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Marrakech – Morocco and the European Investment Bank (EIB) signed financing agreements worth €365 million on Tuesday in Rabat, directing the funds toward the resilience and security of the kingdom’s motorway and railway networks.
The two operations were inked by Lionel Rapaille, deputy director of EIB Global, Mohamed Smouni, deputy director general of the National Railways Office (ONCF), and Daniele Dotto, deputy head of mission at the EU Delegation to Morocco.
Minister of Economy and Finance Nadia Fettah and EIB President Nadia Calviño attended the ceremony, with the latter in Morocco for her first visit since taking office.
The trip, running from June 29 to July 1, includes high-level meetings with senior government officials and stops at EIB-funded projects. The visit reflects what the bank framed as “renewed momentum in the EU-Morocco partnership” and a “step-up in EIB support” for the country.
Both transport-sector operations carry an EU guarantee and aim to accelerate the networks’ adaptation to climate change while improving mobility, strengthening infrastructure resilience, and delivering what the EIB called “tangible benefits for citizens and businesses.”
The first agreement covers a €50 million EIB loan, paired with a €15 million EU grant, to finance the “ONCF – Railway Rehabilitation” project, with the grant earmarked for targeted climate-resilience measures across the national rail system.
The second agreement, concluded between the EIB and Autoroutes du Maroc (ADM), provides a €300 million loan for the “ADM – Motorway Resilience” project.
Together, the operations fall under the bank’s stepped-up support for shared priorities in sustainable infrastructure, climate action, and resilience, while also contributing to regional integration and deeper economic links between Europe and Africa.
Calviño characterized Morocco as a long-standing and strategic partner for the EIB. “We are entering a new phase in our partnership,” she noted, describing the agreements as a reflection of “the new momentum in the relationship between the EU and Morocco.”
She added that the bank’s mission in the kingdom rests on “shared prosperity, social progress and resilience,” with a focus on accelerating high-impact investments such as those agreed in Rabat.
Fettah, for her part, pointed to the durability of the strategic partnership between Morocco, the EU, and the EIB, recalling 50 years of cooperation and two decades of the bank’s permanent presence in the country.
She noted that the €365 million package backs concrete projects for sustainable and modern mobility, and that the relationship of trust now allows both sides to move beyond a project-by-project logic toward a shared vision of more inclusive development, greater social equity, and closer Europe-Africa integration.
A ‘strong and reliable’ relationship
Dotto cast the EU-Morocco partnership as “strong and reliable.” The EU and the EIB are “working hand in hand,” he remarked, providing financing and technical assistance to build resilient infrastructure and support the country’s economic development.
The signing followed remarks Calviño delivered to Morocco’s state news agency MAP a day earlier, at the start of her three-day visit. She told the agency the EIB plans to channel more than €700 million into Morocco this year. “Our partnership is seeing a clear acceleration,” she noted, adding that the EIB Group has tripled its financing in the kingdom over the past five years.
The projected outlay would follow a record 2025, when the EIB signed €740 million in financing for Morocco through EIB Global – its specialized arm for operations outside the European Union and a key partner of Team Europe and the EU’s Global Gateway strategy. That marked the institution’s largest annual commitment to the country since 2012.
Globally, the EIB Group signed €100 billion in new financing and advisory services in 2025 for over 870 high-impact projects.
In her MAP interview, Calviño tied Morocco’s appeal to its reform track record, pursued under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, as well as to the country’s macroeconomic stability and the strength of its financial system, which she credited with driving growing confidence from international investors.
Predictability, simplified procedures, better access to financing, and modern infrastructure, she observed, are the conditions that “transform investor confidence into projects, jobs, and concrete opportunities.”
She also described Morocco as “a natural bridge between Europe, Africa, and the Atlantic space” and an important economic and industrial actor on both the African and international stage, affirming that the partnership is “highly strategic” for the EU because “a stable and connected Morocco benefits the entire region as well as EU-Africa relations.”
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Calviño’s visit coincides with the 20th anniversary of the bank’s formal presence in Morocco. The institution – a partner of the kingdom since 1979 – has for nearly 50 years played a central role as the EU’s investment engine in the country, contributing to economic development, social cohesion, and climate action.
Cumulative commitments now exceed €12 billion across energy, transport, education, water and sanitation, health, and private-sector support. Of that total, over €5 billion has been mobilized since 2016 alone. Flagship projects include the Tanger Med port, the Ouarzazate solar complex, the Euro-Mediterranean University of Fes, and the Medusa submarine fiber optic cable.
A significant share of recent financing has gone to post-earthquake reconstruction. In early June, the bank disbursed a second €500 million tranche for recovery in regions struck by the September 2023 Al Haouz earthquake, bringing its total commitment to that effort to €1 billion.
The EIB is also advancing its partnership with the Mohammed VI Investment Fund, Morocco’s sovereign fund, to mobilize private capital for businesses, infrastructure, and venture capital. The bank also works in close coordination with Moroccan authorities, Team Europe, and international partners to ensure its financing delivers what it termed “measurable and lasting impact.”
