Minister of Energy, Mining and Sustainable Development, Aziz Rabbah, stressed, Monday in Rabat, the need to strengthen interconnectivity with Spain to benefit from electricity under better conditions and secure the supply of electricity in the national market. At the end of his talks with Spanish minister for Energy, Tourism and the Digital Agenda, Alvaro Nadal Belda, Rabbah told the press, that «fruitful» energy cooperation between Morocco and Spain is part of a vision of regional integration that places the Kingdom as a relay between Europe and Africa, particularly in interconnection and market opening, noting that Morocco is working on a third power line, given the growing demand in both countries. While expressing his satisfaction with the level of cooperation between the two countries in the field of energy, the minister recalled the priority areas selected in the framework of a Memorandum of Understanding on the integration of energy networks and markets, the development of renewable energy, energy savings and energy efficiency. He also stressed the importance of creating a favorable framework for joint ventures between Moroccan and Spanish companies and encouraging the setting up of private-private partnerships to meet the growing demand in the energy sector, both at Spanish and Moroccan levels. Rabbah stressed that this meeting was also an opportunity to examine the best scenarios for the post-2021 future regarding the Maghreb-Europe Gas Pipeline (GME) project, whose contract will expire in 2021. For his part, Nadal Belda welcomed the intensity of bilateral relations in the field of energy, calling for their further consolidation as part of working groups. «The political relationship between Spain and Morocco remains a priority and is not limited to negotiations», he said, stressing the need to combine efforts in the energy field, given the benefits this sector could bring to both countries. The Spanish minister also underlined that this meeting was an opportunity to share the Spanish experience with his Moroccan counterpart in the field of liquid hydrocarbons and to examine ways of guaranteeing efficient energy that respects climate agreements. The two parties also agreed to jointly prepare a roadmap and a plan of action, in preparation for the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding, scheduled during the next visit of the Spanish Sovereign to Morocco.
