Investment, infrastructure…: New impetus for Morocco-UAE relationships
Economic cooperation between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates has become a model in the Arab world. In 2001, the two countries signed a free trade agreement (FTA). More than 20 years later, economic and trade relations between the two countries have made significant progress. For example, the Emirates is the first Arab country to invest in Morocco, with some forty Emirati companies and over US$ 20 billion in investments. Today, given the complementarities and similarities between the two economies, the two countries have resolved to build a new generation of more innovative, sustainable, and higher value-added partnerships in several sectors, based on a logic of multidimensional reciprocity. In view of the competitive advantages, the level of maturity of cooperation and the complementarities between the two countries, a new and even more fruitful era lies ahead, with new horizons for business leaders and investors to establish long-term partnerships, whether in Morocco or in the UAE, with the aim of stimulating cross-investment, creating jobs, accelerating growth, and fostering innovation, in order to contribute to the prosperity of future generations. It is against this promising economic backdrop that HM King Mohammed VI began his official visit to Abu Dhabi on Monday December 4. The royal visit is in line with a virtuous dynamic of cooperation on all fronts. It confirms the determination of Rabat and Abu Dhabi to forge ahead in strengthening and diversifying their partnership. The challenge is to give a strong impetus, based on instructions from the leaders of both countries, and to give a new momentum to the strategic partnership between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates. This new direction is underpinned by the maturity of the partnership and the remarkable levels of trade volumes between the two countries, against a backdrop of steady growth in both imports and exports. According to the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office, exports of Morocco to the Emirates reached over 1.41 billion Dirhams (USD 141 million) in 2022, compared with 494.38 million Dirhams (USD 49 million) in 2018. In the first 6 months of 2023, Morocco’s exports to the Emirates exceeded 1 billion Dirhams (USD 100 million). As for Morocco’s imports (from the UAE), they have doubled in 4 years, amounting to 14.48 billion Dirhams in 2022, compared with 7.68 billion in 2018. At the end of the first half of 2023, Morocco imported 8.37 billion Dirhams (USD 837 million) from the Emirates.
Multidimensional agreements
HM The King and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed Ben Zayed Al Nahyane, President of the State of the United Arab Emirates, signed on Monday December 04, 2023, a declaration entitled «Towards an innovative, renewed, and deep-rooted partnership». The aim is to enhance relations between the two countries and cooperation towards broader horizons, through economic partnerships. The partnership aims to translate the complementarity between the two countries into qualitative solidarity and sustainable investment, with a view to raising bilateral economic, trade, investment and industrial relations to the level of deep political and popular ties, in the service of development objectives. What’s more, the partnership will establish a comprehensive and balanced model of economic cooperation and investment, open to the private sector and conducive to development. It was also decided to identify opportunities for cooperation in the field of food security, by exploring partnership opportunities with OCP (Office Chérifien des Phosphates) in the field of fertilizers. Also on the agenda is the development of joint projects in tourism and real estate, particularly on the Mediterranean coast and in the Dakhla and Tarfaya regions. The digital economy is also on the agenda. A study of the implementation and financing of projects in the field of communications and the digital economy is planned. Other economic projects will also be studied, within the framework of a PPP. Morocco and the UAE plan to explore cooperation opportunities in the fields of industry, agriculture, and agribusiness, with a view to encouraging these sectors to contribute to the promotion of economic and trade relations. The two countries also intend to explore opportunities for cooperation in finance and capital markets. From now on, cooperation should also benefit countries on the African continent, through opportunities for cooperation in the field of economic partnerships and the development of energy infrastructures with African countries, in accordance with their legal and legislative systems. These include the Africa-Atlantic gas pipeline project, the planning and development of the integrated «Dakhla Gateway to Africa» project, and the creation and management of a commercial shipping fleet.
Infrastructure, TGV, green hydrogen
Both parties are committed to working on the basis of mutual understanding to prioritize the identification of investment opportunities in infrastructure, and the extension of railroads, with particular emphasis on the Kenitra-Marrakech high-speed train. Also on the agenda is the development of airports, including those at Casablanca, Marrakech, Dakhla (Dakhla Hub), and Nador… In addition, the areas of cooperation will also benefit the development of ports while investing in their management, particularly the port of Nador West Med and the port of Dakhla Atlantique. Other strategic agreements involve exploring investment opportunities in the water, energy, and sustainable development sectors. These include current and future projects for water transfers, and the construction of dams for drinking water, agriculture, and hydroelectric power. Other priorities include renewable energies and green hydrogen and its derivatives. This is followed by transport and energy, and the operation of electricity transmission lines…
Amin RBOUB
