The French Development Agency (AFD) group is planning significant investments worth around 150 million euros in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, announced the Agency’s CEO, Rémy Rioux, on Saturday in Laayoune.
“The AFD Group will now invest in the southern regions, bringing both investments and financing,” stated Rioux in a press briefing following his meetings with the Wali of the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region and Governor of the Laayoune Province, Abdeslam Bekrate, the President of the Regional Council, Sidi Hamdi Ould Errachid, and the President of the Municipal Council, Moulay Hamdi Ould Errachid.
Rioux, leading a high-level delegation as part of his working visit to Morocco, highlighted the major investments already achieved in the southern provinces, noting that AFD can “contribute additional expertise and financing.”
He also expressed how “deeply impressed” he was by the investments and the quality of infrastructure in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region, which help create jobs and meet the expectations of young people in Morocco’s southern regions.
In this context, he welcomed the establishment of private enterprises and industrial zones in Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra, emphasizing that AFD’s investments in the southern provinces send a strong signal to economic stakeholders “by offering financing solutions.”
Rioux added that AFD will further strengthen its cooperation with the OCP Group in the field of applied research, particularly in agriculture, recalling the recent signing in Rabat of a major financing agreement focused on decarbonizing the Group’s value chain.
During this visit, the AFD delegation attended presentations on the regional development program and the municipal development program. They were also briefed on various development projects under the new Development Model for the Southern Provinces, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI in 2015.
The meetings in Laayoune also provided the French delegation with insight into the region’s dynamic and wide-ranging development efforts, as well as the programs and projects aimed at positioning it as a strategic hub.
During the visit, members of the French delegation conducted field visits to several social, educational, and economic projects, where they observed first-hand the extensive efforts made to ensure integrated development in the Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra region.
They visited the port of Laayoune, where they were briefed on commercial traffic and fish landings at the facility, as well as on the planned expansion of the port infrastructure.
At the African Sustainable Agriculture Research Institute (ASARI), affiliated with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University (UM6P), the delegation received a presentation on the institution’s missions.
This visit by the CEO of the AFD is part of the Enhanced Exceptional Partnership established between His Majesty King Mohammed VI and the President of the French Republic, Emmanuel Macron. It reflects the shared determination to strengthen the already rich bilateral cooperation and to support inclusive and sustainable development dynamics across all regions of the Kingdom.
MAP: 10 mai 2025
