The new agreements follow a Memorandum of Understanding earlier this month that aims to promote business opportunities in Morocco to German investors.
Rabat – Morocco and Germany signed three agreements Wednesday worth a combined total of €701.3 million to support development in the North African country.
Germany will distribute the funds to Morocco through loans and grants. The agreements target renewable energy, energy efficiency, sustainable economic development, and water resource management in Morocco.
Minister of Economy Mohamed Benchaaboun and Germany’s Ambassador to Morocco, Gotz Schmidt-Bremme, signed the agreements on July 22 in Rabat.
The initiative reflects the excellent state of affairs between two countries and shines the spotlight on Germany’s priority sectors of Moroccan development.
In a joint statement, the German embassy and Moroccan ministry said the agreements align with the November 2019 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that established a “Partnership for Reform.”
The partnership falls under the framework of the G20 initiative Compact with Africa (CWA), promoting private investment throughout the continent.
The “Partnership for Reform” intends to support Morocco’s progress in reforming the financial sector, improving the business and investment climate, and strengthening advanced regionalization.
The partnership ultimately aims to develop the potential of Morocco’s private sector and promote sustainable, job-creating economic growth.
Benchaaboun and Schmidt-Bremme reaffirmed on Wednesday the determination of Morocco and Germany to work together in pursuit of the projects outlined in the agreements and strengthen bilateral cooperation in the related fields.
Morocco’s burgeoning relationship with Germany
Wednesday’s agreements follow the July 7 signing of an MoU between the Moroccan Investment and Export Development Agency (AMDIE) and the Ghorfa Arab-German Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
The AMDIE-Ghorfa agreement aims to establish a framework for cooperation to promote business opportunities in Morocco to German investors.
The MoU calls for specialized publications on the economies of the two countries to support these efforts. A guide on investment and the business climate in Morocco is soon to be published in German and widely distributed to German economic operators.
Germany is quickly becoming one of Morocco’s strongest partners in Europe, with a flurry of Rabat-Berlin agreements coming into effect in 2020.
In January, the Chamber of Commerce of the Rabat-Sale-Kenitra region signed an agreement with the Training and Development Centers of the Bavarian Employers’ Associations (BFZ) to support Moroccan vocational training institutes.
On June 10, the two countries signed an agreement on the development of the green hydrogen production sector, the first of its kind in Germany. The two countries’ bilateral cooperation in the field of renewable energies dates back to the 2012 signing of the Moroccan-German Energy Partnership (PAREMA).
The recent hydrogen agreement commits the Moroccan Ministry of Energy, Mines, and Environment to a partnership with the German Ministry of Economic Cooperation and Development to set up research and investment projects in the use of hydrogen for clean energy.
Morocco has warmly welcomed Germany’s commitment to nurturing development and investment in the North African country, and relations look set to further improve.
Read also: Morocco to Further Cooperation with Germany on Renewable Energies
