Since the UK officially left the European Union in 2020, London has looked for ways to strengthen partnerships with other partners that could offset the losses caused by Brexit. In this context, Morocco emerged as one of the most important allies, thus strengthening its position as a key partner in the North Africa and Maghreb region. Good evidence is trade data between the two countries which will experience rapid growth during 2023.

In the first half of this year, trade volume between the UK and Morocco has reached £3.4 billion, an increase of £661 million compared to data for the same period in 2022. But the intention is to increase this growth, as stated by the UK Treasury through Bim Afolami, the government’s economic secretary, who emphasized trade and, most importantly, investment opportunities.

“The country is working closely with Morocco to achieve maximum cooperation in a number of fields, including bilateral trade and investment”Afolami said. Some words are clearly supported by the data, especially since the UK left the European Union. Since then, the volume of trade with Morocco has increased from 15.3 billion dirhams to 23 billion dirhams in just four years, according to figures provided by the Moroccan-British Association Council in February this year.

In December 2020, Rabat and London signed a global partnership agreement, which came into effect at the start of 2021. This is the first sign of an intention which, considering the development of relations between the two countries, is clearly achieving its objectives. And it’s not just the numbers that show this reality, as both sides did not hesitate to reaffirm their intention to increase contacts and continue studying cooperation opportunities.

In fact, one of the fundamental goals is to grow bilateral investment, to which Morocco is increasingly attracting attention. The Kingdom is expanding its investment portfolio in various fields, paying particular attention to cultural events with tourism objectives, with a focus on Rabat. The Alawi capital will have important projects such as the Grand Theater of Rabat or the Mohammed VI Tower, which will be the third tallest skyscraper in Africa.

All this, coupled with the push Morocco is giving towards green energy, is causing many, as in this case the UK, to seek every day more deals with the country led by Aziz Akhannouch. And everything seems to indicate that this relationship, far from over, will continue to develop rapidly.

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