Morocco, Mauritania make first step towards their electric interconnection

Morocco and Mauritania have made a first step towards an electric interconnection between the two countries under the preliminary agreement they signed on Thursday in Rabat.

The deal was signed by Moroccan energy minister Leila Benali in Rabat and her Mauritanian counterpart Mohamed Ould Khaled.

Under the same agreement, the two parties shall cooperate to enhance energy security and training, promote rural electrification and renewable energies.

The electric interconnexion between the two neighbors will further integrate their energy markets, adding to existing links between Morocco and Spain.

Besides electricity, Morocco agreed with Mauritania and Senegal to build a gas pipeline, the first phase in a larger project that is designed to channel Nigerian gas to Morocco and further to the European market.

The deal is conducive to electrification efforts in Mauritania, which seeks to benefit from Morocco’s experience in terms of electricity access.

In Mauritania, nearly half the population lacks access to electricity with wider gaps between urban and rural areas. Only 89% of urban population has access to electricity, compared to 4% in rural areas.

As of 2022, 100% of Morocco’s population had access to electricity.