The Framework Agreement Between the UAE and Morocco: What Protects You as an Emirati Investor?

Many UAE investors assume that entering the Moroccan market is governed by Moroccan law alone. In reality, a network of bilateral treaties has bound you to the Kingdom of Morocco for decades, granting protection to your investment, withholding ceilings below the ordinary rates, an additional customs reduction on your goods, and an organised route for enforcing judgments between the two countries. These treaties are not diplomatic formalities; they are instruments used in individual files and they change outcomes. In this article Awadh Almheiri Law Firm and Legal Consultations sets out the treaty framework linking the two states, with its precise references, and what it means in practice for anyone holding property, a company or a family matter in Morocco.

Four bilateral treaties in force — judicial, investment, tax and trade — together with a comprehensive economic partnership agreement whose negotiations have concluded. Here is what you can actually use.

⚖️Why the treaty framework matters before you act

Because a bilateral treaty, once ratified and published, prevails over domestic law within its scope. An investor who knows that tax on dividends remitted to him is capped by treaty does not accept a higher deduction. An investor who knows his goods qualify for an additional customs reduction does not price his product as though he were shipping from a country with no treaty with Morocco.

But a treaty does not operate automatically. Benefiting from it depends on the file being built from the outset so that the treaty can be invoked: a valid tax residence certificate, a compliant Arab certificate of origin, a documented bank transfer, and papers legalised in the form the counterparty authority will accept. That is precisely where the lawyer works.

🏛️Judicial cooperation: the 1978 treaty and a point everyone overlooks

The oldest and most frequently used instrument is the Convention on Judicial Cooperation, Service of Process, Letters Rogatory, Enforcement of Judgments and Extradition, signed at Abu Dhabi on 18 January 1978. It is the basis for serving judicial documents between the two countries, for enforcing a judgment rendered in Dubai on Moroccan soil or the reverse, and for letters rogatory to hear a witness or carry out an expert report.

A precise professional point: this convention was published in Morocco by Dahir No. 1.89.10 of 28 May 1993 — fifteen years after signature. An unpublished treaty cannot be relied upon before the courts, which is why verifying the date of publication, not the date of signature, is the first step before invoking any treaty text.

In 2005 an updated judicial convention was initialled, covering criminal matters, extradition, civil and commercial matters and personal status, with specific provisions added on estates. However, a search of the treaties published by the Moroccan authorities does not reveal a dahir publishing it. In practice that means the 1978 convention remains the usable instrument until the contrary is established — a verification we carry out in every file before lodging any enforcement application.

🛡️Investment protection: what the 1999 treaty guarantees you

The two states concluded an agreement on the promotion and protection of investments, under which each undertakes towards investors of the other a set of substantive guarantees:

The practical value of this treaty shows in adversity rather than in calm: on expropriation, on an administrative measure that paralyses the project, or on difficulty in repatriating profits. We therefore ensure the investment is documented from day one so that it falls within the treaty's definition of an "investment".

💰The tax treaty: clear ceilings and figures you can calculate

The Convention for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital was signed at Dubai on 9 February 1999, entered into force on 2 July 2000, and was published in the Moroccan Official Gazette No. 4840 of 19 October 2000. Its principal ceilings are:

Article 25 sets out the mechanism for relieving double taxation by exemption or by credit, and Article 26 prohibits any heavier tax treatment of nationals of the other state or of their permanent establishments. Article 27 opens the mutual agreement procedure before the competent authorities within three years of the first notification of the measure contrary to the treaty — a route most taxpayers overlook, relying on domestic challenge alone.

A warning for property owners: many assume that tax residence in the UAE removes their Moroccan property from Moroccan taxation. The treaty provides the opposite; the property remains subject to the tax of the state in which it is situated, both as to income and as to gain on sale.

📦The free trade area: an extra 10% reduction on your goods

An Agreement establishing a Free Trade Area between the two countries was signed at Agadir on 25 June 2001 — a document rarely noticed despite its direct effect on the cost of any import or export:

The essential condition for benefiting is origin: the goods must satisfy the Arab rules of origin and be accompanied by an Arab certificate of origin issued by the competent authority in the exporting country and duly endorsed. Any defect in that document forfeits the preferential benefit entirely.

The agreement establishes a Joint Trade Committee chaired by the two trade ministers, meeting at least once a year, from which a standing technical committee of experts meets twice yearly. It is competent to settle disputes over the interpretation and application of the agreement and the transactions carried out under it.

🌍The new phase: the comprehensive partnership and Morocco as a gateway

In July 2024 the two countries announced the conclusion of negotiations on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, aimed at reducing or removing customs duties, improving access to services markets, harmonising customs procedures and establishing flexible rules of origin, with platforms for investment in renewable energy, tourism, infrastructure, mining, food security, transport and logistics. Professional accuracy requires noting that it has not yet entered into force, so no obligation should be built on it before publication.

More important still is an angle few consider: the Kingdom of Morocco is party to preferential trade agreements with the European Union, the United States and Türkiye, alongside a broad economic presence in West Africa. A company established in Morocco may therefore draw on that network for access to markets it could not reach on the same terms shipping directly from the UAE.

In other words, the decision to incorporate in Morocco may not be a decision to enter the Moroccan market alone, but a decision to reach the markets of Europe, America and Africa from a preferential position. That calls for close study of the rules of origin before choosing the location of the plant or the company.

🧭How we put this framework to work in your file

Treaties do not assist those unaware of them, nor those who invoke them late. Examples from daily practice:

⏳Figures and periods drawn from the texts

💡Practical advice for the UAE investor

📚Legal references

Convention on Judicial Cooperation, Service of Process, Letters Rogatory, Enforcement of Judgments and Extradition between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, signed at Abu Dhabi on 18 January 1978, published by Dahir No. 1.89.10 of 28 May 1993.

Convention between the Kingdom of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income and on Capital, signed at Dubai on 9 February 1999, in force 2 July 2000, Official Gazette No. 4840 of 19 October 2000, and its Protocol.

Agreement on the Promotion and Protection of Investments between the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of the United Arab Emirates (1999).

Agreement establishing a Free Trade Area between the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of the United Arab Emirates, signed at Agadir on 25 June 2001.

Agreement to Facilitate and Develop Trade among Arab States and its Executive Programme (Greater Arab Free Trade Area).

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries — negotiations concluded in July 2024; not yet in force.

❓Frequently asked questions