"The ongoing shift in Morocco's underlying economic structure and the robust performance of the tourism, phosphates and derivatives, automotive, and aerospace sectors will bolster growth prospects and economic stability", the U.S. agency said, noting that the African country has remained quite resilient to several shocks over past decades, maintaining access to domestic and external financing.

Also citing the diversification and the resilience of the Moroccan economy which “supports more robust growth prospects”, S&P forecasts that Morocco's GDP growth will average 3.6% in 2024-2027, from 1.5% in 2020-2023.

The rating agency underlined that an additional support will stem from stronger domestic demand helped by declining inflation and greater private investment, which will benefit from the economic reforms underway and stronger growth in the eurozone, “Morocco's main trade partner”. 

It further expects that inflation will fall to about 1.5% in 2024.

“The Moroccan economy will also gradually benefit from the development of large-scale projects in view of the Africa Cup of Nations in 2025 and the Football World Cup in 2030, both being held in the country, the implementation of socioeconomic reforms, and the expansion of Morocco's export capacity”, according to the report. In this respect, the report recalled that the Tangier-Med port now has a capacity of three million 20-foot equivalent units, making it the largest port in the Mediterranean and in Africa.

For the agency, the positive outlook reflects "our expectations that Morocco will build on its recent track records of implementing socioeconomic and budgetary reforms, paving the way for stronger and more inclusive growth, and a reduction in budget deficits".

S&P Global Ratings also highlighted the efforts undertaken by Morocco to address water scarcity, mainly through implementing a large-scale action plan to mitigate water scarcity, adding that this project will involve heavy investment in infrastructure, including new dams and desalination and water recycling plants, as well as measures to improve the efficiency of water consumption.

Among the actions undertaken by Morocco in this field, the U.S. agency cited the launch last June of the construction of the Casablanca desalination plant, the largest in Africa, with a production capacity of 300 million m3 per year.