Morocco has formalized a new high-value financing partnership with the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), signing a Country Partnership Framework worth an indicative €500 million for the period 2026-2028. The agreement was concluded by Finance Minister Nadia Fettah and OFID President Abdulhamid Al Khalifa on the sidelines of the IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings held in Washington D.C. April 13–18. During the meeting, Nadia Fettah underlined Morocco’s economic resilience in an environment of international instability, pointing to the strength of the agricultural campaign and the government’s measured response to Middle East-related shocks.
The partnership framework targets three overarching objectives: supporting sustainable growth, strengthening resilience, and developing human capital — priorities that align closely with Morocco’s current national development agenda. OFID President Al Khalifa expressed his institution’s readiness to accompany Morocco in implementing its priority projects, particularly in strategic sectors. The framework extends a productive cooperation trajectory between the two parties: in 2022, they had already signed a $100 million loan agreement to promote financial inclusion and digital transformation, and had formalized financing for preliminary studies on the Nigeria-Morocco Gas Pipeline.
That pipeline project carries particular strategic weight. Designed to carry Nigerian natural gas northward through multiple West African countries before reaching the European market via Morocco, it represents one of the most structurally significant infrastructure projects on the continent. Multiple international institutions have signaled interest in financing it, with OFID among those already committed to accompanying the feasibility process. A senior Nigerian official previously described the pipeline as a direct bridge between African gas reserves and European demand.
The Spring Meetings also provided the occasion for a parallel high-level engagement. Minister Fettah met on April 14 with Sidi Ould Tah, President of the African Development Bank (AfDB) Group, to discuss the quality and depth of Morocco’s partnership with that institution and the state of preparations for the AfDB’s 2026 Annual Meetings. The two parties also signed a letter of intent to deepen cooperation on taxation and domestic resource mobilization — reflecting Morocco’s commitment to sharing its fiscal expertise with African partner countries at a moment when official development assistance is in structural decline.
Taken together, the OFID and AfDB engagements signal Morocco’s consolidation as a sought-after partner for multilateral development finance. The €500 million OFID framework and the AfDB taxation cooperation letter position Rabat not merely as a beneficiary of international financial solidarity but as a credible co-actor in the development of the continent’s institutional infrastructure — a posture consistent with the Kingdom’s broader ambition to translate economic resilience into continental leadership.
“Building prosperity through policy” is the central theme of the IMF-WB Spring meetings this year, focusing on innovation, job creation, and private investment.
