Morocco–United Arab Emirates: talks to finalise an important strategic alliance
- An innovative gas distribution centre in the Saharan provinces
- A multidimensional partnership with significant geopolitical implications
- A new model of regional integration
- Prospects and challenges
Meetings between Moroccan and Emirati officials have been taking place discreetly but intensively since the signing of the global economic partnership agreement between the two countries in December 2024. This agreement, known as CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement), aims to facilitate the free movement of goods and services, reduce customs tariffs, eliminate trade barriers and stimulate mutual investment in strategic sectors that form the backbone of this new alliance.
Another important revelation in recent days also constitutes a decisive step forward: on 6 May 2025, Moroccan Minister for Energy Transition Leila Benali officially announced that the United Arab Emirates has agreed to co-finance the Africa Atlantic Gas Pipeline (AAGP) megaproject, estimated at $25 billion. This pipeline, which will transport natural gas from Nigeria to Morocco and then on to Europe, will stretch for almost 5,660 kilometres and cross some fifteen African countries.
An innovative gas distribution centre in the Saharan provinces
Our research reveals that, beyond this official co-financing, an even more ambitious project is taking shape in the Moroccan Saharan provinces. According to a source close to the dossier: ‘A centre which, in addition to its technical and technological importance, will have an innovative political configuration’. This project is part of the memoranda of understanding signed during King Mohammed VI's visit to Abu Dhabi, relating to investments in megaprojects including, in particular, energy, water, port infrastructure and other strategic economic areas.
Current contacts concern an impressive series of projects that will affect several geographical locations in the Saharan provinces. This gas centre, which is highly strategic for the entire sub-region, is set to transform the area into an energy platform with a continental reach, consolidating Morocco's position as a key player in the African energy transition, while strengthening its economic integration with sub-Saharan and West Africa.
A multidimensional partnership with significant geopolitical implications
Cooperation between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates goes beyond the purely economic sphere. The agreements signed between Morocco and the United Arab Emirates thus redefine regional geopolitical balances, strengthening economic synergies, expanding areas of influence and creating new levers for strategic cooperation. This alliance makes both countries pillars of a new regional order that combines economic power, technological innovation and proactive diplomacy.
Our institute was the first, on 28 December 2024, to highlight the importance of the trilateral meeting that laid the foundations for the strategy whose implementation is now the subject of intense debate. The most innovative aspect of this partnership lies in its trilateral dimension. A major project involving cooperation between Morocco, Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates could profoundly redefine regional cooperation. The discreet but significant meeting that took place in Abu Dhabi at the end of December 2024 between King Mohammed VI and Mauritanian President Mohammed Ould Ghazouani, in the presence of Mohammed Bin Zayed, is testimony to this dynamic.
A new model of regional integration
By allying itself with Morocco, the United Arab Emirates is strengthening its position vis-à-vis other Gulf players seeking to expand their influence in North Africa, while consolidating its interests in regional energy security. This strategy fits perfectly with the Emirati vision of expanding its influence in Africa, as we demonstrated in our previous analysis, ‘The silent projection: Emirati geostrategy’.
For Morocco, this partnership with Abu Dhabi provides an additional boost to its offensive economic diplomacy on the African continent. Joint projects in Mauritania, particularly in infrastructure and food security, also aim to counter instability in the Sahel by offering an alternative to Russian or Chinese influence in the region.
The countries of the Confederation of Sahelian States will also be affected by these important agreements through the Moroccan royal initiative to grant them access to the Atlantic. This strategic vision, which transforms the economic geography of the region, is based on Morocco's logistical expertise and Mauritania's strategic position, opening up new development prospects for countries such as Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Prospects and challenges
Feasibility and engineering studies for the AAGP gas pipeline have been completed and commissioning is scheduled for 2029. A Moroccan-Nigerian joint venture has been set up to manage this project, which also has the support of industrial players such as the Chinese group Jingye Steel for the supply of pipes.
This trilateral partnership between Morocco, Mauritania and the United Arab Emirates could form the backbone of a new regional development hub, promoting political and economic stability in a sensitive area. The convergence of the geopolitical and economic interests of the three countries offers an innovative model of South-South cooperation capable of bringing about lasting change to the regional balance.
The year 2025 is therefore shaping up to be a decisive turning point for the realisation of these ambitious projects, whose repercussions will far exceed the bilateral sphere and affect the entire Africa-Mediterranean-Gulf region.
Abdelhakim Yamani. Horizons Institute Geopolitique