Foreign Powers and Investors in Morocco 2026

GUIDES · MOROCCO

Morocco foreign relations rest on a simple bargain. The kingdom offers stability, ports and factories at the gate of Europe. Outside powers bring money, weapons and diplomatic backing, with the United States first in line. For a US reader, Morocco is where American trade, Chinese batteries and European carmakers now meet.

France, Spain, the EU, China, the Gulf states and the big lenders follow. This guide sets out who brings what, and what each wants in return. Dirham amounts are converted at the Bank Al-Maghrib reference rate of MAD 9.85 per US dollar on Friday, 9 October 2026.

The United States Comes First

The US embassy in Rabat describes Morocco as “America’s oldest friend”. In a June 2026 speech, Ambassador Duke Buchan III recalled that Morocco recognised the United States before it won independence. He also called the kingdom “our strongest, and most dependable ally in the region”.

The relationship rests on a free trade agreement signed on 15 June 2004. It entered into force on 1 January 2006, according to the US Trade Representative, and works heavily in Washington’s favour. In 2025 the United States exported goods worth US$5.53 billion to Morocco and imported US$1.86 billion, US Census Bureau data show.

That left a US goods surplus of US$3.67 billion. From January to August 2026, US exports reached US$4.75 billion, about 24% more than in the same months of 2025.

The diplomatic footprint is large too. Buchan said the new consulate in Casablanca cost more than US$350 million. Together with the embassy in Rabat, it cost “well north of $500 million”. More than 1,000 people work for the US mission in Morocco, he said.

Washington also takes sides on Western Sahara, a former Spanish territory mostly under Moroccan control. The Polisario Front seeks independence there. In a September 2026 joint statement with Morocco and Israel, Washington reaffirmed its recognition of Moroccan sovereignty over the whole territory. It called Morocco’s autonomy proposal “the only basis” for a solution.

US companies are following the flag into the south. In July 2026 the US Trade and Development Agency signed a grant with ORNX Laayoune 1. The federal agency funds early project studies; this one covers an ammonia plant in Laayoune designed to produce up to 560,000 tons a year.

A consortium led by Kellogg Brown & Root, with GE Vernova, Electric Hydrogen and Terabase, will carry out the work. Buchan said the grant highlights “the strategic importance of U.S. investment in the Moroccan Sahara”.

US Security Ties and the African Lion Exercise

Morocco is the main host of African Lion, a yearly exercise. US Army Southern European Task Force, Africa runs it for US Africa Command. African Lion 26 ran from 20 April to 8 May 2026 in Morocco, Tunisia, Ghana and Senegal.

It involved more than 5,600 personnel from over 30 nations, according to US Africa Command. Buchan said the exercise reached Dakhla and other sites across the kingdom, including a joint medical mission.

Arms sales deepen the tie. In April 2025 the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress of a possible Stinger missile sale. The shoulder-fired air defence weapons number up to 600. The estimated value was US$825 million. The notice described Morocco as “a major non-NATO ally”.

Washington’s own statements show what it wants. That is a stable partner at the Strait of Gibraltar, a buyer of US arms and goods, and a friend of Israel. Morocco wants US backing on Western Sahara and US capital in its southern provinces.

France, the Largest Investor

France has long been the largest foreign investor in Morocco. In 2024 it sent more than MAD 13.5 billion (about US$1.4 billion), over 30% of the total. The figures come from the Office des Changes, as reported by Hespress. Total inflows that year reached MAD 43.8 billion (about US$4.4 billion).

Relations warmed sharply after President Emmanuel Macron’s state visit in October 2024. The French presidency put the deals signed at “more than 10 billion euros” (about US$11.2 billion), much of it in energy. Egis will work on the next section of the Tangier to Marrakech high-speed line. Alstom is negotiating to supply 12 to 18 high-speed trains.

France wants a foothold in Moroccan rail and energy, and access to African markets through Moroccan banks and firms. Morocco wants French capital and French political backing in Europe.

Spain, Europe and the Car Industry

The European Union is Morocco’s largest trade partner, says the European Commission. It took 33.7% of Moroccan goods trade in 2025. Total EU-Morocco goods trade reached €62.2 billion (about US$69.7 billion) that year. The Commission also calls the EU the biggest foreign investor in Morocco.

