Morocco’s two biggest ports, Tanger Med and Casablanca, are now among the most connected ports in the Arab region, a new report shows.
The study by the Arab Investment and Export Credit Guarantee Corporation (Dhaman) looked at 71 Arab ports and compared them to more than 930 ports worldwide. Other top ports in the region include Jebel Ali, Khalifa, Alexandria, and King Abdulaziz.
The report shows that the Arab shipping sector has attracted almost $4 billion in foreign investment over the past 23 years through 146 projects. The region’s fleet of ships grew 4% in 2025 to about 2,900 vessels, and total carrying capacity rose 4.6% to nearly 109 million tons, about 5% of the world’s total.
Arab countries are also working together more. Morocco, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Oman, and Egypt invested over $218 million in 11 joint projects.
Cargo handled at Arab ports reached more than 423 million tons in 2023. Morocco, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt handled more than half of that. Exports from Arab ports reached 1.6 billion tons, nearly 14% of global trade, with oil making up 58%. Container traffic grew 19% between 2019 and 2023, reaching almost 59 million containers.
Trade in shipping services between 11 Arab countries also grew. The total value of imports and exports reached $53 billion in 2024, up 12%. Exports were $9 billion and imports nearly $45 billion. Morocco, the UAE, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia have the strongest positions in the region.
