After his Africa tour, U.S. Secretary of State, Antony Blinken has met his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita in a bid to breathe new life into Washington-Rabat ties.
After talks in Washington on Monday, the two parties expressed their desire to strengthen bilateral relations, “in line with the vision already expressed by King Mohammed VI,” Nasser Bourita said.
The head of U.S. diplomacy described Bourita as a “friend,” saying in a brief statement to the media, that it was a “timely visit”, coinciding with the recent appointment of the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy for the Sahara, Staffan de Mistura.
The U.S. Secretary of State focused on relations with Morocco, saying that the two countries have what he called a long-standing partnership.
He said Washington’s ambition is to strengthen and deepen this partnership.
The Moroccan minister echoed Mr. Blinken’s words, stressing that it was time to enrich the “strategic dialogue” between Washington and Rabat, especially in the area of military cooperation and defense.
During the meeting, Blinken and Bourita discussed bilateral and regional issues of common interest.
In this sense, the Moroccan Foreign Minister cited global issues, namely the fight against climate change, extremism, as well as African issues such as Libya.
As for the normalization by Morocco of its relations with Israel, Blinken hailed Rabat’s decision as a “very important” step.
This is not the first time that Nasser Bourita and Antony Blinken have met.
The two ministers had met on the sidelines of the ministerial meeting of the International Coalition against Daesh in Rome, Italy on June 28.
HA/fss/APA