Morocco, Nigeria Agree to Build Landmark Gas Pipeline

Morocco and Nigeria signed a partnership agreement to conduct feasibility studies and build a gas pipeline that will stretch along the coast connecting Nigerian gas wells with West African countries all the way up until reaching the Kingdom.

The signing ceremony of the agreement was chaired in Abuja by Nigeria’s President Muhammdo Buhari and King Mohammed VI, who is on an official visit to Nigeria as part of an African tour, meant to boost Morocco’s standing and economic and political ties with African countries ahead of joining Africa’s institutional family.

During the signing ceremony, a joint statement on this mega African project was read out stating that the pipeline was discussed by the two Heads of state during the UN Climate Summit (COP22) in Marrakech in November.

The pipeline will add momentum to economic integration in West Africa and will help promote efforts to boost electrification in the region. The project is also meant to help Nigerian gas reach Europe.

The two countries signed 14 other agreements providing for developing industrial clusters in the sub-region in sectors such as manufacturing, Agro-business and fertilizers to help attract foreign capital and improve export competitiveness.

King Mohammed VI’s historic visit to Nigeria, the first ever by a Moroccan Monarch is viewed as a milestone in Moroccan-Nigerian relations that will usher a new diplomatic era marked by economic cooperation and political consultation.