During a joint press briefing with Dr. Balakrishnan following their bilateral meeting, MFA Bourita described as important and historic the visit to the Kingdom by his Singaporean counterpart, since it is the first visit to Morocco of a Singaporean Foreign Minister since the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

The celebration of the 25th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Singapore aims to enrich the content of these relations and set up a roadmap for their future development in all areas.

This visit aims to give a strong impetus to bilateral relations, based on solid foundations of friendship and permanent dialogue, as well as on strong historical relations, he added, noting that Dr. Balakrishnan handed over, during this meeting, an invitation sent by the President of the Republic of Singapore, Ms. Halimah Yacob, to HM King Mohammed VI to visit this friendly country.

In addition, the two Ministers agreed on a number of mechanisms to promote bilateral relations in the coming years, including conventions signed around cooperation in the field of climate, the cooperation agreement between the two countries in a tripartite framework including the African continent, as well as several conventions ready for signing and which relate to the areas of investment protection, civil aviation and cooperation in the tourism sector, said MFA Bourita.

These conventions are likely to enrich the legal framework of relations between the two countries, he stressed, noting that the meeting also provided an opportunity to discuss several regional and international issues. Morocco and Singapore share the same orientations based on the respect of the international law and the multipartite and common action in order to face the big challenges, the Minister noted.

"Morocco and Singapore share the same conviction that issues such as the fight against terrorism, climate change and immigration, among others, cannot be solved by a single country, but require international cooperation, joint action and coordination between states," he said.

"We are therefore convinced of the need to act together at the international and multi-stakeholder levels, in order to advance a new approach to these issues, starting from our respective regional and national contexts, but sharing the same direction and vision in the face of these challenges," MFA Bourita continued.

Morocco sees Singapore as a gateway to Asia, and this as part of the willingness of HM the King to diversify the Kingdom's partnerships, he said, emphasizing the developed relations that Morocco has with this country.

In the other sense, Morocco is positioned as a gateway for Singapore to the African continent and the Arab world, he said. "It is within the framework of this complementarity and coordination that we can strengthen bilateral cooperation," said the Minister.

He also expressed the hope to carry out sectorial visits of Moroccan Ministers in Singapore and vice versa, in order to strengthen bilateral cooperation in all sectors with a strong potential for cooperation.

Moreover, MFA Bourita stressed that Morocco and Singapore aspire to establish an investment forum before the end of this year. This initiative will allow economic partners to benefit from opportunities offered to strengthen bilateral cooperation, he added.

In this regard, MFA Bourita highlighted the significant presence of Singaporean investments on the African continent, stressing the need to promote mutual cooperation to contribute to the growth and development of the continent and seize opportunities for economic cooperation with other countries, including those of West Africa and Central Africa.

Morocco and Singapore share the same vision of economic openness and promotion of entrepreneurship and investment, MFA Bourita pointed out.

For his part, the Singaporean Minister of Foreign Affairs welcomed Morocco's serious and credible efforts in the framework of the autonomy plan to resolve the Moroccan Sahara issue and to guarantee peace and security in the region.

"We adhere to the principles of the United Nations and UN resolutions" on the Moroccan Sahara issue, including Resolution 2602, said Dr. Balakrishnan, welcoming in this regard the efforts of the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary General for the Moroccan Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.

In this regard, the Singaporean Minister called on all parties concerned to work for peacekeeping, in full transparency to end this conflict that has lasted too long.

The Kingdom represents a model of tolerance, living together, openness and respect for religious minorities, considering that these are special and valuable values declared Dr. Balakrishnan praising the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI regarding tolerance and respect for religious minorities. Indeed, Morocco sends a strong message to the rest of the world about tolerance and respect said the Minister.

Both sides also signed during this visit a memorandum of understanding on cooperation under Article 6 of the Paris Agreement, and a letter of intent between the Ministries of Foreign Affairs of the two countries.

Through this MoU, the two parties expressed their intention to collaborate on carbon crediting under Article 6, paragraph 2, of the Paris Agreement, and to promote sustainable development and environmental integrity.

Cooperation between Morocco and Singapore under this memorandum will include, among other things, the exchange of information, knowledge, best practices and experiences in carbon crediting such as national regulatory frameworks and policies for the management and development of greenhouse gas mitigation activities and resources.

With regard to the letter of intent, the two Ministers expressed their willingness to promote cooperation between their countries in the area of capacity building and technical assistance.

They also expressed their intention to continue discussions with a view to concluding a memorandum of understanding to provide technical services in mutually agreed areas for the benefit of African countries.