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Doha – The first edition of the International Salon for Ports and their Ecosystem (SIPORTS) will take place from February 5-7, 2026, at the Mohammed VI Complex in El Jadida. Organized under the aegis of the Ministry of Equipment and Water by LINECO Events, this pioneering event aims to position Morocco as a strategic hub in global maritime trade.
The salon will bring together more than 300 exhibitors from four continents and expects to welcome around 6,000 professional visitors.
SIPORTS will be structured around five thematic pavilions: institutional, port industry, operations, scientific and academic, along with a museum dedicated to ports.
Nizar Baraka, Minister of Equipment and Water, views the event as perfectly aligned with Morocco’s maritime strategy.
“This initiative is perfectly aligned with the great momentum the port and maritime sector is experiencing, driven by the orientations of King Mohammed VI, aimed at strengthening Morocco’s position as an essential maritime hub on both Mediterranean and Atlantic coasts,” said Baraka.
Read also: Dakhla Atlantic Port and N’Djamena Corridor: Pivotal Game Changers in Africa’s Economic Landscape
He added that creating an exchange platform that brings together all stakeholders to discuss challenges and opportunities, accompanied by spaces dedicated to innovation and new technologies, “perfectly addresses the challenges of modernization and sustainable development of our port infrastructure.”
Mohcine Berrada, president of LINECO Events and organizer of this first edition, described SIPORTS as “an international crossroads of expertise and solutions for the future.”
“Our ambition is to respond to the crucial challenges of performance, connectivity, innovation, and sustainability that are reshaping the map of global maritime trade today,” said Berrada.
The event will feature an ambitious program of conferences, expert panels, international keynotes, and technical workshops. These sessions will create a space for strategic reflection and concrete exchanges to address the profound changes in the sector.
Topics will include structuring new maritime routes, smart ports, eco-responsible infrastructure, and strengthened regional cooperation.
Consolidating Morocco’s global maritime leadership
By promoting B2C and B2B meetings and showcasing innovative solutions, SIPORTS seeks to consolidate Morocco’s position as an essential maritime hub in Africa and beyond.
The event shows Morocco’s growing stature as a pivotal force in global maritime commerce. Tanger Med port, the country’s flagship maritime infrastructure, recently secured 17th place worldwide in the latest Alphaliner report of top global container ports.
In 2024, Tanger Med handled 10.24 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs), a significant increase from 8.61 million TEUs the year before. This growth has propelled the Moroccan port ahead of established global players like Hamburg (24th with 7.82 million TEUs) and Jakarta (27th with 6.75 million TEUs).
Tanger Med is now the only port in the Mediterranean and Africa to rank among the top 30 ports worldwide. The port finished the 2024 fiscal year with a revenue of $1.212 billion, a marked increase of 12.3% compared to 2023.
Santiago J. Castella Surribas, president of the Port of Tarragona in Spain, recently noted that Morocco has made remarkable developments in its port infrastructure over the past 25 years, modernizing to secure a key position in international trade.
Spanish media have also expressed concerns that Morocco’s port performance has been outpacing major Spanish hubs such as Algeciras, Valencia, and Barcelona since King Mohammed VI inaugurated Tanger Med in 2007.
The North African country is also counting on the Atlantic Port of Dakhla to provide Sahel-Saharan countries secure access to the Atlantic Ocean. The project, expected to be operational by 2029, will process up to 35 million tons of cargo annually and serve as a key gateway connecting Africa to European and American markets.
