Nabil Baraka: ‘Spain should see Africa as a great opportunity’

Madrid was chosen as the venue for the Africa Spain Summit 2025. The third edition of the event once again served to strengthen relations between Africa and Spain at all levels.

Atalayar had the opportunity to talk to Nabil Baraka, Moroccan businessman and consultant and president of the Mata Festival held annually in Larache, on the occasion of this important economic and business event in the Spanish capital.

Mr Baraka, what value do you see in forums such as the Africa Spain Summit, organised by One Africa Forums? What do they represent? Are these types of forums necessary to bring together and reconcile personalities from both Spain and Africa so that they can get to know each other and establish collaborations?

Absolutely. I believe that the One Africa Forums event is an important and essential forum. Links are made when human beings, personalities, political actors, civil society actors and economic actors meet. These meeting forums serve to promote cooperation, and for that, understanding is needed.

Spain has an important role to play. Spain should position itself more. Spain is the gateway to Africa, it is the gateway to southern Europe. Morocco is the gateway to Africa for Europe. And Spain, as a country with a wealth of experience, should see Africa as a great opportunity, especially as it is on the border with Africa.

Spain is already playing an important role. I would like to see a more dynamic Spanish presence, thanks to the strong links that Spain has today with Morocco, which is an important hub in Africa, thanks to Morocco's historical ties with Africa, from a spiritual, economic and infrastructure point of view. You know Africa and Morocco well, we know your activities, you know that Moroccan companies are very active.

I believe that this link, this Spanish-Moroccan collaboration, will be beneficial for both sides.

Morocco plays a very important role in this understanding. In which areas could we place greater emphasis to boost relations between Spain and Africa, Spain and Morocco, and Europe with Africa and Morocco?

The opportunities and potential are enormous. In terms of infrastructure, Morocco is already taking an important step forward with modern infrastructure. I believe that this common Spanish-Moroccan alliance in infrastructure, renewable energy and tourism is very important. I believe that Spain, with its expertise, and Morocco, with its own, can open up a growth market for both nations.

I believe that Spain will contribute, in addition to its experience and expertise, a significant economic contribution as an important industrial country with experience. Meanwhile, Morocco, with its understanding, historical knowledge and African economic intelligence, because Morocco is in its natural space in Africa, in addition to its technical expertise, can contribute a great deal to Spain and Spanish companies, so that they can go together to public tenders, contracts and important bids in Africa.

Mr Baraka, we could also add the issue of sport. The organisation of the 2030 World Cup in Spain, Portugal and Morocco will be a benchmark in all sectors. In addition to sport, within the context of culture and the historical ties between Spain and Morocco, it will allow us to weave a very interesting basket, from which many sectors can feed.

The 2030 World Cup is so important... It will be a very important World Cup for Morocco. Spain has already had the good fortune to host a World Cup. Important first because the world is going through a crisis. Morocco, which is a Muslim country with Sufi values in the Muslim world, brings this moderation, these values of peace, tolerance and coexistence as a model in its natural environment, because Morocco already has this with its shared history of Al-Andalus with Spain, which Spain also has, and we are talking about the 11th century, the end of the 11th century, with the new Arabic and with Moroccan Sufism worldwide, with an important international scope. This World Cup, for me, at this moment, is the model that the world should follow. Africa and Europe, together, celebrating football, the economy, coexistence and tolerance.

I believe it is a very important experience that will bring the continents closer together. Spain and Portugal will play this role of being the bridge between Africa and Europe and the Arab, Muslim, Christian and Jewish civilisations. I believe that these values of coexistence between different faiths in general are important and that this will be an opportunity, a great experience.

We would like to finish by talking about the Mata Festival, which in its recent edition also combined not only environmentalism, sport, rural life and agri-food, but also, on a cultural level, the opportunity to attract investment, so that the economy and companies also look to invest in cultural, historical, sporting and ecological ties, etc., as is the case with the Mata Festival, which you have been presiding over for years.

Thank you very much for mentioning Mata, where you are a major player in this festival, because it is ultimately an ancient festival dating back to the 12th century, which embodies the spiritual values of Sufism, in accordance with the guidelines of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who is Commander of the Faithful. Commander of the Faithful is the exact meaning, it is to ensure that all faiths can live their spiritualities in peace. His Majesty's role here is to protect all faiths without distinction, but, on the contrary, we are all united in this space of spirituality and peace.

And the Festiva Mata is one of the aspects that involves spirituality. It is an equestrian festival in which riders ride bareback on horseback in search of a doll. It is a sport that dates back to the 12th century and brings economic benefits through agricultural and craft cooperatives. This year we had an African presence, with Burkina Faso, Senegal, Mauritania, Ivory Coast, Ghana, cooperative companies from Africa and Mauritania, some important African figures, mayors, politicians, writers, painters, but we, from the festival, from the management, believe that it is these values that highlight the cultural heritage, the heritage of each country, such as Spain.

Spain is a country rich in heritage, we see it in tourism, in fairs, in the Jerez fair, in El Rocío, which is wonderful, because all of that is the wealth of a country, and this wealth is what attracts investment. Therefore, the Mata Festival will have an annual investment forum in which heritage is the driving force behind investment, and we hope that you will be with us next year with a significant Spanish presence and, of course, there will also be a significant African presence.