Machinery and transport equipment made up half of EU imports from Morocco, at €12.9 billion (about US$14.5 billion). That reflects Morocco’s car industry, whose Renault and Stellantis vehicles ship through the Tanger Med port. UNCTAD listed a US$1.5 billion Stellantis automotive project among Africa’s biggest new greenfield investments of 2025, Morocco World News reported.

Spain is Morocco’s closest European neighbour and a leading investor. Spanish direct investment reached MAD 2.34 billion (about US$238 million) in 2024. Only France, the United Arab Emirates and Germany sent more. Germany sent MAD 2.46 billion (about US$250 million).

For Madrid, migration around its two North African cities, Ceuta and Melilla, is a constant concern. Europe as a whole wants a stable, low-cost factory floor close to home. Morocco wants market access and fewer political conditions.

China’s Battery Bet in Kenitra

China is a smaller investor by volume. Chinese direct investment reached MAD 2.08 billion (about US$211 million) in 2024, per the Office des Changes figures. But its projects are among the most strategic in the country.

The flagship is the Kenitra gigafactory of Gotion High-Tech, a battery maker listed in Shenzhen. In July 2026 the African Development Bank approved a €100 million (about US$112 million) loan to Gotion Power Morocco, Le360 reported. The bank said it would mobilise up to €141 million (about US$158 million) more from partners.

The plant will first make 10 gigawatt-hours of lithium iron phosphate battery cells and packs for electric cars. Gotion plans to expand capacity to 100 gigawatt-hours. For Chinese firms, Morocco offers a production base close to Europe’s car makers.

Politically, China keeps its distance on Western Sahara. When the UN Security Council adopted resolution 2797 in October 2025, China, Russia and Pakistan abstained, and Algeria did not take part. The resolution passed with 11 votes in favour.

The Gulf, Israel and the United Kingdom

The United Arab Emirates was the second-largest source of direct investment in 2024. It sent MAD 4.56 billion (about US$463 million).

Israel is a newer partner. Under the September 2026 joint statement, Morocco and Israel agreed to raise their missions to full embassies and exchange ambassadors. They also aimed to restore direct flights before the end of 2026 and to finalise investment-protection and double-taxation agreements by then.

The United Kingdom shifted on 1 June 2025. Foreign Secretary David Lammy and Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita signed a communiqué in Rabat. It called the autonomy plan “the most credible, viable and pragmatic basis” for a settlement. Atalayar reported that UK Export Finance has a £5 billion (about US$6.6 billion) commitment to support new business in Morocco.

The Lenders: IMF, World Bank and AfDB

Morocco borrows from multilateral lenders on good terms rather than out of distress. In April 2025 the International Monetary Fund approved a two-year Flexible Credit Line of about US$4.5 billion. The IMF offers this precautionary facility only to countries with very strong policies, and Moroccan authorities intend to keep it precautionary.

At its March 2026 review, the IMF estimated growth of 4.9% in 2025 and projected 4.4% for 2026. It put 2025 inflation at 0.8% and the fiscal deficit at 3.5% of GDP. It expects public debt to fall to 60.5% of GDP by 2031.

The World Bank is the other big lender. On 1 July 2026 its board approved US$265 million for the Ifahsa pumped hydropower storage project in northern Morocco. The plant will store power to help the grid absorb more wind and solar energy.

The African Development Bank, a multilateral lender, funds both state projects and private ones such as Gotion’s plant. Lenders want reforms, private-sector growth and climate investment. Morocco wants cheap, long-term money for its infrastructure push.

The Diaspora and Its Money

Moroccans living abroad are the country’s steadiest foreign financiers. They sent home MAD 89.22 billion (about US$9.06 billion) from January to August 2026, Office des Changes figures show. That was up 9% from MAD 81.85 billion (about US$8.31 billion) a year earlier.

Those transfers far exceeded net foreign direct investment over the same months. Net FDI inflows reached MAD 34.33 billion (about US$3.49 billion), up 65%.

