On 25 November 2025, Morocco is at the centre of three very different but tightly connected stories:
- a landmark “Morocco Day” proclamation and business summit in Virginia,
- a major UK travel feature on the oasis town of Skoura, and
- a high-stakes CAF Champions League clash in Rabat overshadowed by injuries at African giants Al Ahly.
Together, they trace how Morocco’s soft power now stretches from US city halls and desert palm groves to some of African football’s biggest nights.
Virginia proclaims October 31 “Morocco Day” and hosts 9th Small Business Summit
Alexandria’s tribute to Morocco’s new National Unity Day
On 25 November, Morocco World News reported that the US state of Virginia has just wrapped up the 9th annual Virginia Small Business Summit in Alexandria, held as part of the state’s “Morocco Day” observances. [1]
The gathering brought together:
- local officials from Alexandria and Virginia,
- Moroccan and American entrepreneurs and investors,
- tech and digital transformation experts,
- members of the Moroccan diaspora, and
- civil society and community organisers. [2]
Alexandria Mayor Alyia Gaskins attended, underlining growing interest at city level in turning cultural ties with Morocco into concrete economic partnerships. [3]
The summit doubled as a symbolic moment: the City of Alexandria formally announced that October 31 will now be marked as “Morocco Day” – timed to coincide with Morocco’s brand‑new National Unity Day (Aid Al Wahda), a national holiday established earlier this month by King Mohammed VI. [4]
From UN resolution to “Unity Day” and “Morocco Day”
On 4 November, the Royal Cabinet announced that October 31 will be a yearly national holiday called Aid Al Wahda (Unity Day). The decision followed a UN Security Council resolution backing Morocco’s autonomy plan as the most realistic framework to resolve the decades‑long conflict over Western Sahara. [5]
Reuters notes that the resolution describes “genuine autonomy under Moroccan sovereignty” for Western Sahara as “a most feasible” solution to the 50‑year standoff between Morocco and the Algeria‑backed Polisario Front, which continues to campaign for an independent state. [6]
By aligning Alexandria’s “Morocco Day” with Morocco’s Unity Day, Virginia’s local authorities are effectively synchronising their civic calendar with a major national milestone for Morocco. That symbolism has clear geopolitical weight: it publicly echoes Washington’s longstanding support for Morocco’s autonomy plan while rooting it in a community‑level celebration.
Business, digital transformation and Morocco’s southern provinces
Beyond symbolism, the 9th Virginia Small Business Summit was designed as a working forum for deal‑making and idea‑sharing. According to the Rabat‑based report, its core program revolved around two themed workshops: [7]
- Digital transformation and Morocco as a gateway to Africa
- Speakers highlighted Morocco’s fast‑growing tech ecosystem, data infrastructure and role as a regional hub for US companies looking at African markets. [8]
- The focus dovetails with Rabat’s broader strategy to position Casablanca, Rabat and new tech parks as platforms for fintech, e‑gov, AI and logistics services linking Europe and Africa. [9]
- Investment opportunities in Morocco’s southern provinces
- The second track zoomed in on the Sahara regions that Morocco refers to as its “southern provinces”, including Dakhla, which has become both a geopolitical and economic priority. [10]
- Speakers underlined opportunities in renewable energy, logistics, tourism and emerging technologies, building on years of major infrastructure spending in the area. [11]
The event ended with a concrete announcement: an American economic delegation will travel to Dakhla to explore these opportunities on the ground, with an emphasis on sustainable development and connectivity. [12]
Dakhla: port megaproject and symbol of Rabat’s strategy
That upcoming delegation is likely to find a region in the middle of an intense transformation.
