Four framework agreements aimed at accelerating the implementation of advanced regionalization and strengthening cooperation in strategic areas, including water, mobility, and environmental protection, were signed on Friday in Tangier between the Kingdom’s twelve regions and several ministerial departments. These agreements were formalized during the second National Conference on Advanced Regionalization.
The first agreement focuses on accelerating the implementation of advanced regionalization. Its objectives include establishing an approach to identify mechanisms to complete this strategic project while continuing to fulfill the commitments outlined in the 2019 orientation framework for advanced regionalization.
It also aims to implement the regions’ exercise of their powers by applying the national framework for administrative decentralization and expediting the transfer of competencies to decentralized services according to a specified timeline.
Signatories include the Minister of the Interior, Abdelouafi Laftit, alongside key ministers such as Nadia Fettah (Economy and Finance), Nizar Baraka (Equipment and Water), Mohamed Saad Berrada (National Education, Preschool, and Sports), Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri (Territorial Development and Urban Planning), and other notable ministers and officials representing various strategic portfolios, as well as the presidents of the twelve Regional Councils of the Kingdom.
The second agreement, signed by the Ministers of the Interior, Equipment and Water, the Minister Delegate for the Budget, Fouzi Lekjaa, and the presidents of the twelve Regional Councils, focuses on the territorial implementation of national policies in water management and environmental protection. This participatory agreement aims to establish a new partnership framework ensuring synergy in addressing water and environmental issues.
The third agreement, endorsed by the Minister of the Interior, the Minister Delegate for the Budget, the Minister of Transport and Logistics, and the presidents of the twelve Regional Councils, pertains to funding the investment program for the new model of delegated management contracts for urban and intermunicipal public transport by bus.
With a budget of 11 billion dirhams for the period 2025-2029, the agreement seeks to enhance the availability and quality of urban and intermunicipal transport through a sustainable and financially balanced economic model. Regular monitoring of these management contracts will also be ensured.
The fourth agreement, signed by the Minister of the Interior, the Minister Delegate for the Budget, the Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, and the presidents of the twelve Regional Councils, addresses the management of household and similar waste for the period 2025-2034.
The objective is to strengthen partnerships between ministerial departments and regional councils to improve waste management and recovery, aligning with sustainable development goals.
Held under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, this event, themed "Advanced Regionalization: Facing Today’s and Tomorrow’s Challenges," was organized by the Ministry of the Interior in partnership with the Moroccan Association of Regions. It marks a significant step in implementing advanced regionalization as a structural institutional reform and a strategic choice for consolidating territorial development.
Participants included government officials, regional presidents, municipal councilors, experts, and Moroccan and international political and economic stakeholders. The conference attracted over 1,500 attendees on-site, 160 international guests, and more than 45,000 online participants, according to organizers.