In a speech, Mr. Nasser Bourita stressed that Morocco and the Republic of Cabo Verde are driven by a common ambition to accelerate the development of cooperation relations, in order to raise them to the excellent level of the political relations between the two brotherly countries.

At the end of the 2nd session of the Morocco-Cabo Verde Joint Commission, co-chaired with the Cabo Verdean Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration, Mr. Rui Alberto de Figueiredo Soares, Mr. Bourita said that this meeting will give new impetus to bilateral cooperation.

This meeting reflects the strong relationship between the two countries, said the minister, noting that Morocco finds in Cabo Verde a continued support for the interests of the Kingdom and its territorial integrity, as evidenced by the opening of a consulate general of this country in the city of Dakhla in August 2022.

Mr. Bourita also argued that the holding of this session offers a new opportunity to continue and deepen the political dialogue, noting that it allows consolidating a multidimensional strategic partnership between the two countries.

Morocco, strongly convinced of the relevance of South-South cooperation, which His Majesty King Mohammed VI has always enshrined, will spare no effort to support the brotherly Cabo Verde, with the aim of developing priority economic and social sectors, such as health, tourism, fisheries, agriculture, the blue economy and energy transition, which are the main axes of the Strategic Plan for Sustainable Development 2022-2026, he said.

In this sense, the minister said that many Moroccan groups and economic actors, representing important sectors, including air transport, communication, banking, insurance, information technology, energy, urban planning, agribusiness and other sectors producing wealth and creating jobs, have a real and growing interest in economic activity and investment in Cabo Verde.

In order to back the development that Cabo Verde is experiencing and cement relations with this brotherly country, continued Mr. Bourita, a large Moroccan delegation participated in the Forum of Partners for the Development of Cabo Verde, held in Boa Vista on April 27-28, under the theme stimulating change and accelerating development.

To ensure optimal implementation of programs and cooperation projects selected, Mr. Bourita called for establishing a monitoring and guidance committee chaired by both countries' Ministers of Foreign Affairs and composed of the main sectors covered by cooperation, as well as the institutionalization of bilateral ministerial committees to coordinate policies and strategies in the context of sectoral cooperation.

Regarding the active solidarity with the countries of the continent, the Minister stressed that Morocco was and remains ready to enshrine and implement new mechanisms for the exchange of expertise and sharing of experiences in the scientific and technical fields between the various institutions concerned.

The same is true in the field of cultural, academic and university exchanges, he said, noting with satisfaction the progress made by cooperation in this area in recent decades, since a significant number of students and executives from Cabo Verde have benefited from scholarships and training in institutes and institutions of the Kingdom.

In this regard, he said that Morocco is willing to strengthen cooperation in this area, working to better adapt the training opportunities in Morocco to the needs of Cabo Verde in terms of skills and human resources capacity.

Mr. Bourita welcomed the visit that the Prime Minister of the Republic of Cabo Verde to the Kingdom, on May 10-13, which will give new impetus to relations between the two countries and will undoubtedly raise bilateral cooperation to the level of partnership desired.