Morocco, Portugal Strengthen Cooperation on Green Hydrogen

Rabat – Morocco and Portugal on Tuesday signed in Rabat a declaration of cooperation on green hydrogen, with the objective of developing partnership in this sector between the economic stakeholders of the two countries.

In this joint declaration, signed by the minister of Energy, Mines and Environment, Aziz Rabbah, and his Portuguese counterpart, Matos Fernandes during a ceremony organized through videoconference, the two parties recognize the strategic opportunity represented by the decarbonization of the economy and the transition to green energy as mobilizing factors and catalysts for sustainable development, as well as the importance of green hydrogen as a cleaner and more accessible source of energy for the future of the economies of both countries.

The two ministers agreed to strengthen the ties of friendship between the two countries, to boost bilateral cooperation and to align the priorities of green hydrogen in Morocco and Portugal with the related decarbonization strategies of the Paris Climate Agreement.

Speaking on this occasion, Rabbah underlined that this declaration constitutes a first step to put in place the necessary bases for the development of bilateral cooperation in the field of green hydrogen, given the enormous potentials and assets of the economies of the two countries, as well as real investment opportunities offered by this sector.

Morocco has undertaken several actions to start the development of green hydrogen, he underlined, recalling the establishment of the National Hydrogen Commission in 2019 and a series of research and development projects as well as the preparation of the hydrogen production roadmap.

For his part, the Portuguese minister of Environment and Climate Action, who welcomed the relations of cooperation and friendship binding Morocco and Portugal, noted that the development of the green hydrogen sector requires a particular support from states and governments.

“Portugal is committed to a strategic policy on green hydrogen and aims to organize on April 7 an international conference on this clean energy sector in which the Kingdom of Morocco is invited to participate”, noted Fernandes.

The Portuguese ambassador to Morocco, Bernardo Futscher Pereira, underlined in a statement to MAP that green hydrogen is a priority for Portugal and Morocco, noting that the two countries have all the necessary conditions to cooperate in this area and consolidate an industrial, commercial and logistical partnership to develop this sector.

At the end of the signing ceremony, the two ministers committed to creating a joint working group to examine and implement several actions, including a roadmap for green hydrogen and ammonia as well as the development of a memorandum of understanding on green hydrogen.