India and Morocco held the 7th session of the India-Morocco Joint Commission (JCM) in Rabat during the visit of Minister of State Jitin Prasada on 24 to 25 August 2026. The two sides agreed to double bilateral trade, valued at about $4 billion in 2025, in the next five years and to study a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA). They also signed a food safety pact between FSSAI and ONSSA and a Cultural Exchange Programme for 2026 to 2030, with the 8th session to be held in New Delhi in 2027.
What Is the Joint Commission and What Happened at the 7th Session?
A Joint Commission is a formal government to government body that meets regularly to review the full economic relationship and set the agenda for the next period. The India-Morocco Joint Commission performs this role for trade, investment and commercial cooperation. It brings ministers, officials and business representatives from both sides to one table.
The 7th session was held in Rabat, the capital of Morocco, on 24 and 25 August 2026. India was led by Jitin Prasada, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry and Electronics and Information Technology. Morocco was led by Omar Hejira, Secretary of State to the Minister of Industry and Trade in charge of Foreign Trade. Prasada represents Pilibhit in Uttar Pradesh in the Lok Sabha and took charge as Minister of State in June 2024.
During the visit, Prasada also took part in the Morocco-India Joint Business Forum in Rabat. The forum brought together about 50 Moroccan and Indian companies to discuss investment, joint ventures and new commercial partnerships. Officials said the Morocco-India Business Council and the Morocco-India Chamber of Commerce and Industry will play a stronger role in linking businesses in the coming months.
The agenda was wide. It covered trade and market access, investment, industrial cooperation, customs, agriculture, pharmaceuticals, health, energy and mining, renewable energy, digital transformation and artificial intelligence, transport and logistics, tourism, education and skill development. Both sides also agreed to set up a working group to track the decisions taken at the session.
Doubling Bilateral Trade and the Push for a Preferential Trade Agreement
Bilateral trade between India and Morocco stood at about $4 billion in 2025. The Ministry of External Affairs has placed the figure at $3.819 billion in 2025, up from $2.66 billion in 2024. Moroccan data shows growth from about $2.9 billion in 2021 to $4.4 billion, at an average yearly rate of 12.4 percent. India is now among Morocco’s top customers and suppliers. Both sides agreed to double this trade in the next five years, which points to a target of about $8 billion.
To reach the target, the two countries will diversify the trade basket and improve market access for goods and services. A new Joint Working Group (JWG) will study tariff barriers and non-tariff barriers and suggest steps on trade facilitation. Non-tariff barriers are rules other than import taxes, such as standards, testing needs and paperwork, that can slow trade. The group will also examine the feasibility of a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA).
A PTA is a trade pact in which two or more countries agree to lower import taxes on selected goods for each other. It covers only a limited list of products. It is therefore narrower than a Free Trade Agreement (FTA), which removes or sharply cuts taxes on most goods and also covers services, investment and wider rules. India has signed 14 FTAs and 6 PTAs so far, and a PTA with Morocco would be a first step toward deeper trade ties without a full FTA.
The trade mix explains why both sides see large untapped potential. Morocco has identified about $1.4 billion in new export opportunities in India, while India has identified about $1.2 billion in new export opportunities in Morocco.
| Trade Flow | Main Products |
|---|---|
| India to Morocco | Refined petroleum products, electronic items including mobile phones, vehicles and auto parts, synthetic textiles and yarn, engineering goods, chemicals and plastics, spices and tea |
| Morocco to India | Phosphate fertilisers such as DAP, phosphoric acid, metallic ores and metal scrap, inorganic chemicals |
More business visits, trade fairs, exhibitions and buyer seller meets are planned to turn these opportunities into firm orders. Prasada invited Moroccan firms to invest in India in areas such as artificial intelligence, electric vehicles, renewable energy, health and pharmaceuticals.
FSSAI-ONSSA Food Safety Pact: What Was Signed and Why It Matters
The Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Morocco’s National Office of Food Safety (ONSSA) in Rabat. FSSAI is India’s apex food regulator. It was set up under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, works under the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare and has its headquarters in New Delhi. ONSSA is Morocco’s public body for the safety of food products, based in Rabat, and controls import checks, testing and quality control for food entering Morocco.
