The Director General of the National Office of Electricity and Drinking Water (ONEE), Tarik Hamane, and the Director General of the Mauritanian Electricity Company (SOMELEC), Sidi Salem Mohaned Elabd, signed an agreement on Tuesday in Nouakchott for the development and implementation of the electrical interconnection between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Islamic Republic of Mauritania.
Signed in the presence of the Moroccan ambassador to Mauritania, Hamid Chabar, this agreement is in accordance with the High Guidelines of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, aimed at strengthening bilateral relations and regional energy cooperation.
Part of the Royal Atlantic Initiative aimed at enhancing African integration and promoting South-South cooperation, the electrical interconnection project between Morocco and Mauritania represents a major advancement that will further enhance the reliability of the electrical networks of both countries, improve their performance, and facilitate the exchange of electrical energy between Morocco and Mauritania and between Europe and West Africa within the framework of the WAPP (West African Power Pool).
It also presents an opportunity to enhance and fully benefit from the complementarity by connecting the electrical networks of both countries, particularly for better integration and optimization of the renewable energy resources they possess.
On this occasion, Mr. Hamane indicated that this electrical interconnection project will open up prospects in various fields of renewable energies, especially since both countries have significant renewable energy resources.
It will also strengthen capacities and energize the market between the two countries, in line with His Majesty the King’s vision in this area, noting that the project will also contribute to working in complementarity between the two electrical networks and to strengthening expertise and exchange between the two countries.
For his part, Mr. Mohaned Elabd noted that the electrical interconnection between Morocco and Mauritania represents a step that responds to the new realities of the Mauritanian electrical system and opens promising prospects for both countries to enhance their connectivity with European and African markets.
Additionally, a convention was signed regarding partnership in several areas between the two institutions, including the exchange of experts and training of staff.
At the end of the signing ceremony of the agreement, the technical teams of ONEE and SOMELEC immediately began consultation work as part of the implementation of the project.
Through this strategic initiative, ONEE and SOMELEC are consolidating their partnership in favor of the development of the electrical sector of both countries and strengthening the regional integration of electrical networks.
Morocco and Mauritania thus reaffirm their roles as energy hubs at the continental and regional levels, by strengthening electrical interconnections and promoting the integration of energy markets for sustainable and shared development.