The Minister of Foreign Affairs of Morocco, Nasser Bourita made an important visit to Italy and Germany on July 5th-7th, 2023, the Moroccan Embassy in Baku told APA.
In Rome, Moroccan and Italian MFAs signed an Action Plan for the implementation of the multidimensional strategic partnership setting four priorities for the bilateral relations over the next few years; namely the political dialogue on regional issues in Africa, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean, consolidating the economic and cultural cooperation, reinforcing security coordination and creating a consultation mechanism on immigration and consular affairs.
Italy commended the serious and credible efforts made by Morocco, as reflected in Security Council Resolution 2654 of October 27, 2022. In reference to the Moroccan autonomy initiative, Italy also reaffirmed "its support for the efforts of the UN Secretary-General to pursue the political process aimed at achieving a just, realistic, pragmatic, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution to the Sahara issue, based on compromise in accordance with Resolution 2654".
Italy also "encourages all parties to pursue their commitment in a spirit of realism and compromise, in the context of arrangements consistent with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations".
The Action Plan focuses mainly, but not exclusively, on political and diplomatic dialogue, security and justice cooperation, and economic, energy and sustainable development cooperation.
It also covers cooperation in the fields of culture, universities, research and development, intercultural and inter-religious dialogue, as well as cooperation on migration and consular issues.
Describing the economic partnership between the two countries as promising, Mr. Bourita pointed out that Italy is one of Morocco's top ten trading partners, with 200 Italian companies operating in the Kingdom in a wide range of sectors.
"Today, we are working on setting up a Business Council to develop a shared vision between Morocco and Italy to work together in Africa and pool their efforts in this direction," he said.
Mr. Bourita held talks with the Speaker of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and the Chairman of the European Union Policy Committee in the Italian Senate.
In Berlin, Bourita met with his German counterpart, Annalena Baerbock who expressed her country’s support for the Moroccan autonomy plan for the Sahara, presented in 2007, as a "serious and credible" effort by the Kingdom and a "very good basis for a solution accepted by the parties".
The two ministers reiterated their common position in favor of the "exclusivity" of the UN in the political process while reaffirming their support for the relevant UN Security Council resolutions, which have noted the role and responsibility of the parties in the search for a realistic, pragmatic, lasting political solution based on compromise.
The two countries also reaffirmed their support for the UN Secretary-General's Personal Envoy, Staffan de Mistura, and his efforts to move the political process forward on the basis of the relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
Bourita and Baerbock agreed to launch a multidimensional strategic dialogue scheduled to take place every two years in order to strengthen the political, economic, and cultural relations. It also aims to promote trade and investment, further cooperation on climate policy, biodiversity policy, and green energy solutions.
The German Minister praised Morocco for its ambitious national climate target to reduce carbon emissions. She said “Morocco is setting the standard in the region. Germany and Morocco have also been long-standing partners in the energy transition, there are very concrete results, including the Noor solar farm, which provides electricity for 1.3 million people."
MFAs Nasser Bourita and Ms. Annalena Baerbock took part to the presentation of original diplomatic documents preserved in the Political Archives of the German Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
One of these documents is a Moroccan instrument of ratification dated March 28, 1891, affixed to the German-Moroccan trade treaty of June 1, 1890.
Another one of these documents is a letter from Sultan Hassan I dated March 1874 to Emperor Wilhelm I in response to the credentials of the very first German Minister Resident in Morocco, Mr. Friedrich von Gülich.
The documents also include credentials from Morocco's Special Representative to Germany, Sidi Taibi Ben Hima, dating back to 1878.
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