A new international agreement in the field of water in Morocco: Mekorot, Israel’s national water company, signed today (Thursday) a first memorandum of understanding with Morocco’s national water and electricity company, ONEE (ONEE). The signing took place in the city of Marrakesh as part of the global investment forum held there under the auspices of the Jerusalem Post.
Those who signed the memorandum of understanding are Mr. Abderrahim El Hafidi, CEO of the National Bureau of Electricity and Drinking Water of Morocco (ONEE) and in front of him Mr. Yitzhak Aharonovitch, chairman of the board of directors of “Mekorot” and in the presence of the CEO of the company Amit Lang.
The agreement between the parties defines the framework for future cooperation throughout Morocco in the areas of drinking water and sanitation, and it accompanies the agreement signed between the government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the government of the State of Israel on December 22, 2020 on innovation and development of water resources. According to ONEE, the memorandum of understanding signed with Mekorot aims to create working procedures and cooperation between the two parties in the areas of seawater desalination, improving the performance of infrastructures for producing drinking water, managing facilities through the development of digital systems and geographic information systems, water quality, managing the recycling of desalination products from drinking water processing facilities and the integration of innovative technologies. It was also agreed within the memorandum of understanding that ONEE and “Mekorot” intend to promote cooperation in the fields of research and development.
Mekorot CEO Amit Lang told those present at the conference about the possibilities of cooperation with Mekorot, this against a background of local water shortages and climate changes that are only getting worse. The water supply to the Kingdom of Jordan Last year in March 2022, a contract was signed for the development of the water sector for agriculture in Azerbaijan, in July a second cooperation agreement in India and an initial entry into Argentina in August, while helping the local wine industry in the face of the climate crisis.
“The Abraham agreements have opened up a new and fascinating business horizon for the company, and Mekorot intends to realize the new opportunities with a multitude of solutions for the water economies of neighboring and distant countries. The new memorandum of understanding is the first of its kind for the company in Morocco, and it is added to the one signed in March 2021 with the Kingdom of Bahrain to build a program Father of the water system there,” he said.
The CEO of ONEE, Mr. Abderrahim Al Hafidi, mentioned the current situation of the water shortage in the Kingdom, and emphasized the proposed solutions to deal with the problem. Hydraulic basins, improving water efficiency and raising consumer awareness for optimizing water use.