First Independent Mena Newspaper
Moroccan nationals continued to rank among the world’s leading recipients of Schengen visas in 2025, underscoring the depth of mobility ties between the Kingdom and Europe, according to data released by the European Commission. Consulates of Schengen countries granted a total of 480,354 short-stay visas to Moroccan applicants last year, placing Morocco among the top […]
Morocco has brushed off the EU manufacturers fear that the billions of dollars of Chinese investment injected in the Kingdom could turn the country into a highly competitive industrial and export powerhouse. Moroccan officials reject suggestions that their special economic zones will be used by China to export its excess production to the EU, deepening […]
Morocco’s largest and Africa’s third biggest dam of Al Wahda has reached near-capacity levels following months of heavy rainfall, offering a major boost to the country’s water reserves while highlighting the impact of unusually abundant precipitation that has also triggered flooding in several regions. As of May 31, the Al Wahda dam, located in Ouezzane […]
Morocco is rapidly becoming a renewable energy powerhouse thanks to the expansion of its renewable energy capacity to 5.5 GW, strong solar resources, supportive regulations, and foreign investment which are driving major new solar & wind projects across the country. The North African country has rapidly developed its solar energy sector and is now looking […]
The National Agency for Forests and Water (ANEF) has issued a formal warning about an elevated forest fire risk for the summer of 2026, sounding an alarm that contains a paradox at its core: the abundant winter rainfall that benefited Morocco’s agricultural ecosystems and restored dam levels has simultaneously generated an exceptionally dense biomass that, […]
Morocco’s insurance market opened 2026 with robust momentum, recording total premiums of 21.3 billion dirhams in the first quarter — a 17.2% increase on the same period in 2025, according to data published by the Insurance and Social Welfare Supervisory Authority (ACAPS). The life insurance segment was the primary driver of growth, with premiums rising […]
Tourist arrivals in Morocco’s southern provinces have surged by more than 50% between 2019 and 2025, underscoring the rapid emergence of Dakhla as a leading international destination on the Atlantic coast. According to figures from Morocco’s Ministry of Tourism, the number of visitors rose from 490,297 in 2019 to 743,133 in 2025, driven by the […]
Morocco is making notable headway in climate policy by adopting a “whole-of-government” approach that integrates environmental priorities across all sectors of policymaking, according to a recent World Bank article. Published on May 19, 2026, the analysis highlights how Rabat is increasingly embedding climate considerations into economic planning and governance as it seeks to build resilience […]
A major blow has been dealt to cross-border drug trafficking networks. On Sunday, May 24, 2026, French law enforcement authorities intercepted a massive shipment of 2,692 kilograms of narcotics, primarily cannabis resin, and arrested two key members of the criminal network. This logistical and judicial success was made possible through high-level police cooperation between Morocco […]
Ambassador Omar Hilale used the closing session of the UN Committee of 24’s regional seminar in Managua, Nicaragua on May 27, to deliver Morocco’s most direct statement yet on the institutional status of the Sahara dossier within the UN system: its continued presence on the C24’s agenda is anachronistic, legally inconsistent with the Charter, and […]