Morocco, France sign 22 deals in several key sectors

Morocco and France signed 22 deals as part of the state visit French President Emmanuel Macron is paying to the Kingdom at the invitation of King Mohammed VI.

The deals, signed under the chairmanship of the two heads of State, show that both countries share the same resolve to strengthen a partnership that translates into concrete projects covering railways, renewable energies, green hydrogen, ports, education, culture, agriculture and farming.

High-speed trains made by French Alstom will be supplied to Morocco to extend its high-speed railways south to Marrakech. The deal includes 12 confirmed trains and 6 optional ones.

A Declaration of Intent on financial cooperation in the railway sector, an assistance contract between ONCF and the SYSTRA/EGIS company that concerns project management assistance services for the high-speed rail between Kenitra and Marrakech, a contract between ONCF and VOSSLOH COGIFER providing for supply of equipment, including switches and crossings for the high-speed line between Kenitra and Marrakech.

In the aerospace industry, the Moroccan government and SAFRAN signed an agreement to build a maintenance and repairing site for aircraft engines for an investment worth nearly €130 million.

In the field of green hydrogen, the Moroccan government will allocate, under an agreement, an area to Total Energy.

Another deal on energy cooperation, connectivity and energy transition seeks to promote cooperation and exchanges between the two parties, mainly in energy policy and planification, certification and regulation, renewables, electrical systems, including production and electrical networks, low-carbon hydrogen production and energy storage, critical metals and the transport of molecules.

A MoU worth around 3 billion dirhams provides for the creation of a Morocco-France investment accelerator by the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment, the French Development Agency (AFD), STOA, and Bpifrance. The accelerator is meant to stimulate investment throughout Morocco, including the southern provinces and to create a 50/50 joint venture dedicated to sustainable infrastructure, with a capital of €300 million.

The two sides also signed an agreement to develop cooperation in civil protection and the fight against wildland fires, including the use of air resources.

Morocco’s National Ports Agency and AFD signed a declaration to devise a new support program covering the green transition of ports, improvement of resilience to climate change, blue economy and innovation. The program covers the entire national territory, including the southern provinces (Dakhla and Laayoune). The AFD will grant a €100-million loan to this program.

Another agreement consists in devising a new support program for the National Water Strategy. In this context, AFD will mobilize €100 million for this program, seeking to strengthen the integrated management of water resources.

The two countries also agreed to promote cooperation in the sector of agriculture and forestry in a bid to contribute to strengthening economic, social and environmental sustainability and the resilience of these sectors to climate change. The deal will also contribute to cooperation in the agricultural sector with Africa, building on Morocco’s position as a link between France, the European Union and Africa.

A French-Moroccan Declaration of intent for cooperation in education 2024-2026 is set to consolidate cooperation to promote excellence in training, support technical education sectors, strengthen the network of French educational institutions in Morocco, contribute to the teaching of the Arabic language in France, and boost inter-academic partnerships.

Another Declaration of Intent in higher education, scientific research and innovation provides for supporting partnerships in university training, boosting scientific cooperation in priority areas by strengthening the relationship with businesses, and supporting collaboration on the governance of the higher education, research and innovation ecosystem, through reinforced institutional capacities.

The two countries also signed a MoU on the creation of an African-oriented French-Moroccan Research Center (CRFM), the first of its kind in Africa, that will be dedicated to training, research and innovation in cutting-edge fields: artificial intelligence, Big Data, cyber security, renewables, hydrogen, and human and social sciences.

A declaration of intent on cultural cooperation was sealed to strengthen cooperation in cultural and creative industries, books, libraries and Francophonie, exchanges between professionals and support for mobility, heritage and museums, crafts, and a joint projection towards Africa.

The support and structuring of the cultural and creative video game industry ecosystem was the subject matter of another Declaration of intent aimed to strengthen cooperation by mobilizing French expertise to support the structuring of the video game ecosystem in Morocco and the creation of a Gaming City in Rabat.

During the same event, the OCP Group and the French Development Agency (AFD) signed a deal worth €350 million, providing for cooperation in the field of decarbonization, the development of agricultural and food value chains in Africa via support for OCP’s ″Agrifinance″ Platform, supporting and intensifying partnerships between French companies and the OCP Group, and supporting training and research in food security.

OCP also signed a Joint Development Agreement with ENGIE within the framework of a partnership in energy transition. The agreement will help strengthen the local industrial ecosystem and create new opportunities for both the companies and their national and international partners. The Agreement, which concerns OCP’s activities, covers 5 projects: “electrical transmission network”; “green hydrogen”; “green electricity”; “desalination for agricultural use” and “research and innovation”.

As part of Morocco’s renewable energy projects, EDF won a contract to expand its Taza wind farm. This MoU sets out an extension project for the development, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the second phase of the Taza wind farm, with an installed capacity of 63 MW.

In the field of port management, the CMA CGM Group, the world’s third-largest shipping company, and TANGER MED signed an agreement to develop a container terminal in Nador West Med as part of the concession obtained by MARSA MAROC, with a commitment of significant volumes (1.2 million containers) to launch the Nador West Med platform and an investment of approximately €258 million.