The economic interests of Spanish companies in Morocco have come under growing scrutiny amid tensions between Rabat and Madrid and increasingly confrontational rhetoric from some Spanish political forces, particularly the far-right Vox party, which has called for Morocco to be excluded from the 2030 FIFA World Cup and for the preferential trade agreement between Morocco and the European Union to be suspended.
The issue is particularly significant given the scale of Spanish business interests accumulated in Morocco. The value of just three major contracts and projects stands at around €1.37 billion ($1.6 billion), spanning railways, water, engineering and infrastructure, with some directly linked to Morocco’s efforts to modernize its facilities ahead of the 2030 World Cup.
According to government sources who spoke to Assahifa, there has so far been no change to existing contracts with Spanish companies or to the economic interests between the two countries. However, the sources said unofficially that continued escalation could make “anything possible,” stressing that Morocco has the right to review future options and contracts based on “the national interest and the higher interests of the Kingdom.” They stressed that this does not mean any official decision has been taken in that direction.
Among the most significant Spanish interests is a train contract awarded to CAF. While the initial deal covered 30 trains for around €600 million, with an option for 10 additional trains, the Spanish government later announced financing for Morocco to acquire 40 trains worth more than €750 million. Official documents put the financing at around €754.3 million, with Madrid describing the project as part of the modernization of Morocco’s railway sector and infrastructure projects linked to the 2030 World Cup.
The trains supplied by CAF will have a maximum speed of 200 kilometers per hour and connect several Moroccan cities. Spain’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Enterprise described the deal as an opportunity to strengthen Spanish industry and generate activity at CAF’s manufacturing facilities in Spain.
The second-largest project is being led by Spanish company Acciona as part of a consortium with Moroccan companies Green of Africa and Afriquia Gaz. It involves the construction of a seawater desalination plant in Casablanca, with an investment value of around €613 million, according to Acciona. The facility will have an annual capacity of 300 million cubic meters, while Acciona will be responsible for its construction, operation and maintenance for 27 years.
The desalination plant is not directly a “World Cup deal,” but it forms part of Morocco’s broader infrastructure investment boom ahead of 2030. The Spanish government itself has identified this expansion as a strategic market for Spanish companies.
Spanish public engineering firm Ineco also secured three new contracts in Morocco in 2024 worth a combined €2.275 million, covering railway and aviation studies. They include a proposed urban rail service linking Tangier city center with the airport and stadium, as well as the Oued Zem-Beni Mellal railway project and studies related to airport infrastructure.
Taken together, the publicly announced value of the three projects is close to €1.37 billion ($1.6 billion), excluding other contracts awarded to Spanish companies whose values have not been publicly disclosed, as well as projects that remain at the study or bidding stage.
What stands out is that the political escalation comes at a time when Madrid had been actively seeking to increase the share of Spanish companies in Morocco’s 2030-related projects. In February 2025, the Spanish government organized a dedicated meeting on opportunities for Spanish companies in Moroccan projects linked to the World Cup. Spain’s trade authorities say more than 350 Spanish companies are established in Morocco.
Yet political developments within part of Spain’s political landscape are moving in the opposite direction. Vox leader Santiago Abascal has called on the European Union to suspend its preferential agreement with Morocco, while the party has also demanded that Morocco’s participation in hosting the 2030 World Cup be reconsidered, marking one of the sharpest episodes of political escalation against Rabat during the latest crisis.
Assahifa sources also point to what they describe as a contradiction in calls from Spain for economic pressure on Morocco: bilateral trade largely favors Spain. Spain’s own trade ministry reported that trade between the two countries exceeded €22.5 billion in 2024, with Spain recording a trade surplus of more than €3 billion, while Spanish exports to Morocco rose by around 6% that year.
The sources believe this situation gives Rabat room to reassess some future purchases and contracts if national interests require it, particularly in sectors where alternatives exist in France, Italy, Turkey and other European and Mediterranean markets. They stressed, however, that this remains a potential scenario rather than an announced government policy.
Economic interdependence also extends to tourism. Spending by Moroccan visitors in Spain reached around €1.084 billion in 2025, up 16.7% from 2024, according to Spanish tourism data. The figures reflect the growing importance of the Moroccan market for some Spanish regions, particularly Andalusia.
Ultimately, shifting from political disagreement to economic confrontation could carry high costs for both sides, but the impact could be particularly direct for Spanish companies that have accumulated major contracts and business interests in Morocco. Assahifa sources argue that relations between states should not be managed through “inflated egos,” but through mutual interests, noting that Morocco’s importance to Spain extends beyond trade to sensitive areas including migration, security, counterterrorism and border management.
From this perspective, Madrid’s need to maintain cooperation with Rabat, particularly on security and economic issues, gives Morocco leverage that goes beyond trade figures alone. At the same time, the diversity of its economic partners gives Rabat greater room for maneuver. Continued escalation could therefore test whether the economic interests built by Morocco and Spain over the past years can remain insulated from a growing political discourse in Spain calling for punitive measures against Morocco, at a time when Spanish companies themselves are among the major beneficiaries of Morocco’s investment boom.
