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1. Interdependence and industrial integration
2. Complementarity in key sectors
3. Investments on the rise

At the recent Doing Business event in Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima, the co-chair of the Morocco-Spain Economic Council, Adil Rais, highlighted the consolidation of Spanish-Moroccan economic relations. These relations are marked by industrial integration, productive complementarity and interest in investment, reflecting an increasingly structured interdependence between the two economies and paving the way for a new stage of cooperation.

Over the decades, the geographical proximity between the two countries has gradually transformed into an increasingly important economic proximity, becoming a true shared production system between the two shores of the Strait of Gibraltar.

Adil Rais urged, as a next step, the development of investment as the driving force behind the bilateral relationship between the two countries: ‘We are structurally very important trading partners for each other.’

Interdependence and industrial integration

Bilateral trade between Rabat and Madrid exceeds €22 billion per year, which goes beyond simple trade in goods to become a relationship of interdependence in the Euro-Mediterranean area, involving several strategic industrial sectors.

In this regard, Spain has been Morocco’s main trading partner for several years, thanks to significant growth in imports, exports and investments. Beyond the volume of trade between the two countries, the economic relationship between Morocco and Spain is characterised by a high level of industrial integration.

Several sectors already operate according to a shared value chain logic, in which companies from both countries participate in different stages of the production process. Thus, components manufactured in Spain are incorporated into vehicles produced in Morocco, which are then exported to the European market.

‘The automotive industry is an example of this productive dynamic that goes far beyond the traditional logic of foreign trade to create a strong interdependence between the two countries. In fact, Morocco imports parts that are incorporated into vehicles manufactured in the Kingdom and then exports them to Spain,’ explained Adil Rais, who highlighted the level of integration of the industrial value chain between Morocco and Spain.

Thanks to the free trade agreement between Morocco and the United States, this industrial integration goes beyond the European market, with a large part of the products that Inditex manufactures in Morocco being exported to the United States (85%).

Complementarity in key sectors

In the automotive sector, the electric vehicle industrial segment is beginning to gain importance, representing an increasing share of Moroccan exports to the Spanish market.

This is a notable economic complementarity between the two countries that is not limited to the automotive sector, but has spread to the textile sector as a key part of bilateral trade relations, with Morocco being one of Inditex’s four main global suppliers.

In addition to these traditional sectors, there are other areas of cooperation that also illustrate the productive complementarity between the two economies, particularly agriculture and fisheries as two historical pillars of bilateral trade.

Morocco has also become one of the main agricultural suppliers to the Spanish market: Spanish imports of fruit and vegetables from the country account for 26% of Spanish purchases in this segment. In the first months of 2025, Spain imported more than 188,000 tonnes of Moroccan fruit and vegetables (tomatoes, peppers and green beans) worth close to £481 million.

On the other hand, fishing is also a key component of the bilateral economic relationship. The Moroccan fishing sector, which generates between 2 and 3 billion dollars in exports each year, counts Europe and Spain in particular as one of its main markets, with the value of Spanish imports exceeding 130 million dollars in 2024.

Investments on the rise

Despite the intensity of bilateral trade, Spain is not yet the main foreign investor in Morocco. However, its position has improved significantly in recent years, rising from sixth to third place among foreign investors in the North African country, in a clear upward trend.

As Adil Rais pointed out, this development reflects a gradual change in Spanish companies’ perception of the Moroccan market, as Spain begins to consider Morocco as a strategic platform and a priority destination for its investments, especially in key sectors such as tourism, water and energy infrastructure, and the aeronautical industry.

In parallel with this investment dynamic from Spain in Morocco, there is a reverse investment movement by Moroccan companies that are increasingly interested in the Spanish market, particularly in the distribution sector and certain acquisitions made by Moroccan groups.

‘For the first time, Moroccan investments in Spain exceeded the equivalent of 1 billion dirhams, with the Spanish market beginning to be seen as an opportunity for expansion for Moroccan companies,’ said the co-chair of CEMAES.

As part of a new phase of internationalisation and after having developed and invested heavily in the African continent, Moroccan companies are beginning to turn their attention more towards Europe. In this context, Spain is beginning to emerge as a natural destination for their expansion.

Given the consolidation of industrial chains and increased investment, the economic relationship between Morocco and Spain looks set to strengthen further in the coming years. In this context, the co-chair of the Morocco-Spain Economic Council is convinced that Spain’s position among foreign investors in Morocco will continue to grow as a natural consequence of the level of economic integration that already exists between the two countries.