HM King Mohammed VI, President Emmanuel Macron Chair Signing Ceremony of Several Bilateral Agreements

Rabat – His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God Assist Him, accompanied by HRH Crown Prince Moulay El Hassan, HRH Prince Moulay Rachid and TRH Princesses Lalla Khadija and Lalla Meryem, and French President His Excellency Mr. Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by his spouse Ms. Brigitte Macron, chaired, on Monday at the Palace of Royal Guests in Rabat, the signing ceremony of several agreements between the Kingdom of Morocco and the French Republic.

The first is a Memorandum of Understanding on the supply of high-speed train sets and their supporting elements, signed by the Director-General of Morocco’s National Railways Office (ONCF), Mohamed Rabie Khlie, and ALSTOM’s Chief Executive Officer, Henri Poupart-Lafarge, this agreement concerns a contract to acquire high-speed train sets (12 confirmed and 6 optional sets).

The second document is a Declaration of Intent on financial cooperation in the railway sector. It was signed by Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, Director-General of Morocco’s National Railways Office (ONCF), Mohamed Rabie Khlie, and French minister of Economy, Finance and Industry, Antoine Armand.

The third agreement concerns an assistance contract between ONCF and the SYSTRA/EGIS company, signed by Director-General of Morocco’s National Railways Office (ONCF), Mohamed Rabie Khlie, and EGIS’ Chief Executive Officer, Laurent Germain, this contract concerns project management assistance services for the high-speed rail between Kenitra and Marrakech, sealed with the “EGIS RAIL/SYSTRA/NOVEC” consortium.

The fourth concerns an equipment supply contract between ONCF and VOSSLOH COGIFER, signed by Director-General of Morocco’s National Railways Office (ONCF), Mohamed Rabie Khlie, and VOSSLOH’s Chief Executive Officer, Bertrand Gryspeert, this contract provides for the supply of switches and crossings for the high-speed line between Kenitra and Marrakech, sealed with VOSSLOH COGIFER SA.

The fifth is an MoU between Morocco’s Government and the SAFRAN company to build a maintenance and repairing site for aircraft engines. Under the terms of this agreement, signed by Minister of Industry and Trade, Ryad Mezzour, Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in charge of Investment, Convergence and the Evaluation of Public Policies, Karim Zidane, and the Chairman of SAFRAN, Ross McInnes, the Company plans to carry out an investment project consisting of the construction and equipping of the maintenance and repair (MRO) workshop of LEAP aircraft engines, with an investment worth nearly €130 million.

The sixth agreement, which concerns the implementation of the Morocco offer to develop the green hydrogen sector, was signed by the Minister of Interior, AbdelouafiLaftit, the Minister of Economy and Finance, Nadia Fettah, the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, the Minister Delegate to the Head of Government in Charge of Investment, Convergence and Evaluation of Public Policies, Karim Zidane, and Total Energy’s Chief Executive Officer, Patrick Pouyanne.

Under the terms of this preliminary contract, the State will mobilize the land and exclusively reserve it for the investor under the conditions laid down by the contract, in return for the investor’s compliance with all its obligations.

The seventh agreement, signed by Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, the Minister delegate attached to the Minister for the Ecological Transition, Energy, Climate and Risk Prevention, Minister Delegate for Energy, Olga Givernet, concerns a strategic Partnership on energy cooperation, connectivity and energy transition.

This Partnership aims to promote cooperation and exchanges between the two Parties in energy, mainly energy policy and planification, certification and regulation, renewables, electrical systems, including production and electrical networks, low-carbon hydrogen production and energy storage, critical metals and the transport of molecules.

The eighth agreement is an MoU on the creation of a Morocco-France investment accelerator, which was signed by the Managing Director of the Mohammed VI Fund for Investment, Mohamed Benchaaboun, the Chief Executive Officer of the French Development Agency (AFD), Rémy Rioux, the Chief Executive Officer of STOA, Marie-Laure Mazaud, and Bpifrance’s Director of International and European Affairs, Isabelle Bebear.

It is an MoU of around 3 billion dirhams for the creation of a Morocco-France investment accelerator. An equal partnership to stimulate investment throughout Morocco, including the southern provinces. Creation of a 50/50 joint venture dedicated to sustainable infrastructure, with a capital of €300 million.

The ninth agreement, a Declaration of intent on reinforcing cooperation in civil protection, was signed by the minister of Interior AbdelouafiLaftit and France’s Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau.

By virtue of this agreement, the signatories declare their intention to consolidate their bilateral cooperation in civil protection, through exchanging best practices and sharing experiences on predictive systems during civil security crises, establishing joint working groups and developing structuring projects.
The tenth agreement, signed by the minister of Interior AbdelouafiLaftit and France’s Interior Minister, Bruno Retailleau, is a Declaration of intent on strengthening cooperation in the fight against wildland fires.

Under this agreement, the signatories declare their intention to promote their bilateral cooperation in the use of air resources to fight wildland fires.
The eleventh agreement, signed by the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, and the Chief Executive Officer of the French Development Agency (AFD), Rémy Rioux, is a Declaration between Morocco’s National Ports Agency and AFD.

Through this Declaration, the parties agree to devise a new support program for the National Ports Agency around four main points: the green transition of ports, improving resilience to climate change, blue economy and innovation covering the entire national territory, including the southern provinces (Dakhla and Laayoune). The AFD will grant a €100-million loan to this program.

