Moroccan delegation heads to Cairo te revive relations with Egypt

A Moroccan delegation, spearheaded by Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, is set to arrive in Cairo, Monday, to attend a session of the high joint commission between Morocco and Egypt, as reported by Moroccan media. Interestingly, Egyptian media covering the event this Sunday have relied on Moroccan sources for their information.

This bilateral cooperation platform, originally slated for February 10 in Cairo, had faced a delay. The postponement came shortly after Morocco, on February 3, imposed anti-dumping duties on certain Egyptian products, including polyvinyl chloride (PVC), canned tomatoes, and textiles.

Relations between Rabat and Cairo have recently cooled. This is evident from the participation of Egyptian journalists and activists on Algerian media platforms, where they have defended the Polisario or criticized the African Football Confederation's (CAF) decision to grant Morocco the hosting rights for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final.

Such developments echo the situation leading up to Egypt's reintegration into the African Union, following the 2013 coup by Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, then a general and defense minister, which ousted the democratically elected President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

It's noteworthy that Omar Hjira, the Secretary of State in charge of Foreign Trade, admitted on May 12, 2025, in the House of Representatives, that Moroccan exports to Egypt have plummeted in recent years, falling from 2.6 billion dirhams in 2016 to a mere 755 million dirhams in 2024. In contrast, imports from Egypt have soared from 4 billion to 12.5 billion dirhams.

This growing disparity has exacerbated the trade deficit between the two nations. In response, a Moroccan delegation, led by the Minister of Industry and Trade, visited Egypt in May of the same year, aiming to negotiate a solution with Egyptian authorities to bridge this gap.

Morocco and Egypt, along with Tunisia and Jordan, are signatories of the Agadir Agreement, signed in 2004, which aims to establish an Arab free trade zone.