Morocco’s King appoints Fatima Ezzahra as country’s first woman PM

• Morocco’s King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as the country’s first woman Prime Minister on September 29.

• Her Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM) came out on top in parliamentary election on September 23.

• It won 97 out of 395 seats in the House of Representatives, 31 more than the next closest competitor.

• Without an outright majority, the PAM will have to form a coalition with other parties for its five-year tenure.

• The Moroccan Constitution gives the king, who is the country’s highest authority, the power to appoint the Prime Minister. However, he must choose from the party that wins the most seats in parliamentary elections. 

• That was a change successfully pushed by Arab Spring protesters in 2011. Before that, the king could name the PM without any such restriction.

Who is Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri?

• El Mansouri, 50, is the second woman to serve as Prime Minister in the Arab world after Najla Bouden in Tunisia.

• El Mansouri was also the first woman to serve as mayor of Marrakesh, winning the office in 2009 before losing it six years later, then retaking it again in 2021.

• She is the daughter of the “pasha of Marrakech” Abderrahmane El Mansouri, a senior local official who was also Morocco's ambassador to the United Arab Emirates.

• She joined PAM upon its creation in 2008 by Fouad Ali El Himma, a close adviser to the king. 

• A law graduate from the University of Montpellier in France, Mansouri became one of the party's top leaders in 2024. 

• Her government will also be expected to make billions of dollars in investments linked to the 2030 FIFA World Cup, jointly organised with Spain and Portugal.

India-Morocco Relations

• Relations between India and Morocco go back to the 14th century when the famous traveller and writer from Tangier, Ibn Batuta, travelled to India. 

• In modern history, India was active in the UN supporting the Moroccan freedom movement and recognised Morocco on June 20, 1956 immediately after its independence. 

• Diplomatic relations were established in 1957. 

• Over the years, India and Morocco have enjoyed cordial and friendly relations.

• Ties between India and Morocco gained momentum since King Mohammed VI’s meeting with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in October 2015 in New Delhi. 

• The bilateral trade between India and Morocco in 2025 has grown to $3.819 billion compared to $2.66 billion in 2024.

• Morocco is a top destination for new products from India like mobile phones, petroleum products and honey. 

• Other major items of India’s exports to Morocco are automotive parts, electronics, textiles, engineering goods, chemicals and specialty chemicals, plastics and spices. 

• Main items of Moroccan exports to India are phosphoric acid, phosphate, metallic ores and metal spray and inorganic chemicals.

• A number of Indian companies have a presence in Morocco.

• An Indian community in Morocco is around 1,350 people. Many of them are engaged in businesses and are based in the city of Casablanca, the commercial and trade hub of Morocco.