Marrakech – Morocco’s Minister of Equipment and Water, Nizar Baraka, held strategic talks in Dakar on Sunday with his Senegalese counterpart Cheikh Tidiane Dièye on strengthening bilateral water cooperation. The meeting occurred on the sidelines of the high-level preparatory meeting for the 2026 UN Water Conference.
The two ministers discussed ways to enhance Morocco-Senegal cooperation across bilateral, continental, and international water governance agendas. Their exchanges focused on preparing for the UN Water Conference scheduled for December in the United Arab Emirates.
Key discussions centered on developing an action plan for the African Water Vision 2063, which will be adopted during the 39th African Union Summit next month in Addis Ababa.
The ministers explored cooperation opportunities in several strategic areas, including seawater desalination, inter-basin water transfer, water governance, and long-term planning against climate change effects.
During his Dakar visit, Baraka also met with Mohamed Abdel Vetah, High Commissioner of the Organization for the Development of the Senegal River (OMVS), at the organization’s headquarters.
The Moroccan minister reiterated Morocco’s commitment to supporting OMVS actions, aligning with King Mohammed VI’s African vision based on South-South solidarity and sustainable natural resource management.
Baraka stressed that the Hassan II Global Water Grand Prize, worth $500,000 and awarded to OMVS during the 9th World Water Forum in Dakar in March 2022, represents international recognition of the regional organization’s efforts. The prize will finance concrete socio-economic projects to strengthen water resilience for populations along the Senegal River.
Both parties agreed to strengthen technical cooperation and experience sharing, particularly regarding river contracts, water quality monitoring and control, pollution control, strategic planning and institutional capacity building. They decided to organize a technical exchange visit to deepen discussions and consolidate the partnership.
Created in 1972, OMVS groups Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and Guinea, working toward integrated and coordinated management of the Senegal River basin covering 289,000 square kilometers.
A match cannot outweigh centuries of ties
Water cooperation discussions continued even as tensions flared around football, with some actors attempting to project the emotions of the 2025 AFCON final between the Atlas Lions and the Teranga Lions onto relations that extend far beyond sport – touching diplomacy, shared interests, and even religion.
The Tijani order, a Sufi order of Sunni Islam named after Ahmad al-Tijani in Fez, remains the most influential in the West African country, with Fez holding sacred significance comparable to Mecca for followers.
In March 2023, Senegal’s then foreign minister Aïssata Tall Sall said that many believers in Senegal acknowledge King Mohammed VI as Amir al-Mouminine (Commander of the Faithful).
Speaking in Marrakech during her participation in a women-focused summit organized by Morocco’s National Rally of Independents (RNI), Sall referred to the King’s strong moral and religious standing in Senegal and pointed to the depth of ties between Rabat and Dakar, describing Morocco as Senegal’s “second home.”
King Mohammed VI addressed the crisis on Thursday, calling on Moroccans not to be “drawn into rancor and discord” despite the unfortunate incidents that marred the final’s closing minutes.
The monarch stated that even if this great continental football celebration seems to have been sadly tainted by the “unfortunate incidents,” nothing can alter the proximity cultivated over the centuries between African peoples. In this context, he expressed confidence that inter-African brotherhood would prevail after the unfortunate episode marring the final.
He stressed that “hostile designs will never achieve their ends” and that Moroccan people “know how to put things in perspective.”
Both governments moved to contain diplomatic fallout, convening the long-dormant 15th Morocco-Senegal joint commission on January 26-27. Prime Minister Ousmane Sonko is visiting Rabat from January 26-28 at the head of a Senegalese delegation.
Speaking during the commission co-chaired with Moroccan Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch, Sonko assured Monday that Senegalese-Moroccan friendship was “stronger than emotions” sparked by the January 18 final, which Senegal won 1-0 amid controversial incidents.
He described observed incidents as “emotional excesses produced by fervor, not political or cultural factors.” His visit aimed at “confirmation, transcendence and refoundation of ties between two nations that respect, recognize and project together.”
The commission resulted in 17 cooperation agreements covering higher education, industry, agriculture, and digital economy. Akhannouch affirmed that Morocco-Senegal relations rest on “solid foundations.”
Senegal also reaffirmed firm support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara and welcomed the historic UN Security Council adoption of Resolution 2797 on October 31, 2025. Dakar also maintains a Senegalese consulate in Dakhla since April 2021.
Eighteen Senegalese supporters face “hooliganism” charges, with their next court hearing set for January 29. Senegalese nationals represent 18.4% of foreign residents in Morocco, making them the largest foreign community in the country, according to the High Commission for Planning (HCP).
