Morocco, EU Launch MAD 3.7 Bln Program to Support National Water Policy

The Ministry of Equipment and Water, the European Union (EU), Germany, France, and Italy jointly launched, on Tuesday in Rabat, a program of 348 million euros (3.7 billion dirhams) to support Morocco’s National Water Policy.

This pioneering program, which is part of a “Team Europe” approach, is based on an envelope of 48 million euros in EU grants, supplemented by three concessional loans of 100 million euros each, mobilized by the French Development Agency (AFD: the program leader), the Italian Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), and the German development bank Kreditanstalt für Wiederaufbau (KfW).

This European support aims to assist Morocco in implementing a framework of public water policies, articulated around four priorities: improving knowledge of water resources in the face of climate change effects, strengthening the management of extreme phenomena such as droughts and floods, protecting the quality of water resources and biodiversity, and preserving underground water resources.

This European support is fully aligned with the Morocco-EU Green Partnership, signed in October 2022, and the Pact for the Mediterranean, adopted in November 2025, which make climate resilience and water resource management common priorities.

Similarly, this initiative reinforces the efforts undertaken by Morocco through its National Water Plan and the National Program for Drinking Water Supply and Irrigation (PNAEPI) 2020-2027.

Speaking at the launch ceremony, the Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, stressed that for Morocco, water is a legacy to be preserved for future generations and an issue of sovereignty, carried at the highest level by the enlightened vision of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God assist Him.

He added that in the face of drought, Morocco has chosen anticipation and action, by profoundly transforming its water model, specifying that this program extends the national dynamic by reinforcing resilience and the sustainable preservation of water resources against climate change and extreme phenomena, sealing a true alliance of skills and expertise.

Recalling that the success of this program relies on rigorous governance and shared responsibility, the Minister emphasized the full mobilization of his department to ensure the success of this project, whose technical steering will be carried out in close coordination with the Ministry of Economy and Finance and all concerned institutions.

For his part, the EU Ambassador to Morocco, Dimiter Tzantchev, stated that this program illustrates the EU’s commitment to supporting Morocco, and the Mediterranean region, in the sustainable management of water resources.

This program falls within the priorities of the Morocco-EU Green Partnership and the Pact for the Mediterranean, which aim to strengthen cooperation in the face of common climate challenges, he added, noting that thanks to the “Team Europe” approach, forces are combined to provide concrete and sustainable solutions, for the benefit of citizens.

The German Ambassador, Robert Dolger, noted that his country, through the development bank (KfW), is supporting this program with targeted financing for climate adaptation and the preservation of underground water.

For his part, the Italian Ambassador, Pasquale Salzano, expressed, during the ceremony, his country’s pride in contributing, via the CDP, to this ambitious program which is part of the initiatives of the “Piano Mattei” plan concerning the priority water sector, highlighting expertise in water resource management and commitment to gender equality as major assets for its success.

Facing increasing pressure on its water resources, exacerbated by the effects of climate change, Morocco has for decades engaged in an ambitious policy of sustainable management of its water resources.