Morocco king: The joint gas pipeline with Nigeria is a strategic project

Moroccan King Mohammed VI yesterday described the joint gas pipeline project with Nigeria as a “strategic project”.

In a televised speech the monarch said he considered the Nigeria-Morocco gas pipeline as more than a bilateral project. “We want it as a strategic project for the benefit of the entire West African region, which has a population of more than 440 million people, because of the opportunities and assurances it provides in the field of energy security, economic, industrial, and social development for the 15 countries of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), in addition to Mauritania and Morocco.”

He added that it is “a project for peace, African economic integration, and mutual development, and a project for the present and future generations.” It is a “structured project, linking Africa and Europe,” he continued.

He praised the support of regional and international financial institutions, which expressed their desire to actively contribute to its achievement.

The gas pipeline project between Morocco and Nigeria has reached the stage of detailed technical and engineering studies. The pipeline crosses 13 countries in West Africa before reaching Europe, and it was agreed upon in 2016.

READ: Morocco-Nigeria gas pipeline to benefit 340m people