This report addresses some of the reasons why GCC sovereign funds have recently begun to increase investment in Morocco. It also deals with the link between the increasing investments and the offer for Morocco to join the Gulf Cooperative Council on one hand, and the domestic financial hardship on the other hand. Furthermore, it tackles the Moroccan economic sectors that attract GCC investments, which are no longer limited to the hospitality sector, but increasingly include others such as infrastructure and manufacture.
Needless to say, there are political and economic reasons behind the increasing number and quality of GCC investments in Morocco. A big leap was taken with Morocco's parliamentary elections in November 2011, paving the road for the Justice and Development Party to form a popularly elected government based on the demands of the Moroccan people in the referendum of July 2011. This approach revealed the desire of the GCC to contribute economically to a smooth democratic transition process in Morocco, unlike the case for other countries that were hit by the Arab Spring revolutions.