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Morocco and Mauritania agree to connect electricity networks

February 5, 2025 at 8:21 am

Electric pillar

Morocco and Mauritania signed an agreement on Tuesday to connect their electricity networks. The agreement was announced by Morocco’s National Office for Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), after the Director General Tarik Hamane and his counterpart from the Mauritanian Electricity Company (SOMELEC), Sidi Salem Mohaned Elabd, sealed the accord in a ceremony witnessed by Moroccan Ambassador Hamid Chabar.

“In implementation of the directives of King Mohammed VI, and within the framework of the Royal Atlantic Initiative [allowing the Sahel countries to benefit from the Atlantic Ocean] aimed at strengthening African South-South relations, the electricity connection project between the two countries is a major step that will enhance the reliability of the two countries’ electricity grids,” said Moroccan officials.

They added that the electricity connection between the two countries “opens up prospects for energy exchange between them and Europe and West Africa within the framework of the West African Energy Community.”

In December 2023, the ministers of the African Sahel countries agreed in Marrakesh to establish a national working group in each country to prepare and propose ways to activate an international initiative by the Moroccan monarch for the Sahel countries to benefit from the Atlantic Ocean.

Following the signing of the agreement, the technical teams of the Moroccan office and the Mauritanian company began consultations to begin implementing the project.

Mauritania is ranked among the most expensive in electricity prices in the region and seeks to reduce the cost by importing energy and securing some of its electricity needs through its connection with Morocco. It is also expected to benefit from Morocco’s experience in electricity production, especially since it seeks to produce 52 per cent of its needs through renewable energy by 2030.

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