Lord Tariq Ahmad Stresses UK’s Readiness to Invest in Morocco

Rabat – Following the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the EU, the European country has been seeking to deepen cooperation with Morocco in several sectors, including trade, energy, and education. In this regard, Lord Tariq Ahmad of Wimbledon, the UK’s Minister of State Foreign Commonwealth & Development Affairs, is on a working visit to Morocco with the aim of exploring opportunities for cooperation in these sectors.

In an interview with Morocco World News, Lord Tariq Ahmad stressed the importance of strengthening the existing “foundations” connecting the two countries. While acknowledging the already-established “strong” relationship between the UK and Morocco, he said: “that does not mean we stand still. There is so much more that can be done and during the course of my visit I have been focused on how we can strengthen our partnership.”

A key goal behind Lord Ahmad’s visit was to tackle issues surrounding trade. He highlighted that “the UK has a very good trade offer,” referring to the UK government’s development finance institution, British International Investment. The institution has an export finance facility of up to £4 billion (MAD 49.8 billion) “readily available to explore specific projects for inward investment into Morocco,” he added.

Highlighting the role of trade in economically empowering people, Lord Ahmad said: “I am a strong believer in the issue of taking forward economic empowerment of communities,” adding that it is the role of the two countries to “get the ball rolling” and further build business relations.

Lord Ahmad met with Morocco’s Minister of Trade and Industry Ryad Mezzour with the aim of exploring investment opportunities between the two countries. The two officials also discussed progress in key sectors, including the ongoing energy transition.

Morocco-UK energy cooperation

The global energy challenge is a key concern for both Morocco and the UK, as the world is witnessing a global rise in energy costs due to the ongoing war in Ukraine. The latter has greatly affected the UK’s energy supplies and security.

The UK’s increasing energy demands “has been an opportunity to look at alternative forms of energy,” added Lord Ahmad, noting that several of his discussions with Moroccan officials have been “centered” around strengthening UK-Morocco collaboration on sustainable forms of energy.

The new forms of energy include green hydrogen, “but also most importantly harnessing the power of wind, both offshore and onshore,” the UK official noted.

British green energy company Xlinks will build twin high-voltage subsea cables that will be transferring green electricity from Morocco to the United Kingdom. The cable, which is predicted to supply its first electricity by 2027, will be able to carry enough electricity to power more than seven million British households

Cooperation in several sectors

Lord Ahmad also met with Rachid Talbi Alami, the Speaker of Morocco’s House of Representatives. The two officials recalled the decade-old “distinguished partnership between the Moroccan Parliament and the United Kingdom,” noted Lord Ahmad on Twitter.

During the meeting, Alami shared the results of a recent survey which revealed that 70% of Moroccans prefer English-based education, to which the British minister said that the news is: “Music to our ears.” Lord Ahmad highlighted the UK’s “powerful and incredible” educational institutions, which are looking to attract more foreign students, including Moroccans.

Following his interview with Morocco World News, Lord Ahmad met with Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, with whom he “discussed regional issues including Libya and Ukraine,” said the UK official on Twitter.

Morocco, a model of moderate Islam

On Tuesday, the Secretary-General of Morocco’s Rabita Mohammadia of Ulemas Ahmed Abbadi, received the British minister to discuss issues of religious freedom. “I heard his [Abbadi’s] insightful views on community building and we discussed The Rabita’s interfaith and FoRB [Freedom of Religion or Belief] work,” said Lord Ahmad on Twitter.

Speaking to Morocco Word News, Lord Ahmad highlighted the reputation Morocco enjoys in terms of religious tolerance, coexistence and moderate Islam. He highlighted the North African country’s efforts in deconstructing extremist ideologies and promoting religious freedom.

“When we talk about moderate Islam, it is not moderation of Islam. It is actually the true essence of Islam, that needs to be promoted,” Lord Ahmad highlighted, recognizing the principles of moderate Islam present in Morocco.

The British Minister concluded by saying that areas of cooperation between Morocco and the UK do not center solely around trade and sustainability, but also include opportunities for partnership in the fields of culture and education.