Morocco’s King Mohammed VI signed multiple Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) in Abu Dhabi on Monday to broaden Morocco’s economic ties and bilateral relations with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The king’s visit, which coincided with COP28, focused on strengthening the two countries’ relationship and developing further collaboration in a multitude of areas including energy, investment, infrastructure, and data centers.
The first MoU focuses on a high-speed rail partnership, based on the success of Africa’s first high-speed train line, the TGV-Al Boraq line in Morocco, which connects Casablanca and Tangier.
Morocco has plans to extend this transformative rail infrastructure to Marrakech by 2029, and both countries have pledged to use innovative financing mechanisms such as public-private partnerships.
The second MoU details a collaboration to establish investment opportunities and funding methods for water-related projects to provide a solution to water scarcity concerns. Dam construction, desalination facilities, and inter-basin connections are only some of the important activities aimed at meeting long-term water sustainability.
The third MoU sets up an economic and investment framework between the two countries. Targeting earthquake-affected communities, the collaboration will include reconstruction operations as well as the development of critical sectors such as healthcare, education, social, and infrastructure facilities.
In the fourth MoU, securing energy security takes center stage. It concentrates on collaborative efforts natural gas-fired power generation, hydroelectricity dam development, and strengthening the national network for transmitting electricity from the south of the Kingdom to the north.
Morocco’s agriculture and fisheries industries are anticipated to benefit from the fifth MoU, promoting economic and investment frameworks, exchange of information, and collaborative initiatives between Morocco and the UAE.
The sixth area of focus is airport infrastructure, with the goal of developing and evaluating investment options and new financing structures for Moroccan airport projects.
Morocco’s ports are also targeted to benefit from this collaboration, as the seventh MoU emphasizes investment prospects and new financing techniques for port developments, particularly in the Atlantic port of Dakhla in the south and the Mediterranean port of Nador.
The eighth MoU, centering on the Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline, anticipates bringing this 5,600 km transcontinental natural gas pipeline to fruition. Under the MoU, the UAE would provide potential financial and technical assistance to the ambitious project that would connect the two countries.
The tenth MoU provides an environment for economic and investment cooperation and facilitates the interchange of technical information, skills, and experiences in the tourism and real estate industries.
The final area of understanding involves stimulating investments in Moroccan data center projects. The collaboration will explore incentives to boost investment in this sector, with an initial phase to develop centers powered by 100 megawatts of electricity with an eventual goal of 500 megawatts.