Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister of Economy and Finance: career, record and what changes for your money
Appointed on 16 October 2026, Fouzi Lekjaa takes over the ministry that oversees the Foreign Exchange Office, taxes and Customs. His career from Berkane to the Budget, five years of figures, and what changes for Moroccans abroad: remittances, 80% mortgages, customs, rents.
January 2011. At the Ministry of Finance in Rabat, the new budget director is 40 years old. La Vie éco presents him as the youngest ever to hold the post. He describes the making of a finance law plainly: "long weeks of preparation, 14-hour working days, and sleepless nights". His name is Fouzi Lekjaa.
Fifteen years later, on Friday 16 October 2026, he becomes Minister of Economy, Finance and Public Performance in the government of Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri. He succeeds Nadia Fettah. For a Moroccan living abroad, this ministry matters more than it seems: it oversees the Foreign Exchange Office, the General Tax Directorate and Customs. Your transfers, your mortgage, your luggage at the border and your rental income in Morocco all go through its services.
Key points
- •Born on 23 July 1970 in Berkane, an agricultural engineer, a graduate of the National School of Administration, and a senior Finance official since the 1990s.
- •Minister Delegate for the Budget since October 2021, he takes over the whole ministry on 16 October 2026.
- •His stated record: a deficit cut from 7.1% of GDP in 2020 to 3.3% in 2025, with a target of around 3% in 2026.
- •Your remittances reached a record 122 billion dirhams in 2025, and are up 9% over the first eight months of 2026.
- •Since 1 January 2026, a Moroccan abroad can borrow in dirhams up to 80% of the value of a property in Morocco, up from 70%.
From Berkane to the Budget Directorate
Fouzi Lekjaa grew up in Berkane, in a modest family of four boys. At 9 he went to a holiday camp for the first time, in Mohammedia. "It was a strong moment of my childhood and adolescence," he later told La Vie éco. He played as a junior for Renaissance de Berkane, his hometown club.
After a science baccalaureate in 1988, he hesitated between medicine and business school, then chose agronomy, like his uncles. He graduated as a state engineer from the Hassan II Institute of Agronomy and Veterinary Medicine in Rabat in 1994. His first job took him to agricultural export control in Casablanca. At the same time, he studied at the National School of Administration.
In the mid-1990s he joined the General Inspectorate of Finance, "without thinking too much", he says. He never left the ministry. In 2000 he joined the Budget Directorate, first following the defence, interior and foreign affairs budgets, then agriculture and the compensation fund for seven years. In January 2011 he became its head.
On 7 October 2021 he was appointed Minister Delegate for the Budget. For five years, he was the one answering members of parliament on the budget figures.
The other life: football
In 2009 the senior official also became president of Renaissance de Berkane. The club returned to the first division in 2012, then won the Throne Cup and the CAF Confederation Cup. In 2014 Fouzi Lekjaa was elected president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
The 2022 World Cup in Qatar made him known far beyond Morocco. The Atlas Lions knocked Spain out on penalties and reached the semi-final, a first for an African team. Morocco World News named him "man of the year". In October 2023 the King entrusted him with chairing the 2030 World Cup Committee; Morocco will host the tournament with Spain and Portugal.
Five years of public finances in figures
When he arrived at the Budget in 2021, the country was emerging from the health crisis. In 2020 the deficit stood at 7.1% of GDP and debt at 72.2%. The figures he presented to parliament then show a steady decline:
- •Budget deficit: 4.3% of GDP in 2023, 3.8% in 2024, then 3.3% in 2025 according to the latest figure presented to parliament on 6 July 2026.
- •Debt: 67.7% of GDP in 2024, with a target below 66% at the end of 2026.
- •Ordinary revenue: 424 billion dirhams in 2025, up 14.2%. Tax revenue exceeded forecasts by 7%.
"Controlling the budget deficit is not an end in itself, but an essential instrument," he wrote in November 2025 in reply to a parliamentary question. On 6 July 2026, before the House of Representatives, he said that budget execution at the end of June gave "every guarantee" of a deficit "of around 3%" in 2026.
His term also changed taxation. The tax directorate itself sums up the cycle: corporate tax rates brought closer together from 2023 to 2026, VAT reduced to two rates, a new income tax scale in 2025, and basic pensions exempted. At the end of 2024, a 5% regularisation of undeclared income and assets brought more than 127 billion dirhams to light. On 2 December 2024, before the House of Councillors, he announced that it would not be repeated.
