Rabat – Morocco and Finland have taken another step toward strengthening their bilateral cooperation, signing a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to enhance collaboration in meteorology, climate, and environmental sciences.
The signing took place on the sidelines of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Congress, held from October 20 to 23 in Geneva.
The agreement was signed by Mohamed Dkhissi, Director General of Morocco’s General Directorate of Meteorology (DGM), and Petteri Taalas, Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute and former Secretary-General of the WMO. The MoU formalizes both nations’ commitment to exchanging scientific expertise, developing joint research projects, and modernizing meteorological observation and forecasting systems.
During the signing ceremony, Petteri Taalas praised King Mohammed VI’s leadership in advancing environmental protection and expressed Finland’s enthusiasm to deepen cooperation with Morocco, noting the country’s growing prominence in global climate action. He highlighted Morocco’s pivotal role in organizing the COP22 climate conference in Marrakech in 2016, describing it as a milestone in regional and international environmental diplomacy.
For his part, Mohamed Dkhissi emphasized that the new partnership represents “a new chapter in scientific collaboration between Morocco and Finland” aimed at improving forecasting accuracy and strengthening the resilience of climate services through modernized infrastructure.
The WMO Extraordinary Congress brings together representatives from 133 member countries, including Morocco, to advance the “Early Warnings for All” initiative launched by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2022, with the goal of achieving global early warning coverage by 2027.
This new agreement follows a series of high-level exchanges between the two countries. In February 2025, Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita met in Helsinki with his Finnish counterpart Elina Valtonen, where both reaffirmed their commitment to strengthening economic, environmental, and technological cooperation.
The ministers agreed to expand political consultations to include business and trade discussions, with plans to organize a business seminar in 2025 to promote joint investment. They also reviewed existing partnerships in renewable energy and integrated water resource management, reaffirming their shared ambitions for a green transition, including potential collaboration on green hydrogen initiatives.
With this latest accord, Morocco and Finland are reinforcing a dynamic partnership rooted in shared priorities — sustainability, innovation, and environmental resilience — marking another milestone in their expanding bilateral relations.