Morocco-Israel Ties Boost Tourism and Business Investment

For more than a year, Morocco and Israel have opened a new chapter in their relations, which have seen significant progress. Many Israeli companies are interested in the kingdom and investing there. On Monday, the Israeli television channel i24News inaugurated two offices in Morocco, one in Rabat and the other in Casablanca. A gala evening was organized on the famous Chellah site in Rabat as part of the opening of these offices, attended by 500 Moroccan, Israeli and foreign personalities.

In February, the Israeli group Gandyr through its subsidiary Marom allied with Gaia Energy Maroc. In total, 13 billion dirhams will be invested over the next two years in the renewable energy sector in Morocco as part of this partnership. In the same dynamic, Israeli companies are bidding for major water supply projects, including a desalination plant for Casablanca. They are also investing in fishing, cannabis cultivation and gas. Morocco has recently welcomed Israeli startups, including SupPlant, a company dedicated to precision agriculture that calibrates irrigation based on weather and soil type. "There is such high interest. [...] It’s crazy," says an Israeli diplomat to The Economist.

On the tourism side, Israelis are flocking to Morocco. Some Israelis come to party, others to visit the shrines or rediscover their family roots, some 700,000 Israelis being of Moroccan origin. The kingdom expects to welcome 200,000 Israeli tourists this year, four times more since the agreement.