Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, if he will make an assessment of the potential impact of the comments of 1 June 2025 of the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs on the Moroccan Autonomy Plan for Western Sahara on UK-Morocco trade.

Following the Foreign Secretary’s recent visit to Morocco, both Kingdoms signed several Memoranda of Understanding to drive cross-sectoral partnerships. The Department for Business and Trade and the UK’s Trade Envoy will be working with Morocco to deepen ties, including developing partnerships to support Morocco’s infrastructure programme — ahead of the 2030 Football World Cup — and advancing an Agriculture Review. Bilateral trade has been rising and reached £4.2 billion in 2024. These partnerships will boost trade and investment over the next decade. UK Export Finance offers £5bn finance and can support projects in Western Sahara, subject to meeting UKEF’s due diligence requirements.