Russia’s Prime Minister Expected in Morocco Tuesday

Russian Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev is paying a visit to Morocco this October 10-11 to discuss with Moroccan officials the means to boost bilateral cooperation in fields as various as energy, industry, agriculture, tourism and culture.
The Russian government said in a statement that the visit will feature talks between Medvedev and King Mohammed VI as well as the head of the Moroccan government Saad Eddine El Othmani and the Speakers of the two houses of the Parliament.

Prior to landing in Morocco, Medvedev paid an official visit to Algiers to strengthen commercial and military ties. But as was expected he could not meet Algeria’s ailing President Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Morocco is a key supplier of agricultural products and fisheries to Russia and aspires to be Russia’s first African supplier.

Last week, Russia’s Energy Minister Alexander Novak said Russian companies are interested in Morocco’s gas projects, notably the liquefied gas terminal in Jorf Lasfar and the Moroccan-Nigerian gas pipeline.

He said Russian companies such as Gazprom and Novatek are willing to contribute to the achievement of Morocco’s flagship gas projects.

The Minister noted that negotiations are underway between Gazprom and Novatek and Morocco to secure LNG supply from Russia’s Yamal-LNG and Arctic LNG.

Morocco is also seeking to replace Algerian gas with Russian and Qatari gas. Russia sees in Morocco’s port installations an opportunity to access African markets while Qatar has widened the gap with its competitors over the supply of 5 million cubic meters of LNG annually to the Jorf Lasfar Installation.