Moroccan Minister of Digital Transition, Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, recently met with senior US officials at the State Department to strengthen digital ties between Rabat and Washington, Morocco’s Ambassador to the US, Youssef Amrani, announced. The meeting aimed to further digital cooperation, particularly in artificial intelligence (AI), following joint initiatives launched last year.
The discussions were described as productive, with Minister El Fallah and Ambassador Steve Lang, Chief of Cyberspace and Digital Policy, reaffirming the strong Morocco-US partnership. They focused on advancing digital transformation and AI to promote innovation and shared prosperity between the two nations. Minister El Fallah also held a meeting with Ms. Leila Elmergawi, Director for Strategy and Global AI Policy, to discuss Morocco’s ambitious AI Roadmap and the Digital Morocco 2030 plan.
This meeting comes on the heels of several key Morocco-US AI collaborations. In March 2024, both nations co-presented the first-ever UN resolution on artificial intelligence, titled “Seizing the Opportunities of Safe, Secure and Trustworthy Artificial Intelligence Systems for Sustainable Development.” The resolution gained support from 123 UN Member States before its adoption.
In June 2024, Morocco and the US also established the Group of Friends on Artificial Intelligence for Sustainable Development at the UN headquarters. The initiative, launched by Morocco’s UN Ambassador Omar Hilale and US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, aims to create a platform for international cooperation on AI, focusing on supporting developing countries.
Morocco’s involvement in AI has garnered international recognition, with former US Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledging the country’s contributions during a UN Security Council meeting on AI. Additionally, a Moroccan parliamentary opposition group recently proposed a bill to regulate AI use and establish a National Agency for Artificial Intelligence to ensure ethical AI practices in the country.
A recent survey revealed that 80% of Moroccan consumers are aware of ChatGPT, with 38% actively using the AI tool. This positions Morocco as the leader in Africa and the second-highest user of ChatGPT globally, just behind India.