His first file as minister is already on the table: the 2027 finance bill must be submitted to parliament by 20 October.
What his ministry changes for your money
This is the part that concerns you directly. The rules below are those in force in October 2026.
Your remittances, in official figures. According to the Foreign Exchange Office's annual report published on 15 October 2026, remittances from Moroccans abroad rose from 110.8 billion dirhams in 2022 to 122 billion in 2025, a "new record". At the end of August 2026 they stood at 89.2 billion, up 9% year on year.
Mortgages in dirhams. The 2026 General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations, in force since 1 January, allows banks to lend a Moroccan abroad up to 80% of the value of a property in Morocco, instead of 70%, whatever the number of properties bought.
Foreign currency when you leave. A Moroccan abroad can buy back and take out the foreign currency they brought in and exchanged in Morocco over the previous twelve months, up to 100,000 dirhams a year. This requires the import declaration and the exchange slips. Dirham banknotes can only be brought in or taken out up to 2,000 dirhams per traveller.
Online purchases. The e-commerce allowance, also open to Moroccans abroad, rises from 15,000 to 20,000 dirhams per calendar year.
At customs, for Marhaba 2026. According to Le360 and EcoActu, the allowance on personal effects for a permanent return rises from 30,000 to 40,000 dirhams. A car under temporary admission can stay 180 days per calendar year, and cars running on a provisional registration certificate can now enter with a power of attorney from the certificate holder. A support unit for diaspora project holders answers at MDMconseil@douane.gov.ma.
Your rental income in Morocco. The 5% withholding tax created by the 2026 finance law only targets rents paid to companies and professionals. The tax directorate's circular No. 737 makes it clear: rents paid to an individual remain property income, taxed as the case may be at 10%, 15% or, by option, at the 20% final rate.
Buying property paid in cash. Since 1 July 2026, an additional 2% registration duty applies when the price exceeds 300,000 dirhams and payment is not made by a traceable means: bank transfer, crossed cheque, electronic payment or bank deposit. It only applies to the part paid in cash, and not to the part financed by a bank loan.
A foreign pension in Morocco. Moroccan basic pensions have been tax-exempt since 1 January 2026. Pensions from foreign sources remain taxable, with an 80% reduction of the tax on amounts transferred permanently in non-convertible dirhams.
A senior official who has spent thirty years in the State's accounts now runs the ministry through which every dirham sent from abroad passes. His first budget will show what it holds for the six million Moroccans worldwide.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Fouzi Lekjaa? An agricultural engineer born on 23 July 1970 in Berkane, budget director from 2011, Minister Delegate for the Budget from 2021 to 2026 and president of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation.
Who is Morocco's finance minister in 2026? Fouzi Lekjaa, Minister of Economy, Finance and Public Performance since 16 October 2026. He succeeds Nadia Fettah.
How much did Moroccans abroad send home in 2025? 122 billion dirhams, a record according to the Foreign Exchange Office, up 2.6% on 2024.
What mortgage can a Moroccan abroad get in Morocco? Since 1 January 2026, a loan in dirhams of up to 80% of the property's value, whatever the number of properties, under the 2026 General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations.
Does the 5% rental withholding tax apply to a Moroccan abroad who rents to an individual? No. According to tax circular No. 737, it targets rents paid to companies and professionals. Rents paid to an individual remain property income.
What is the customs allowance for a permanent return? 40,000 dirhams for personal effects since Marhaba 2026, up from 30,000 dirhams, according to press reports of the Customs announcements.
Sources
- •Cover photo: Fouzi Lekjaa in Tangier, 13 July 2024, Amsttu, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons, cropped; the cover image is shared under the same licence
- •Foreign Exchange Office: 2025 balance of payments annual report (15 October 2026), indicators at end of August 2026, 2026 General Instruction on Foreign Exchange Operations and press release of 31 December 2025
- •General Tax Directorate: circulars No. 736 (2025 finance law) and No. 737 (2026 finance law)
- •La Vie éco, profile of the budget director, 14 January 2011; Morocco World News, 28 December 2022
- •Le360, Finances News Hebdo, Hespress and Bladi, 16 and 17 October 2026
- •Hespress, 9 November 2025 and 7 July 2026; Finances News Hebdo, 27 January 2026 and 9 January 2025; EcoActu, 7 July 2026; Le360, 3 December 2024
- •Marhaba 2026: Le360 (6 June 2026), EcoActu (8 June 2026) and Bladi (7 June 2026)
- •Hespress, award of the 2030 World Cup, 11 December 2024
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