The plan to connect Morocco and Portugal’s electricity supply is a "project of great importance" according to the Portuguese prime minister, referring to a project that seems mired in bureaucracy and hardly off the ground.
This long-discussed electircal connection has yet to be made but at least now an agreement has been signed, but only to commission a feasibility study. The Moroccan Director of Electricity at the Ministry of Energy, Mohamed Hajroun, and the Director General of Energy at the Portuguese Ministry of Energy, Carlos Almeida were on hand to sign the agreement and smile for the camera but both must be aware of the time that already has been wasted.
This agreement will enable the ministries to launch a call for tenders for a technical and economic feasibility study of the interconnection between the two countries.
A working group has met three times so far - the result is this agreement to agree to an agreement which was signed in the presence of the Portuguese Secretary of State for Energy, Jorge Seguro Sanches and the ambassador of Morocco to Lisbon, Karima Benyaich.
This bureaucratic nonsense was a follow-on from the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Rabat and Lisbon during a joint Morocco-Portuguese Commission meeting held last year.
Jorge Seguro Sanches said that the latest signing session was a very important step on the road to the realisation of the project to enable the two countries to exchange electricity and share expertise - and so it is.
"My presence today (April 20th, 2017) at this signing ceremony aims to reaffirm the political will of the Portuguese government to move forward in its partnership with Morocco on the interconnection project," said the secretary of state who added that Morocco plays a central role in the debate on environmental issues, climate change and renewable energies.
For her part, Karima Benyaich welcomed the signing of the agreement, which aims to assess the impact of this ambitious project, stressing that Morocco pays particular attention to the energy sector, particularly as regards clean energy.
She also stressed the quality of the cooperative relations between Morocco and Portugal in various fields.
The interminable delays in getting this project off the ground are no credit to either country’s responsible ministry. Portugal remains intent on an oil-based energy development programme while at the same time slyly cosies up to countries whose alternative energy and CO2 reduction credentials are shinier.
See also: 'Morocco activates first phase of world’s largest solar plant'