What It Means for US Readers

Investors. Morocco is a dollar-surplus market for US exporters and a duty-free platform under the 2006 free trade agreement. UNCTAD put the stock of foreign direct investment at US$80.8 billion in 2025, up from US$64.5 billion. Watch the Kenitra battery cluster, where Chinese, European and US interests overlap.

Travellers. The US State Department rates Morocco at Level 2, “exercise increased caution”, because of the risk of terrorism, as of October 2026. Some areas carry higher risk, so read the full advisory before travel.

Expats and policy watchers. US policy on Western Sahara now shapes business there, from the ammonia study in Laayoune to embassy outreach. A change in that policy, or in the UN process, would hit those projects first.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket, a crypto-based prediction market, tracks the change of government. It gives an 88.2% chance that Aziz Akhannouch is out as head of government by 31 December 2026 (11 October, 3:43 a.m. ET). Akhannouch, the outgoing head of government, leads the National Rally of Independents (RNI). His party fell to second place in the 23 September election.

That market has traded about US$172,000. The price fell 10.9 points over the past week but rose 4.6 points in the past day. The bet turns on when a new cabinet formally replaces his outgoing team.

A separate market on the next head of government gives Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri a 94.5% chance, on about US$34,000 traded. She leads the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), which won the most seats, and was appointed on 29 September. The bets also called the election itself: the market on the winning party, with about US$126,000 traded, resolved in favour of PAM.

Why we show this: prediction markets turn real-money bets into a live probability that moves within minutes of the news, which is why investors, campaigns and newsrooms in the United States now follow them closely. We show them next to polls and official results, never instead of them.

What Is Not Known

The make-up of El Mansouri’s cabinet, and the date of its confidence vote in parliament, were not set as of 11 October 2026. Who holds the economy, trade and foreign portfolios will matter to every investor named here.

The UN mission in Western Sahara, MINURSO, has a mandate running until 31 October 2026. The terms of any renewal are not yet known. Nor is it known whether the Laayoune ammonia project will reach a final investment decision.

A country-by-country breakdown of 2025 foreign direct investment had not appeared in official releases as of October 2026. The start date for full production at Gotion’s Kenitra plant has also not been confirmed by the lenders.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who is the biggest foreign investor in Morocco?

France has long been the largest single source. In 2024 it sent more than MAD 13.5 billion (about US$1.4 billion) of direct investment, over 30% of the total, per Office des Changes data. The European Commission calls the EU as a whole the biggest foreign investor.

How much does the United States trade with Morocco?

US goods exports to Morocco reached US$5.53 billion in 2025 and imports US$1.86 billion, a US surplus of US$3.67 billion, per the US Census Bureau. A free trade agreement has been in force since 1 January 2006.

Does the US military train in Morocco?

Yes. Morocco is the main host of African Lion, a yearly exercise run for US Africa Command. African Lion 26 ran from 20 April to 8 May 2026 with more than 5,600 personnel from over 30 nations.

What is China doing in Morocco?

China’s flagship project is Gotion High-Tech’s battery gigafactory in Kenitra. The African Development Bank approved a 100 million euro loan (about US$112 million) for it in July 2026. The plant will start at 10 gigawatt-hours and aims for 100.

Does Morocco owe money to the IMF?

Not under its current facility. The IMF approved a two-year Flexible Credit Line of about US$4.5 billion in April 2025, but it is precautionary and Moroccan authorities intend to keep it that way.

How much money do Moroccans abroad send home?

They sent MAD 89.22 billion (about US$9.06 billion) from January to August 2026, up 9% on a year earlier, according to Office des Changes figures. That is more than net foreign direct investment over the same months.

Sources: US Embassy in Morocco (ambassador remarks); US-Morocco-Israel joint statement; USTDA grant; US Trade Representative; US Census Bureau; US Africa Command; Defense Security Cooperation Agency; Bank Al-Maghrib; European Commission; UN Security Council; IMF; IMF review via Channel Africa; World Bank; Le360; Hespress; Morocco World News (remittances); Morocco World News (UNCTAD); APA News (UNCTAD); Boursenews; Atalayar; Polymarket market data. All accessed 11 October 2026.

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