Latest from Maroc
Maroc
2 days ago
- Business
- Maroc
London: Morocco's Investment Offer Showcased at 4th Arab-British Economic Summit
Morocco's diverse and competitive investment offer took center stage at the 4th Arab–British Economic Summit, held Monday in London under the theme "Friendship Through Trade." Organized by the Arab–British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), which marks its 50th anniversary this year, the summit emphasized the growing economic ties between the United Kingdom and Arab countries. Participants discussed concrete pathways to deepen cross-border trade and enhance bilateral investment flows in a global context marked by post-pandemic recovery, post-Brexit realignment, and the transition toward a low-carbon economy. Morocco was prominently represented by the Regional Investment Center (CRI) of Tangier–Tetouan–Al Hoceima, which highlighted the region's economic assets, and by the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (Masen), which showcased the Kingdom's ambitions in green hydrogen. The meeting was an opportunity to showcase Morocco's offerings in general and those of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region in particular to Arab and British investors taking part in the event, which welcomed more than 800 participants, the region's CRI director general, Yassine Tazi, told MAP. He highlighted the region's advantages in infrastructure, investment-ready zones, attractive incentive schemes, and skilled human capital, "factors that collectively position the territory as a leading economic hub on both national and international scales." Speaking on the CRI's role, Tazi noted that the center assists investors throughout the entire process, from the prospecting phase to identifying land and potential partners, as well as understanding Morocco's regulatory and administrative framework. For his part, ABCC Deputy Director General Abdeslam El-Idrissi commended Morocco's strengths in key sectors such as aerospace, renewable energy, and green hydrogen, while praising its major logistics infrastructure, including the Tanger Med port and the future port of Dakhla. He also pointed out that trade relations between Morocco and the United Kingdom are set to develop, particularly following the recent visit of British Foreign Secretary David Lammy to Rabat, during which he announced London's support for the Moroccan autonomy plan as the most credible, viable, and pragmatic basis for a lasting settlement of the regional dispute over the Moroccan Sahara. This positive momentum, El-Idrissi added, should encourage more British businesses to invest in Morocco's Southern Provinces and other dynamic regions across the Kingdom. "There is now a broader recognition that Morocco is not just a top-tier tourist destination but also one of the most promising business environments in the region," he concluded. MAP: 25 June 2025
Maroc
3 days ago
- Business
- Maroc
Tangier-Tarifa: Zero-Emission Electric Maritime Link by 2027
The Spanish maritime company Baleària presented on Tuesday in Tangier a project for an electric, zero-emission maritime link between Tangier and Tarifa, operated by two high-speed electric ferries set to be launched in 2027. The presentation ceremony was attended by Morocco's Minister of Transport and Logistics, Abdessamad Kayouh, the Spanish Ambassador to Morocco, Enrique Ojeda, the President of the Port Authority of the Bay of Algeciras, the President of the Port of Tangier City, the Spanish Secretary-General for Air and Maritime Transport, and the President of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima Regional Council. This public-private partnership project aims to establish a green maritime corridor between Europe and Africa, enabling a fully electric, CO2-free crossing between the two shores of the Strait. It includes the construction of two twin vessels in Spain and the installation of port infrastructure for electric charging in both Tangier and Tarifa. In a statement to MAP, Minister Kayouh stressed that strengthening the maritime fleet is part of a broader strategy to ensure smooth and sustainable mobility, particularly within the framework of the Marhaba Operation, conducted under the supervision of the Mohammed V Foundation for Solidarity. He noted that the ministry is supporting the operation by mobilizing around 29 vessels, offering a weekly capacity of 500,000 passengers and 130,000 vehicles across four Moroccan ports and twelve European ports. "The goal is to make as many vessels as possible available to meet rising demand and ensure optimal crossing conditions for Moroccans living abroad," he said. For his part, Baleària's CEO, Georges Bassoul, stated that each vessel will produce 16 MW of electric power via four electric thrusters powered by batteries with a capacity of 11,500 kWh, allowing the entire crossing to be completed using electric propulsion only, with zero emissions. In a detailed presentation of the project's technical aspects, Bassoul emphasized that these will be fully decarbonized crossings, meeting 2050 sustainability goals as early as 2027. MAP: 24 June 2025
Maroc
3 days ago
- Business
- Maroc
COBCO's Manufacturing Unit for Electric Battery Materials, Major Milestone in Morocco's Industry
The first manufacturing unit dedicated to the production of electric battery active materials, inaugurated by COBCO company on Wednesday in Jorf Lasfar, Morocco, marks a major milestone in the country's industry. A fruit of a strategic partnership between AL MADA, a Moroccan pan-African investment fund, and CNGR Advanced Materials, a global leader in battery materials, this industrial platform confirms Morocco's growing role as a regional hub in clean-technology industry and a committed player in global green-technology. On the occasion of the inauguration of this unit, COBCO announced the commissioning of the first phase of its production complex for nickel-manganese-cobalt (NMC) precursor cathodes (pCAM). This industrial platform, spanning more than 238 hectares, is dedicated to the recovery of metals critical to the energy transition, especially domestic natural resources such as phosphate, cobalt and manganese. These raw materials are transformed locally into strategic components for batteries used in EV and stationary energy markets. The plant, which has committed a total investment of MAD 20 billion (around $2 billion), is in charge of the production of high-tech chemical components for the manufacture of lithium-ion batteries, mainly for the European and North American markets. Two types of strategic products will be deployed, requiring heavy investment, advanced expertise and cutting-edge technologies. These are NMC (Nickel-Manganese-Cobalt) precursors, with a target production capacity of 120,000 metric tons per year, and LFP (Lithium-Iron-Phosphate) cathodes, with a target production capacity of 60,000 metric tons/year. COBCO also covers the upstream part of the value chain, with a dual ambition: to strengthen local integration and generate industrial value in Morocco, through the refining of critical metals (nickel, cobalt, manganese), used in the production of NMC precursors, and the recycling of black mass, the residue from the crushing of end-of-life batteries, in order to extract