DISPATCHES Vol 67 No 9 | MOROCCOEUROPEAN UNION State-owned fertiliser giant OCP rethinks market strategy after Gulf crisis 20th April 2026 Rabat’s phosphates conglomerate has raised US$1.5 billion in a hybrid bond and is lobbying Brussels to rewrite EU rules turning Iran's war into a market windfall The United States-Israeli-Iran war has handed Morocco’s Office chérifien des phosphates (OCP) a commercial and strategic opportunity. It has raised US$1.5 billion through its first international hybrid bond,... READ FOR FREE
Vol 67 No 8 | MOROCCOUNITED STATES Rabat buys influence in Washington, branding Polisario as the Houthis of West Africa 10th April 2026 King Mohammed VI’s government is trying to convince the White House and Congress to sanction the Sahrawi independence movement, claiming it has links to Iran Morocco is aiming to tighten its grip on Western Sahara by getting the United States Congress to designate the Sahrawi independence movement’s political arm, the Polisario Front, as...
DISPATCHES Vol 67 No 3 | MOROCCOEUROPEAN UNIONWESTERN SAHARA Brussels gives formal support for Morocco’s regional autonomy plan 2nd February 2026 Ditching its earlier assertion that Western Sahara isn’t part of Morocco, the European Commission has signed a new deal with Rabat The European Commission has given its formal backing for Morocco’s controlled autonomy plan for Western Sahara, in a major shift of the bloc’s diplomatic stance. At a meeting... READ FOR FREE
Vol 67 No 2 | MOROCCOFOOTBALLAFRICA Sublime and ridiculous 23rd January 2026 Having claimed a global success in its hosting of Afcon, Morocco now turns from the spectacle back to the business of maintaining stability Until its chaotic final on the evening of 18 January, Morocco had enjoyed an exceptional Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon), marked by state-of-the-art stadia served by new motorways...
Vol 67 No 2 | MOROCCOSOUTH AFRICA Africa’s electric vehicles speed up 23rd January 2026 The baton as Africa’s leading carmaker has passed to Morocco, which produced over a million vehicles last year, overtaking South Africa. South Africa made 554,613 vehicles between January...
Vol 67 No 1 | MOROCCONORTH AFRICAAFRICA IN 2026 Questions for the ‘builder king’ 9th January 2026 Elections and Western Sahara will preoccupy minds in Rabat The prevailing narrative in Morocco has it that King Mohammed VI (M6) has presided over social uplift, impressive new infrastructure and major progress in achieving the central policy...
Vol 66 No 25 | MOROCCOEUROPEAN UNIONWESTERN SAHARA Polisario goes back to Luxembourg 19th December 2025 The Polisario Front’s lawyers are heading back to the EU Court of Justice in Luxembourg after Oubi Bouchraya, Polisario’s legal advisor, confirmed that they would file a legal...
DISPATCHES Vol 66 No 22 | MOROCCOWESTERN SAHARA UNSC changes tack, backs Morocco’s semi-autonomy plan 3rd November 2025 Algeria was the only council member to reject the scheme, reflecting growing international support for Rabat over Western Sahara The international community’s stance on Western Sahara’s future has been decisively altered by a United Nations Security Council vote on 31 October that endorsed Morocco’s plan for semi-autonomy... READ FOR FREE
Vol 66 No 20 | MOROCCOEUROPEAN UNION New deal, old questions 10th October 2025 The EU signed off on a new trade agreement with Morocco on 4 October that will include goods from the disputed Western Sahara region. The deal has been...
Vol 66 No 17 | ALGERIAMOROCCOUNITED STATES Arms, gas and fertiliser – Rabat outflanks Algiers with a Trump-linked lobbyist 22nd August 2025 After recognising Israel in return for US backing on Western Sahara, Morocco is maximising its commercial gains Morocco is vying with Egypt to become United States President Donald J Trump’s main ally in North Africa, after recognising Israel, with which it has long-standing security ties,...