The global AI race has a new contender, and it is speaking from both sides of the Mediterranean. The European Union and Morocco have signed a range of deals aimed at fostering closer cooperation in artificial intelligence, as the two sides work to create a "third voice" in the global AI industry, with the EU-Morocco Digital Dialogue launched on April 8, 2026, during GITEX Africa in Marrakech.

The Digital Dialogue was launched by Henna Virkkunen, the EU's Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security and Democracy, and Amal El Fallah Seghrouchni, Morocco's Minister for Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, enabling cooperation in areas such as AI, support for digital start-ups, secure and trusted digital infrastructure, and interoperability of public digital services, including digital wallets.

The symbolism of the venue was deliberate. GITEX Africa 2026 gathered over a thousand exhibitors and participants from 130 countries, with AI representing a potential $1.3 trillion boost to Africa's GDP, making Marrakech an apt stage for an agreement with continental ambitions.

At the heart of the deal is a direct challenge to the dominance of Washington and Beijing. Morocco's minister argued that the EU and Morocco are trying to establish a "third voice" between the American and Chinese AI models, built around shared values of privacy, data protection, cloud sovereignty, and AI for good. She added that Morocco's status as a "gateway" for the African market was a key incentive for the EU to deepen cooperation.

The scientific infrastructure behind the pact is substantial. Four European supercomputing centres, BSC, CINECA, GENCI, and LUMI, have signed a letter of intent with Mohammed VI Polytechnic University, which hosts the most powerful supercomputer on the African continent. The EU is also reportedly eyeing plans to build an AI factory in Rabat, according to Seghrouchni.

The deal builds on existing connectivity foundations. This cooperation will build on the successful landing of the Medusa Submarine Cable System in Nador, Morocco, and ongoing support for the "Digital Morocco 2030" strategy for the rollout of digital public services.

Seghrouchni has been explicit about the deeper motivation. With 80 languages and dialects across Africa largely ignored by existing large language models, including Darija and Amazigh, she argues that if the big tech companies will not build AI that speaks to African populations in their native languages and cultural contexts, Morocco will.

The ongoing war in the Middle East could further accelerate Morocco's appeal as a destination for data hubs and AI factories for European partners seeking stability outside the region. A third voice, it seems, is finding its moment.

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