the strategic metals (lithium, nickel, cobalt), with a processing capacity of 30,000 metric tons per year. Ultimately, all of these capacities will generate a combined capacity equivalent to 70 GWh per year, enough to equip nearly one million EVs annually. By catalyzing the emergence of a Moroccan ecosystem dedicated to the strategic electric battery industry and targeting European and North American markets, COBCO aims to become a strategic industrial lever between Africa, Europe and China, and a key part of Morocco's repositioning as a regional energy and industrial hub, serving the global energy transition. On the ground, more than 5,000 jobs were created during the construction phase. Ultimately, more than 1,800 highly skilled direct jobs will be created, as well as 1,800 indirect jobs in subcontracting, logistics, services, and local infrastructure. As for COBCO's environmental strategy, it rests on several pillars, including the implementation of an low-carbon footprint industrial plant, based on circular economy and environmental performance, certification procedures for the main international standards will be launched starting 2025 as well as a sustainable production, based on the usage of Moroccan green energy (with an objective of 80% in 2025 and 100% by the end of 2026), as well as the usage of desalinated water and water treatment and recycling systems. It is clear that Morocco is emerging as a credible and strategic industrial platform, combining free trade agreements with the European Union and the U.S., with logistical proximity to Europe and a structured production environment and a qualified workforce. MAP: 25 June 2025
Maroc
3 days ago
- Business
- Maroc
Morocco, EU Share Unique Relationship, Common Goal to Deepen Partnership, European Commissioner for Mediterranean Says
European Commissioner for the Mediterranean Dubravka Šuica lauded Tuesday the Morocco-EU relations, highlighting both parties' common goal to deepen their partnership. "We share a unique relationship and a common goal to deepen our partnership", the European official wrote on her X account following a phone conversation with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita. The talks cast light on the engagement of Morocco, a "key and reliable" partner of the EU, on the New Pact for the Mediterranean. In this regard, Šuica said she was looking forward to further exchanges during her forthcoming visit to the Kingdom. Rabat and Brussels, a benchmark in the European Union's neighborhood policy, are linked by a strategic partnership built on a solid foundation of values and vision. The highest European bodies, namely the 27 Heads of state and government, the Commission's President and its High Representative, have all reiterated the "immense" significance the EU attaches to strategic partnership with Morocco. It should be recalled that during the European Council held on October, 17th, 2024, all of the 27 Heads of state underlined the need to preserve and strengthen close ties with Morocco in all areas with the framework of Morocco-EU partnership. MAP: 25 June 2025
Maroc
3 days ago
- Politics
- Maroc
Moroccan, French Police Seal Joint Action Plan
Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance, Abdellatif Hammouchi, inked on Tuesday in Rabat, with his French peer, Louis Laugier, Director General of National Police, a Joint Action Plan between the National Police Services and France's Directorate General of National Police. This action plan was signed on the occasion of Hammouchi's meeting with Laugier, who was accompanied by the Ambassador of the French Republic to Rabat and a large security delegation comprising several directors of central directorates of the French National Police, according to a press release from the DGSN-DGST Cluster. It establishes a joint roadmap to fight cross-border organized crime in the two sister countries, the same source added. This meeting forms part of the visit paid by the Director General of France's Directorate General of National Police to the Kingdom, with a view of bolstering security cooperation and strengthening mutual assistance mechanisms in the numerous fields of bilateral police cooperation. The importance of this joint plan resides in its capacity to institutionalize the distinguished cooperation mechanisms established for decades between Morocco's police services and their French counterparts, as well as to develop and expand cooperation fields in order to pave the way for the creation of joint working groups to face the challenges of organized crime, including tracking fugitives and wanted persons on the international level. This joint plan opens promising prospects for security cooperation and mutual assistance between the police services of the Kingdom of Morocco and the French Republic, to match the distinguished relations between the two friendly countries, and their enduring strategic partnership in the fields of training, information exchange, technical assistance and operational cooperation. Laugier expressed his deep gratitude to the national police and surveillance services for their role in supporting French security in the fight against the terrorist threat, in tracking down and arresting several individuals wanted by the French justice system in connection with organized crime, and in providing security for the Paris Olympic Games. He also expressed France's willingness and readiness to offer all possible forms of support to help the Moroccan police with safety protocols to secure the international sporting events that Morocco will be hosting in the future. In parallel with the working sessions held between the two parties, the Ambassador of the French Republic in Rabat, Christophe Lecourtier, presented the insignia of Officer of the Legion of Honour, which the French authorities awarded to the Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance, Abdellatif Hammouchi, in accordance with the ceremonial and protocol in force under the procedure for the award of high decorations by the French Republic. Hammouchi was thus awarded France's highest and most prestigious decorations, in recognition and confirmation of the pioneering role played by the national police services in international efforts to combat terrorism and organized crime. This distinction also testifies to the effectiveness of mutual assistance in security matters between the two countries, in favor of common security issues. The Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance held intensive talks with his French counterpart, focusing on assessing the level of bilateral cooperation in the security field, examining various issues of common interest, and exploring new mechanisms for strengthening assistance between the two parties to ensure the highest levels of preparedness to neutralize the various security risks and threats. This visit illustrates the importance and level of cooperation between the Kingdom's national police services and the French National Police. It also reflects the desire of both parties to strengthen mutual assistance and operational cooperation in order to achieve the highest level of preparedness to face the various threats and risks that threaten the security of both countries, the press release concluded. MAP: 24 June 2025
