French Development Agency plans to invest €150 million in the Moroccan Sahara.
The French Development Agency (AFD) plans to soon make major investments amounting to €150 million in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, announced AFD Director General Rémy Rioux this Saturday in Laayoune.
“The AFD Group will invest in the southern regions, bringing financing and development projects,” Rioux told the press after a meeting with the Wali of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region and Governor of Laayoune Province, Abdeslam Bekrate, the President of the Regional Council, Sidi Hamdi Ould Errachid, and the President of the Communal Council, Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid.
Leading a major delegation on a working visit to Morocco, the AFD Director General praised the significant investments already made in the southern provinces and noted that AFD can offer complementary expertise and financing.
He also said he was “very impressed” by the quality of infrastructure and scale of investments in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, which contribute to job creation and meet the aspirations of the youth in the southern regions of the Kingdom.
In this context, he welcomed the establishment of private companies and the development of industrial zones in the region, adding that AFD’s investment in the southern provinces is a signal to encourage economic actors by offering financing solutions.
Furthermore, Rioux said that AFD will strengthen its cooperation with the OCP Group, especially in the field of applied agricultural research. He recalled the recent signing in Rabat of a major financing agreement related to the decarbonization of the OCP Group’s value chain.
During the visit, members of the AFD delegation attended presentations on the regional development program and the commune development program. They were also briefed on various development projects included in the new Development Model for the Southern Provinces, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2015.
The meetings held in Laayoune gave the French delegation the opportunity to better understand the comprehensive development momentum in the region and the structural projects aimed at making it a strategic hub.
The delegation also visited several socio-educational and economic projects, witnessing firsthand the ongoing efforts to promote inclusive development.
They visited the port of Laayoune, where they received information on commercial traffic, the landing of fishery products, and the port’s expansion project.
At the African Institute for Research on Sustainable Agriculture (ASARI), under the Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), the delegation attended a presentation on the institution’s missions.
This visit by the AFD Director General is part of the Enhanced Exceptional Partnership established between His Majesty King Mohammed VI and French President Emmanuel Macron. It reflects the shared will to deepen the already strong bilateral cooperation and to support inclusive and sustainable development dynamics throughout the Kingdom.