- Morocco is investing about $1.6 billion into the Dakhla Atlantic Port, a deep‑water facility being built on an artificial island linked to the mainland by a 1.3 km bridge. [13]
- The port is designed to handle the world’s largest container ships, create tens of thousands of indirect jobs and act as a gateway for trade with the Sahel and the Americas, as well as an export hub for green hydrogen and ammonia projects already valued at around $32 billion in planned investments. [14]
- In parallel, reporting from Le Monde has described Dakhla as a vast construction site: an expressway from Tiznit, a new desalination plant feeding a 5,200‑hectare irrigated farming zone, and large‑scale fishing and renewable‑energy projects. [15]
These projects sit in a politically sensitive context. Western Sahara remains listed by the UN as a “non‑self‑governing territory,” and several African and European states recognise a Sahrawi state-in-exile backed by the Polisario Front. [16]
For Moroccan and American organisers of Morocco Day, however, the emphasis is firmly on entrepreneurship, diaspora ties and long‑term cooperation. Summit co‑organisers such as Ahmed Elyannouari and Abdeslem El Idrissi stressed that Moroccan‑Americans can contribute not just capital but also know‑how and professional networks back home, a theme likely to feature heavily during the upcoming Dakhla visit. [17]
Skoura: the “otherworldly” Moroccan oasis now in the global travel spotlight
A quiet oasis gets a big travel feature
Just days before the Virginia summit, the oasis town of Skoura in south‑eastern Morocco was the subject of a full‑length travel feature in The Guardian, published on 22 November and widely shared by travel platforms. [18]
Writer and explorer Alice Morrison describes arriving in Skoura and feeling the temperature drop, the light soften and birdsong replace the harsh silence of the surrounding desert. For her, the oasis is less a thrill‑seeker stop and more a place for “decompression” after long journeys across Morocco and the Sahara. [19]
Where is Skoura – and why does it matter?
Skoura lies in Drâa‑Tafilalet region, in Ouarzazate province, roughly:
- four hours by road from Marrakech,
- less than an hour from Ouarzazate, and
- along the Dadès Valley, often called the “Valley of a Thousand Kasbahs” thanks to its dense concentration of earthen fortresses. [20]
According to demographic data, the Skoura commune has around 24,000 inhabitants, with a town centre of just over 4,000 people. [21]
Historically:
- Skoura developed as an oasis stop on trans‑Saharan trade routes from the 12th century onwards, thriving for several centuries as caravans moved goods such as gold and ostrich feathers northwards. [22]
- The oasis sits at the confluence of rivers flowing from the High Atlas Mountains, feeding a palm grove and farmland networked by khettaras – ancient underground irrigation channels that funnel groundwater to the surface. [23]
Today, that mix of centuries‑old water engineering, lush palm groves and rammed‑earth hamlets makes Skoura one of Morocco’s most evocative rural landscapes.
Dates, kasbahs and slow travel
Morrison notes that Skoura is now mainly an agricultural hub and one of Morocco’s major producers of medjool dates, with harvest season in October and November bringing a burst of activity. [24]
Key highlights from the recent coverage and other travel sources include:
- Kasbah Amridil – a 17th‑century fortified residence whose image once appeared on Morocco’s 50‑dirham note. It now functions as a living museum and guesthouse, preserving traditional kasbah architecture and everyday rural artefacts. [25]
- Traditional rammed‑earth houses – built from mud, stone and palm wood, these structures stay cool in summer and warm in winter, but require constant maintenance, especially after heavy rain. [26]
- Cycling through the palmeraie – the Guardian feature praises bicycles as the best way to explore the date palms and canal paths, whether on bikes borrowed from small lodges or via local operators such as Skoura VTT Aventures. [27]
- Local food – Skoura is portrayed as an ideal place to eat affordable, home‑style Moroccan dishes. Roadside chicken and chips, simple tagines and produce from organic gardens at eco‑lodges like L’Ma Lodge all get glowing mentions. [28]
The message to international travellers is clear: Skoura isn’t about ticking off famous monuments, it’s about slowing down – cycling from kasbah to kasbah, watching farmers pollinate palm trees and following water as it flows through canals that have sustained families for generations.
Sustainability and climate pressure
Behind the romanticism, Skoura also embodies the fragility of many North African oases:
- Research cited by geographers suggests the agricultural area in Skoura shrank by around 11 square kilometres before the 1970s, and warns that climate change and intensive water use threaten to shrink oases across the Sahara. [29]
That context makes thoughtful tourism crucial. The lodges and guesthouses highlighted in the recent coverage – from family‑run auberges to eco‑lodges – tend to emphasise local employment, traditional building techniques and low‑impact experiences such as walking, cycling and small‑scale cultural tours, rather than mass tour‑bus excursions. [30]
With major English‑language media now spotlighting Skoura as “so unchanged it is almost otherworldly,” the town may see a spike in international visitors. [31] How those visitors behave – and who benefits economically – will help determine whether Skoura’s oasis ecosystem can remain as serene as it looks in the photographs.
