First Independent Mena Newspaper
Holmarcom Finance Company has agreed to acquire the 67% controlling stake held by BNP Paribas in Moroccan lender Banque Marocaine pour le Commerce et l’Industrie (BMCI), the two groups said on April 29. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to regulatory approvals in Morocco, including from Bank Al‑Maghrib […]
The government of the Canary Islands aligns with Spain’s official position, supporting Morocco’s autonomy plan as the most serious, realistic and credible basis for resolving the Sahara dispute, Canary Islands President Fernando Clavijo said. This position was expressed during a press briefing held on Monday in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria with the President of […]
A new report from Spain-based defense analysis platform Defensa has shed detailed light on Morocco’s evolving military posture, describing a strategic doctrine that combines the Defense of territorial integrity with an active role in regional security across the Sahel corridor. The analysis arrives at a moment when Morocco’s security architecture is attracting sustained attention from […]
Security forces at the Tanger-Med Port have thwarted an attempt to smuggle a large quantity of synthetic drugs into Morocco, in a joint operation between Morocco’s national police and customs services on Friday. According to a security source, border inspection and search procedures led to the seizure of 140,000 ecstasy pills that had been carefully […]
The United Kingdom reaffirmed its support for Morocco’s autonomy plan for the Western Sahara on Thursday, with Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper describing it as ‘the most credible, viable, and pragmatic basis for peace’ in the territory following a meeting with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita in London. The statement consolidates a position that the UK […]
Switzerland has added its voice to the growing international momentum supporting Morocco’s autonomy initiative for the Sahara, as a lasting solution, aligning itself with positions taken by a widening circle of European states since the adoption of the UN Security Council resolution This position was expressed in a joint communication adopted by Ignazio Cassis, Federal […]
Britain and Morocco underscored the deepening of their strategic partnership during talks this week between UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Morocco’s Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, who is on an official visit to London, as both sides pointed to growing cooperation in security, trade and regional stability. Speaking after the meeting, Lammy highlighted the progress […]
Algerian authorities have sentenced French Algerian writer Kamel Daoud to three years in prison in absentia and fined him €35,000, in a ruling critics say epitomizes the regime’s sustained effort to suppress debate about the country’s civil war. Daoud, who won the 2024 Prix Goncourt for his novel Houris, announced the verdict on his X […]
Austria expressed on Wednesday its support for the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2797 (2025) affirming that “genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty could constitute a most feasible solution.” This position was set forth in a joint Communiqué adopted following a meeting in Vienna between Austria’s Federal Minister for European and International Affairs Beate Meinl-Reisinger and […]
Morocco and Sweden have signed a Memorandum of Understanding providing for upgrading security cooperation to the level of a sustainable partnership, establishing a contractual framework to strengthen mechanisms for exchanging expertise, experience, and best practices in policing. The MoU, signed during the working visit the Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance, Abdellatif Hammouchi, […]