The National Ports Agency (ANP) and the French Development Agency (AFD) signed, on Tuesday in Rabat, a joint declaration on the third financing package under the ANP-AFD strategic partnership, worth a total of €100 million, for development of the Southern Provinces and green ports.
The joint declaration was signed by ANP Director General Mustapha Farès and AFD Director in Morocco Catherine Bonnaud, in the presence of Minister of Equipment, Water and Forests Nizar Baraka, French Ambassador to Morocco Philippe Lalliot, and Director General of the National Agency for the Strategic Management of State Holdings and Monitoring of the Performance of Public Establishments and Enterprises Abdellatif Zaghnoun.
Speaking on the occasion, Baraka said the signing marks a new milestone in a longstanding cooperation based on mutual trust, shared ambitions and a common determination to support the development of Morocco’s port sector.
He added that the partnership between the ANP and AFD is a concrete example of this cooperation and illustrates the role that development finance institutions can play in supporting major economic and infrastructure transformations.
The partnership will also contribute to financing the ANP’s 2023-2030 investment program, he said, highlighting the particular importance attached to the Southern Provinces under this program.
“The operations planned in Tan-Tan, Tarfaya, Laayoune, Boujdour, Dakhla and Lamhiriz are not merely a geographical extension of our port projects. They are part of a strategic ambition to support the development of the Moroccan Sahara, strengthen its integration into the national economy and fully leverage its Atlantic-facing position, with a view to turning these areas into hubs of economic development, connectivity and regional integration,” he pointed out.
This momentum is in line with the vision of HM King Mohammed VI, which places the Southern Provinces at the heart of the Kingdom’s development and the strengthening of its Atlantic vocation, Baraka noted.
In this regard, he said, port investment goes beyond its operational function, helping consolidate the Kingdom’s territorial integration, unlock its maritime potential and position the Southern Provinces at the heart of Atlantic economic dynamics.
He added that the financing also supports the ambition of turning Africa’s Atlantic seaboard into a space for connectivity, economic integration and South-South cooperation, opening up new prospects for trade between Morocco and its African hinterland.
For his part, Lalliot underscored the highly strategic significance of the agreement, highlighting the crucial importance of port infrastructure to the Moroccan economy, as well as the large-scale investments mobilized by the Kingdom to equip its coastlines with world-class facilities, as illustrated by the international standing achieved by the Tanger Med port complex.
He also stressed the need to strengthen resilience in the face of climate change, emphasizing the urgency of a joint response to protect coastal facilities against rising sea levels and powerful waves, while placing environmental protection and the improvement of living and working conditions for local communities at the heart of the bilateral partnership.
The French diplomat also welcomed the implementation of commitments made at the highest level by his country to support development across all regions of the Kingdom, particularly the Moroccan Sahara, reiterating France’s determination to provide Morocco with concrete and operational support throughout its territory.
The financial assistance, in the form of a 13-year concessional non-sovereign loan granted without a State guarantee, will support the ANP’s 2023-2030 investment program.
The granting of this loan confirms the renewed confidence of international lenders in the ANP’s sound management practices, the strength of its financial model and its capacity to independently undertake major investment programs
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