The pact creates a clear framework for cooperation on safe food trade. It provides for sharing of information on the safety and quality of imported food, sharing of details on food testing laboratories and test methods, and exchange of experts and best practices. It also covers technical exchanges on import procedures, sampling, testing, packaging and labelling. Capacity building and joint activities are part of the plan.
This matters for daily trade. India exports food items, spices and tea to Morocco, while Morocco exports fertiliser inputs that support India’s food production. Common standards and faster testing reduce rejections at ports and lower costs for traders. The pact also fits the wider farm agenda agreed at the session, which includes sustainable agriculture, food security, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, farm research, digital agriculture, biotechnology and farm value chains. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures are health rules for plants, animals and food safety that countries apply to imports.
Cultural Exchange Programme 2026-2030 and the 8th Session in New Delhi
India and Morocco signed a Cultural Exchange Programme (CEP) for 2026 to 2030. A CEP is a government to government plan that organises cultural cooperation for a fixed period. This one will support artist exchanges, visits by cultural professionals, participation in festivals and exhibitions, heritage conservation, and closer links between museums, libraries and archives.
The timing is important. India and Morocco will mark the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2027. India recognised Morocco on 20 June 1956 soon after its independence, and formal diplomatic ties began in 1957. Both sides said the anniversary year will be used to deepen cultural and people to people ties through joint events and exchanges.
The two sides also decided that the 8th session of the Joint Commission will be held in New Delhi in 2027 on dates both sides find suitable. The New Delhi session will review progress on the trade doubling plan, the findings of the Joint Working Group on the PTA, and the start of the cultural and food safety pacts.
Why Morocco Matters for India
Morocco sits in North Africa, facing both the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. Its capital is Rabat, its largest business city is Casablanca, and its currency is the Moroccan dirham. The country has about 37 million people, and its official languages are Arabic and Amazigh (Berber), with French widely used in business and administration. Contacts go back to the 14th century, when the traveller from Tangier, Ibn Batuta, visited India. Modern ties grew after India supported Morocco’s freedom struggle, with landmark visits such as Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s visit to Morocco in 1999 and King Mohammed VI’s visits to India in 2001 and 2015.
Fertilisers form the core of the economic link. Morocco holds about 70 percent of the world’s known phosphate rock reserves, mainly at Khouribga, Youssoufia and Bou Craa, and is the world’s top exporter of crude phosphate through the state firm OCP Group. India is a major buyer of Moroccan phosphate fertilisers such as diammonium phosphate (DAP) and phosphoric acid. In January 2023, OCP agreed to supply up to 1.7 million tonnes of phosphate fertilisers to India in a year. The Indo Maroc Phosphore SA (IMACID) plant at Jorf Lasfar, a joint venture between OCP and Indian firms, shows how deep this link runs. Secure phosphate supply directly supports India’s food security, since phosphate is a key nutrient for root growth and crop yield.
Morocco is also seen as a gateway to Africa and Europe for Indian firms. Indian companies such as Tata Motors, Mahindra and Sun Pharma have a presence in Morocco, and Tata Advanced Systems opened a plant at Berrechid near Casablanca to make armoured platforms. Cooperation now spans defence production, renewable energy, digital technology, health and education. With more than 40 bilateral agreements already in force, the 7th session adds trade, food safety and culture as the next drivers of growth.
Key Takeaways
- The 7th India-Morocco Joint Commission was co-chaired in Rabat on 24 to 25 August 2026 by Jitin Prasada and Omar Hejira.
- Bilateral trade was about $4 billion in 2025, with a shared target to double it to about $8 billion in five years.
- A new Joint Working Group will study tariff and non-tariff barriers and the feasibility of a Preferential Trade Agreement.
- FSSAI signed a food safety MoU with Morocco’s ONSSA on testing, standards, labelling and expert exchanges.
- A Cultural Exchange Programme for 2026 to 2030 was signed, and the 8th JCM session will be held in New Delhi in 2027, the 70th anniversary year of ties that began in 1957.