The twelfth agreement, an MoU in water, was signed by the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, the Minister Delegate to the Minister of Economy and Finance, in charge of the Budget, FouziLekjaa, and AFD CEO, Rémy Rioux.

According to this agreement, the parties consider devising a new support program for the National Water Strategy, which could be structured around a budgetary support aimed at strengthening the integrated management of water resources, while AFD will take the necessary steps to mobilize an amount of €100 million for this program.

The thirteenth is a Framework Agreement in the agricultural and forestry sectors, signed by the Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development and Water and Forests, Ahmed Bouari, and the French Minister of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, Annie Genevard.

This framework agreement sets out the priority areas of cooperation between Morocco and France in the agricultural and forestry sectors, contributing to strengthening economic, social and environmental sustainability and the resilience of these sectors to climate change. It can also contribute to cooperation in the agricultural sector with Africa, building on Morocco’s position as a link between France, the European Union and Africa.

The fourteenth is a French-Moroccan Declaration of intent for cooperation in education 2024-2026. Through this Declaration signed by the Minister of National Education, Preschool and Sports, Mohamed Saad Berrada, the Minister of National Education, Anne Genetet, and the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Patrick Hetzel, both parties are set to consolidate their cooperation in the following areas: promote excellence in training, support technical education sectors, strengthen the network of French educational institutions in Morocco, contribute to the teaching of the Arabic language in France and boost inter-academic partnerships.

The fifteenth is a Declaration of Intent in Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, which was signed by the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, Azzedine El Midaoui, and the Minister of Higher Education and Research, Patrick Hetzel.
This Declaration provides for partnership actions around three points: supporting partnerships in university training, boosting scientific cooperation in priority areas by strengthening the relationship with businesses, and supporting collaboration on the governance of the Higher Education, Research and Innovation ecosystem, through reinforced institutional capacities.

The sixteenth agreement is an MoU on the creation of an African-oriented French-Moroccan Research Center (CRFM).
This center, the first of its kind in Africa, will be dedicated to training, research and innovation in cutting-edge fields: artificial intelligence, Big Data, cyber security, renewables, hydrogen and human and social sciences.

This MoU was signed by the President of the International University of Rabat, Noureddine Mouaddib, and the CEO of the National Center for Scientific Research (CNRS), Antoine Petit, the President of Sorbonne University, Nathalie Drach-Temam.

The seventeenth agreement is a Declaration of intent on cultural cooperation, signed by the Minister of Youth, Culture and Communication, Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, and the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati.

Under this Declaration, both parties declare their intention to strengthen their cooperation in six areas: cultural and creative industries, books, libraries and Francophonie, exchanges between professionals and support for mobility, heritage and museums, crafts, and a joint projection towards Africa.
The eighteenth document is a Declaration of intent on the support and structuring of the cultural and creative video game industry ecosystem, signed by Mohamed Mehdi Bensaid, the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Noël Barrot, and the Minister of Culture, Rachida Dati.

The Declaration aims to strengthen cooperation by mobilizing French expertise to support the structuring of the video game ecosystem in Morocco and the creation of a Gaming City in Rabat supported by the Kingdom of Morocco’s Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication.

The nineteenth agreement is a MoU between OCP Group and the French Development Agency (AFD) in decarbonization, signed by OCP Group’s CEO Mostafa Terrab, AFD’s CEO Rémy Rioux and Bpifrance’s Director of International and European Affairs Isabelle Bebear.

Worth €350 million, the agreement provides for supporting the OCP Group’s decarbonization strategy in Morocco, supporting the development of agricultural and food value chains in Africa via support for OCP’s ″Agrifinance″ Platform, supporting and intensifying partnerships between French companies and the OCP Group, and supporting training and research in food security.

The twentieth document is a Joint Development Agreement between OCP and ENGIE Company within the framework of a partnership in energy transition, signed by OCP Group’s CEO, Mostafa Terrab, and ENGIE’s CEO, Catherine MacGregor.

The Agreement will help strengthen the local industrial ecosystem and create new opportunities for both the companies and their national and international partners. The Agreement, which concerns OCP’s activities, covers 5 projects: “electrical transmission network”; “green hydrogen”; “green electricity”; “desalination for agricultural use” and “research and innovation”.

The twenty-first agreement is a MoU concerning the extension of the second phase of the Taza wind farm, signed by ONEE’s Director General, Tarik Hamane, and Bruno Fyot, Chief Operating Officer of EDF Renouvelables.

This MoU sets out an Extension Project for the development, financing, construction, operation and maintenance of the second phase of the Taza wind farm, with an installed capacity of 63 MW.

The twenty-second document is an agreement between the CMA CGM Group, the world’s third-largest shipping company, and TANGER MED, aimed at developing a container terminal in Nador West Med as part of the concession obtained by MARSA MAROC, with a commitment of significant volumes (1.2 million containers) to launch the Nador West Med platform and an investment of approximately €258 million.

Signed by the Chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Tanger-Med Special Agency (TMSA), Fouad Brini, and the CEO of the CMA CGM Group, Rodolphe Saade, this agreement will also support other Moroccan port and logistics projects.

The signing ceremony was attended in particular by Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, HM the King’s Advisor, Fouad Ali El Himma, government members, the delegation accompanying President Emmanuel Macron and several high-ranking officials

28 October 2024