainable development as an imperative priority. It is urgent. It is vital!”

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