The Kingdom of Morocco is an important link between North and South in political, cultural and economic terms and is a key partner for the European Union and Germany in northern Africa. Germany and Morocco have maintained diplomatic relations since 1956. In August 2022, the two countries agreed in a joint declaration to establish an enhanced partnership focused on the future.

In the course of the last decade, Morocco has launched comprehensive reforms. The country plays a key role in preserving stability and promoting sustainable development in the region, proven not least by its diplomatic engagement in the Libyan peace process. With its Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura, who was appointed in 2021, the United Nations is endeavouring to find a solution to the Western Sahara issue. The German Government’s stance has remained unaltered for decades. Germany is supporting the Personal Envoy in his efforts to find a just, lasting political solution acceptable to all on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council Resolutions. In 2007, Morocco made an important contribution to such a solution by presenting an autonomy plan.

Germany and Morocco enjoy significant economic and trade relations. In 2021, Germany ranked sixth among Morocco’s trading partners, with imports from Morocco amounting to 2.1 billion euro, and exports to Morocco totalling 2.8 billion euro in 2022. There are nearly 300 companies with German equity participation operating in Morocco, mainly concentrated in Casablanca and Tangier. Morocco is a popular tourist destination. In 2019, approximately six percent of foreign tourists were from Germany.

Germany is lending its support to Morocco in its modernisation efforts and is one of its biggest bilateral development partners. At the intergovernmental negotiations held in October 2022, Germany pledged 243 million euro in assistance. German-Moroccan development cooperation focuses on sustainable economic development and jobs, the climate, including climate change adaptation in the water sector, as well as renewable energies. Morocco is one of the countries in the G20 Compact with Africa initiative aiming to improve conditions for private investment. To this end, the two countries launched a German-Moroccan reform partnership in late November 2019. In 2020, Germany supported Morocco with a comprehensive emergency assistance programme to mitigate the COVID‑19 crisis.

In addition to GIZ, KfW and the Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB), the Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung, the Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom, the Hanns Seidel Foundation and the Heinrich Böll Foundation have their own offices in the country. Efforts are also being made to promote the German language and scientific and academic cooperation. The Goethe-Institut has offices in Casablanca and Rabat, as well as German Points of Dialogue in Tangier and Oujda. A number of partner schools also exist, as well as more than 60 cooperation projects in the area of higher education. There are German Academic Exchange Service lectors working in Rabat and Meknes. The Federal Foreign Office also funds cultural preservation measures in Morocco.