The Prime Ministers of Portugal and Morocco are set to elevate bilateral political relations to the level of strategic partnership, a decision that will come at next Friday’s government summit in Lisbon, where 13 cooperation agreements will also be signed.
António Costa and his Moroccan counterpart, Aziz Akhannouch, will chair the XIV Portugal-Morocco High Level Meeting, resuming government-level summits that have been interrupted due to the covid-19 pandemic.
A source from the Lisbon executive told the Lusa office that the two governments will raise their relationship to the level of a strategic partnership, “a new level at which political dialogue will be strengthened, with permanent contact on matters of bilateral, regional and national scope. International”.
At the end of the XIV High Level Meeting, the governments of both countries are preparing to sign 13 legal instruments, including a civil protection cooperation agreement, which covers serious accidents or disasters.
According to a diplomatic source, the two executives are also expected to sign a memorandum on science and technology research, as well as a program to implement the cultural and science agreement, which should run until 2025.
Among the 13 legal instruments there is also an action plan in the field of tourism.
On the part of the Portuguese Government, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, João Gomes Cravinho, of the Economy, António Costa Silva, of the Environment, Duarte Cordeiro, of Science and Technology, Elvira Fortunato, Deputies and Parliamentarians of Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes , of Labor and Social Security, Ama Mendes Godinho, and of Infrastructure, João Galamba.
A note released by the Prime Minister’s Office on Monday stated that “in 2024, Portugal and Morocco will celebrate the 250th anniversary of the Peace Treaty and the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighbors and Cooperation”.
Regarding the agenda of this summit of governments, the Lisbon government stressed that the aim is to “promote a strategic partnership between the two countries, whose historic ties are linked to solid levels of political, economic and cultural cooperation”.
“Focusing on the areas of knowledge, social cohesion and economic development, the meeting will focus on topics such as electrical interconnection and labor mobility. Several legal instruments will also be signed to strengthen the bilateral relationship and an economic forum will be held on the same day”was added in the same note.
The last summit between the governments of Portugal and Morocco took place in Rabat in December 2017, when 12 bilateral cooperation agreements were signed.
Ultimately, the Prime Minister believed that growing proximity and economic interdependence between Portugal and Morocco is a central strategic factor for the future of the two countries, both in terms of security and Euro-Africa relations.
“For Portugal, Morocco is the country where Africa begins. For Morocco, Portugal is the country where Europe begins. The capital closest to Lisbon is Rabat”he said, referring to the geographic proximity of the two countries.
The Prime Minister also referred to the prospects of starting in the first half of 2018 with the construction of a 220 kilometer long electrical connection cable between Tavira and Tangier – a project valued at the time between 500 and 700 million euros. However, this project is not finished yet.
Source: DN