CAF Champions League: Injuries hit Al Ahly before AS FAR showdown in Rabat
Four key absentees for the “Red Giant”
While diplomats and tourism boards focus on long‑term strategy, football fans are looking anxiously towards Rabat, where Moroccan club AS FAR (Royal Army) host Egyptian giants Al Ahly in CAF Champions League Group B on Friday 28 November 2025. Kick‑off is set for 20:00 local time at Prince Moulay El Hassan Stadium. [32]
On 25 November, Foot Africa reported that Al Ahly will travel to Morocco without four important players: [33]
- Hussein El Shahat – winger, ruled out with a hamstring tendon tear that club doctors previously said would sideline him for at least seven weeks. [34]
- Ahmed Abdelkader – attacker, suffering from a partial hamstring tear. [35]
- Mohamed El Shenawy – team captain and first‑choice goalkeeper, out with a second‑degree groin (adductor) strain picked up during Al Ahly’s 4–1 win over Algeria’s JS Kabylie on matchday one. [36]
- Mohamed Shokry – defender, recovering from a calf muscle strain. [37]
Club doctor Ahmed Gaballah confirmed in a statement, relayed by PanAfricaFootball, that all three recently injured players (El Shenawy, Abdelkader and Shokry) will follow personalised rehabilitation programmes before returning to competition. [38]
Momentum vs. adversity in Group B
The timing of these injuries is especially awkward:
- Al Ahly opened their 2025‑26 CAF Champions League group campaign by thrashing JS Kabylie 4–1 in Cairo, a performance praised by CAF and regional media as a statement of intent from the 11‑time African champions. [39]
- AS FAR, by contrast, lost 1–0 away to Tanzania’s Young Africans, in a match marred by a controversial disallowed goal that has since been the subject of protest from the Moroccan club. [40]
That leaves Group B finely balanced: Al Ahly can take a big step towards early qualification with a positive result in Rabat, while AS FAR desperately need points at home to avoid being cut adrift after two matchdays. [41]
Egyptian media point out that playing away in Rabat without El Shenawy, El Shahat and Abdelkader deprives coach Jess Thorup of leadership, creativity and depth in attack. The likely replacement in goal is Mostafa Shobeir, who came on for El Shenawy when he was injured against JS Kabylie. [42]
On the Moroccan side, outlets such as Elbotola report that AS FAR have resumed training at their Maamoura Sports Centre, framing the Al Ahly match as a chance to bounce back immediately from the setback in Zanzibar. [43]
Football, cities and Morocco’s global image
The build‑up to AS FAR–Al Ahly offers one more lens on how Morocco is positioning itself internationally in late 2025:
- Rabat and Casablanca are increasingly present in continental football storylines, not least as Morocco prepares to co‑host the 2030 FIFA World Cup with Spain and Portugal. [44]
- In the same week that Alexandria celebrates “Morocco Day” and Skoura charms global travel readers, a CAF Champions League showcase in Rabat projects a different side of Moroccan soft power – stadiums, clubs, and fan culture.
For US‑based Moroccans attending Morocco Day events, or travellers now plotting trips to Skoura, the Rabat showdown is another reminder of how Moroccan cities are woven into everything from business networking and cultural tourism to elite sport.
A long friendship behind today’s headlines
Running through all three stories is the depth of Morocco’s international ties – especially with the United States.
Back in 1786, Morocco and the young United States signed the Treaty of Peace and Friendship, also known as the Treaty of Marrakesh. Historians and the US State Department still describe it as the oldest unbroken treaty relationship in US diplomatic history. [45]
Two and a half centuries later, that relationship is visible in:
- Alexandria’s “Morocco Day” proclamation and a business summit that talks about digital corridors, Dakhla’s Atlantic port and diaspora investment; [46]
- the global reach of Morocco’s tourism brand, capable of turning a relatively small oasis like Skoura into a feature in one of the world’s most read newspapers; [47]
- and the country’s central role in African football, hosting high‑profile clashes like AS FAR vs Al Ahly as group‑stage drama unfolds in Rabat. [48]
Whether you are a policymaker, investor, traveller or football fan, Monday 25 November 2025 offers a snapshot of a Morocco that is simultaneously historic and forward‑looking – rooted in centuries‑old oasis towns and treaties, yet intensely focused on ports, green hydrogen, smart cities and continental competitions.
References
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