Nine years after signing the Deep Strategic Partnership, Morocco and Russia are renewing and deepening their cooperation.
Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, arrived in Moscow for an official visit that will feature the 8th session of the countries’ Joint Commission, cementing a major diplomatic and economic axis between Rabat and Moscow.
On the eve of the visit, Russia described Morocco as an “important partner on the African continent.” The Russian Foreign Ministry announced in a statement on Wednesday that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will receive his Moroccan counterpart on Thursday for “in-depth” talks focused on the future development of bilateral relations.
According to Russian diplomacy, the meeting aligns with the strategic partnership, founded on “friendship and mutual respect” between King Mohammed VI and President Vladimir Putin. The Ministry recalled the King’s visits to Russia in 2002 and 2016, which resulted in the signing of two major declarations—one on the Strategic Partnership and the other on the Deepened Strategic Partnership—which serve as “essential programmatic documents for the development of bilateral relations in the decades to come.”
The Moscow meeting will be co-chaired by Minister Bourita and Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Patrushev for the 8th session of the Russian-Moroccan Joint Intergovernmental Commission for Economic, Scientific, and Technical Cooperation. The forum’s objective is to “expand trade and economic cooperation” and more fully exploit the existing potential between the two countries.
On the political front, Ministers Lavrov and Bourita will address several regional and international issues, including “the resolution of conflicts in the Middle East, North Africa, and the Sahel-Saharan region through exclusively political and diplomatic means.”
Moscow emphasized that the “close coordination between the foreign ministries of the two countries” is evidenced by regular meetings between the two ministers at the UN General Assembly and through frequent telephone consultations.
Russia views the visit as a major milestone in “further strengthening the multidimensional partnership” with Rabat and intensifying joint efforts to promote regional stability. The Kremlin also noted Morocco’s high-level participation in the two recent Russia-Africa summits, signaling a commitment to strengthened continental cooperation.
MK/ac/Sf/fss/abj/APA