The long-standing strategic relationship between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United States of America is now evolving through strong convergence of views and shared priorities, driven by the determination of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and U.S. President Donald J. Trump to further elevate bilateral cooperation in all fields, Morocco’s Ambassador to Washington, Youssef Amrani, said.
“His Majesty the King and President Trump share the same ambition: to bring our economic relations to the same level of excellence as our strategic relationship,” the ambassador stressed before an audience of experts and senior officials gathered at a seminar organized by the Investment Company Institute (ICI), the leading global association representing the asset management industry and individual investors.
According to Amrani, the priorities set today in Washington, notably securing supply chains, critical minerals and trusted technology ecosystems, are priorities that Morocco fully shares. “This convergence is our fundamental starting point,” he said.
An eloquent illustration of what long-term trust can produce, relations between Morocco and the United States are rooted in a long shared history, the ambassador recalled, noting that the Kingdom of Morocco was the first nation to recognize the independence of the United States.
“Our treaty is the oldest unbroken treaty in American history. This year, we celebrate the 250th anniversary of our relations and our treaty, as well as the 20th anniversary of our Free Trade Agreement, the only one linking the United States to an African country,” the Moroccan diplomat added.
Regarding the prospects for bilateral cooperation, he recalled that the U.S. Trade and Development Agency (USTDA) financed, last July, a front-end engineering design study for a green ammonia plant project in Laâyoune developed by ORNX Green Hydrogen, which plans to produce around 560,000 tonnes per year, supported by 900 MW of electrolysis capacity.
The USTDA has also designated Morocco as a priority market for critical minerals, energy and LNG, Amrani continued.
Africa’s leading automobile producer and a rapidly growing aeronautics hub, Morocco already hosts major American companies, the ambassador recalled.
Addressing HM the King’s Atlantic Initiative, which aims to facilitate Atlantic Ocean access for some 20 Sahel countries, he explained that this project brings Atlantic African states together around the ocean they share, while connecting landlocked Sahel countries to the regional opportunities offered by an integrated space.
“This vision is based on concrete and ambitious projects, such as the Africa-Atlantic gas pipeline, which will cross West Africa from Nigeria to Morocco and connect to Europe,” he concluded.
The meeting was attended by Christopher Phelan, chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, as well as executives from major American asset management companies, including Vanguard, J.P. Morgan Asset Management, Invesco, AllianceBernstein, Schwab, Neuberger and Natixis.
