'This Is Just the Start': UK Ambassador Simon Martin on the new phase of UK-Morocco ties

The UK’s backing of Morocco’s autonomy plan has injected fresh momentum into bilateral relations, ushering in what UK Ambassador to Morocco Simon Martin described as a new era of enthusiasm and mutual ambition spanning trade, infrastructure, culture, and cooperation on the 2030 World Cup.

With one million UK tourists expected in Morocco this year and over a dozen agreements signed since London endorsed Rabat’s autonomy proposal, the two countries are moving from diplomatic statements to signed contracts and active projects.

“This is a really exciting moment for us,” Ambassador Martin said in an interview with Hespress EN.

The UK’s support for Morocco’s autonomy plan, framed by the ambassador as “crucial” to bilateral ties, places London in alignment with King Mohammed VI’s vision that partnerships are measured by their stance on the Sahara. This move not only redefines relations with Rabat but also broadens the UK’s engagement across an Africa increasingly shaped by Moroccan diplomacy.

This shift is already evident in air transport, with the UK viewing Morocco as both a strategic access point and a growing African market.

“I see Morocco’s development as not just a gateway to Africa, but as a pivotal market,” said Martin, citing Royal Air Maroc’s expansion and Casablanca’s emergence as a regional transit hub. “And this is all good for our own relations with Morocco.”

Backing this momentum, the UK’s export finance agency is supporting a £1.2 billion overhaul of Casablanca’s Mohammed V Airport, part of Morocco’s plan to double passenger capacity by 2030.

The project draws from a broader £5 billion UK Export Finance (UKEF) funding pool, roughly equal to the current UK-Morocco trade volume—and is intended to drive joint infrastructure initiatives.

“We’re not just talking about selling British products. We’re talking about a real partnership,” Martin said, highlighting flexible terms and minimal UK content requirements. The financing model is built to blend British expertise with Moroccan implementation across sectors including transport, energy, and water.

This financing framework extends directly into Morocco’s 2030 World Cup preparations, with UKEF positioned to support stadium construction, transport upgrades, and large-scale event logistics.

“We’ve got a number of missions preparing to arrive from the UK—companies looking to bring their expertise, backed by finance, to help deliver and engage in these projects,” Martin said. He added that over 20 Moroccan public and private entities have already participated in joint seminars on major infrastructure plans.

London-based architecture firm Populous has secured the contract to design the new Grand Stade de Casablanca and has already masterplanned the redesign of Rabat’s Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

“This is just the start,” Martin emphasized. “And I like to stress that I’m not just talking about trying to sell British expertise and British steel—it’s about partnership with Moroccan companies.”

“I’m very glad to say we have real experience in delivering government-to-government and business-to-business partnerships for major events,” he continued, citing London’s Olympic Park, “like a reactor, it continues to grow”, as proof of the long-term benefits of British-led infrastructure planning.

This focus on legacy and long-term value underpins other areas of cooperation as well. Martin pointed to growing collaboration between Morocco’s and the UK’s meteorological services as a case in point—not driven by contracts, but by practical knowledge exchange.

“We’re simply talking about collaboration between two equal partners who benefit from each other’s experience,” he said, noting that Morocco’s expertise in forecasting extreme weather in hotter climates is increasingly relevant to the UK, where climate change has brought more flooding and weather volatility.

“We have a lot to share with each other,” he added, describing the relationship as one of complementarity. “That’s quite an unusual aspect of our relationship, which is why we’re so keen to work together.”

This dynamic is also evident in the agri-food sector. Morocco is already one of the UK’s largest suppliers of fresh fruits and vegetables, with approximately £554 million in imports recorded in 2024.

Its strategic role was underscored during the UK’s 2023 fresh produce shortage, when extreme weather in Morocco and Spain led to near-empty supermarket shelves and rationing of items like tomatoes, cucumbers, and peppers.

“I was in a supermarket in Birmingham last week and noticed Moroccan raspberries and tomatoes on the shelves of Marks & Spencer,” Martin said. “It really matters to British people.”

Both sides, he explained, are making active use of the UK-Morocco Association Agreement to facilitate trade flows. With minimal competition and strong economic alignment, trade is growing in both directions.

“There’s a shared commitment that’s really quite special,” Martin noted. “For example, during our strategic dialogue, Foreign Minister Bourita said, ‘We have the ambition for the UK to be among our top five trading partners.’ We’re about seventh or eighth at the moment.”

“But I don’t want to stop there,” Martin added. “We’re going to keep going, because there’s so much more to do.” That ambition, he said, is shared by both sides.

With his nearly five-year mandate in Rabat drawing to a close, Martin reflected on a phrase he’s heard often: “When I go somewhere new, where people don’t know who I am, they just say, ‘Welcome to Morocco, this is your home.’”

“The first time you hear that, you think, ‘Oh, nobody’s ever said that to me before,’” he said. “But it’s a universal sentiment in Morocco—and it makes it very, very special.”