Morocco and EU finalize agricultural deal, boosting trade, jobs, and strategic ties

“The Kingdom of Morocco and the European Union (EU) have successfully concluded, in a spirit of partnership and compromise, negotiations on the amendment of the agricultural agreement between the two parties,” Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita, said on Thursday.

In a statement made today in Rabat, the minister specified that “the signing will take place shortly in Brussels” and that, pending the finalization of internal procedures, “the agreement will be provisionally implemented as soon as it is signed.”

This agreement, he emphasized, “provides the necessary clarifications, in accordance with the Kingdom’s national fundamentals.” It falls in line with and embodies “the philosophy of the exchange of letters signed between the two parties in 2018,” to which “the overall framework of the new text remains faithful,” he added.

In this regard, the minister stated that “the agreement confirms the application of the preferential tariffs to the Southern Provinces granted by the EU under the Association Agreement with Morocco”, explaining that “in general, the market access conditions that apply to products from the North will apply to products from the Moroccan Sahara”.

The agreement also introduces technical adjustments concerning consumer information about product origin. Agricultural products from the Southern regions will bear labeling indicating their regions of production as “Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra” and “Dakhla-Oued Eddahab”, the minister explained.
Furthermore, the agreement recalls the EU’s position expressed in 2019 regarding the Moroccan Sahara, in which the Union positively took note of Morocco’s serious and credible efforts. Bourita added that the text also refers to the national positions subsequently adopted by several EU Member States, who have expressed their support for Morocco’s autonomy Initiative, in line with the dynamic driven by His Majesty King Mohammed VI.

“Of course, this is not a political agreement,” Bourita clarified. “It is a sectoral, commercial, and operational agreement. Nonetheless, it sends strong and clear signals.”In this regard, the minister stated that “Thanks to the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, the Moroccan Sahara has become a zone of development, connectivity, and prosperity, emerging as a hub of stability and regional growth.”