Morocco
Rabat and Washington’s military partnership continues apace. US group Collins Industries struck a 265-million-dollar deal with the Moroccan armed forces (FAR) to supply Moroccan F16 fighters with DB – and MS-110 reconnaissance systems. On the backdrop of a deal with Lockheed Martin to maintain and upgrade its aerial forces, Morocco had also bought the Viper Shield electronic system from L3 Harris last November. In April, moreover, the US Department also greenlit the kingdom’s request for 40 JSOW AG154 missiles for 250 million dollars. This month, the Pentagon notified to Congress the sale of 18 Himars rocket launchers for 524 million dollars, which the kingdom had also requested in April through US company Raytheon.
Relations with Europe also seem to be in full swing. Interior minister Abdelouafi Laftit met in Rabat with his Italian counterpart, Matteo Piantedosi, to discuss migration and border security;later this month, Italian minister of University and Research Anna Maria Bernini visited the Moroccan capital and signed a memorandum of understanding with Moroccan counterpart Abdellatif Miraoui in the framework of the Mattei Plan for Africa. Meanwhile, the Moroccan and German Foreign ministers, Nasser Bourita and Annalena Baerbock, met in Berlin for the first Morocco-Germany Strategic Dialogue forum. A joint declaration on renewable energy and climate policy cooperation was also signed on the sidelines of the meeting, with particular attention to the development of a Moroccan green hydrogen supply chain, of which Germany is a strong advocate. Finally, the head of Moroccan national security, Abdellatif Hammouchi, met in Paris with his French counterparts from the police forces and the external and internal security services. Organized by France, the meetings follow a call for early elections by president Macron and likely aim to reinforcesecurity cooperation with Morocco.
More news, finally, in the energy sector. Turkiye and Morocco signed two agreements to expand cooperation in mining, oil, and gas and renewable energy: the deal took place in Rabat under the auspices of the Moroccan minister for Energy transition, Leila Benali, and Turkish Energy minister Alparslan Bayraktar. Meanwhile, British group Energean announced it would divest from his assets in Italy, Croatia, and Egypt to focus on development of gas resources in Morocco. Energean, which sold his assets to Carlyle for 945 million dollars, will reportedly focus on the Anchois field, one of the few gas deposits discovered in Morocco so far.
The kingdom, however, keeps striving to diversify its energy sources. This month, Belgian group Jan de Nul and West Australian Fortescue signed a deal to transport green hydrogen through a 1000-km undersea cable linking Morocco to Europe. Under embargo from neighbouring Algeria – who shut off gas supplies from the Morocco-Europe pipeline in 2021 –, the kingdom aims to satisfy 52% of its energy needs through renewable sources by 2030. Morocco also aims to exploit his high solar and wind potential to synthesize hydrogen, bypassing inflationary pressures on methane gas (which is traditionally used to produce “grey” hydrogen) and reducing climate emissions in the process.
Download the June 2024 report
The initiative was promoted by the Italian Ministry of Universities and Research (MUR), the Med-Or Foundation, the Moroccan Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, and the Italian Embassy in Rabat.
Present at the event were the Italian Minister of Universities and Research, Anna Maria Bernini, the Moroccan Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Abdellatif Miraoui, and the Italian Ambassador to Rabat, Armando Barucco.
Med-Or Foundation attended the 12th edition of the international conference “The Atlantic Dialogues” organized by the think tank The Policy Center for the New South in Marrakech, Morocco.
Med-Or Chairman Marco Minniti visited the Kingdom of Morocco and signed two partnership agreements with the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation and the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication
| Head of state | King Mohammed VI |
| Head of Government | Aziz Akhannouch |
| Institutional Form | Unitary parliamentary semi-constitutional monarchy |
| Capital | Rabat |
| Legislative Power | Bicameral Parliament composed of a House of Councillors (10 Members) and a House of Representatives (395 Members) |
| Judicial Power | Supreme Court or Court of Cassation (composed of 5 judicial panels organised into civil, family, commercial, administrative, social, and criminal sections) |
| Ambassador to Italy | Youssef Balla |
| Total Area kmq | 716.550 km2 |
| Land | 716.300 km2 |
| Weather | Mediterranean in the north, hot and dry desert in the south |
| Natural resources | Phosphates, iron ore, manganese, lead, zinc, fish, salt |
| Economic summary | Kingdom of Morocco recently strengthened economic relations with Europe because of a developed, diversified and open market, foreign investments and low labour costs. Morocco has increased the investments in seaport, transport and industrial infrastructure | |
| GDP | € 130.3 billion (2023) | |
| Exports | € 38.5 billion (2023) |
|
| Export partner | Spain 21.7%, France 19%, Italy 4.96%, India 4.32%, Brazil 3.61%, United States 3.5% (2020) | |
| Imports | € 64.2 billion (2023) |
|
| Import partner | Spain 19.5%, China 11.2%, Germany 5.26%, United States 5.2%, Türkiye 5.09%, Italy 4.73% (2020) | |
| Trade With Italy | € 4,760 billion (2023) |
| Population | 36.738.229 (2022) |
| Population Growth | 0,91% (2022 est.) |
| Ethnicities | Arab-Berber 99%, others 1% |
| Languages | Arabic (official), Berber (Tamazight (official), Tachelhit, Tarifit), French (the language of business, government, and diplomacy) |
| Religions | Muslims 99% (official; practically all Sunnis, <0.1% Shia), others 1% (includes Christians, Jews, and Baha'i); note - Jews about 6,000 |
| Urbanization | 64,6% (2022 est.) |
| Literacy | 73.8% |
Independent since 1952, after the end of the French and Spanish protectorates and the International Zone of Tangiers, the Kingdom of Morocco is located at the far northwestern end of the Maghreb region in North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to the east and Mauritania to the south. Its population is estimated to be 36.7 million people and is mainly composed of two ethno-linguistic groups, Imaziɣen and Arabs. Morocco is also home to the largest Jewish community in the Arab world. The country’s official languages are Arabic and Tamaziɣt.
Morocco’s political stability and its economic growth forecast make it stand out in the Maghreb region. For Italy, it is a strategic country and the intensification of relations between Rome and Rabat represents an opportunity for the entire Mediterranean area.
Italy is the third destination in Europe for Moroccan migrants, with the Moroccan community in Italy estimated at 450,000 people and growing. According to the World Bank, remittances from Moroccans living abroad reached 6.57 percent of the country’s GDP - its largest source of revenues after tourism.
Italy is Morocco’s sixth trade partner for both imports and exports, and it enjoys a positive trade balance. Over 252 Italian companies are currently present in the country. In 2019, Italy and Morocco signed a multidimensional strategic partnership. Some of the commitments taken include: political, diplomatic and intelligence cooperation; the management of regional and international challenges; the fight against international terrorism and crime; the consolidation of economic, trade and financial relations; the fight against irregular migration flows and human trafficking; and the strengthening of cultural and scientific cooperation.
Since 2008, the European Union has granted Morocco “advanced status", facilitating collaboration with European countries.
