Rabat – Finnish foreign minister Timo Soini says that Finland intends to rejuvenate its relations with Morocco through a strategic partnership.
Following a meeting on Wednesday with speaker of the house of advisors Hakim Benchamach, Soini insisted on the need to intensify exchange visits at the ministerial, parliamentary and economic levels.
“It is high time for our two countries to develop a closer partnership mainly in terms of investment and tourism,” said Soini, praising Morocco’s remarkable political and security stability in an unstable time. He also congratulated Morocco on its return to the African Union.
Benchamach is currently leading a parliamentary delegation to the presidential palace in Helsinki at the invitation of speaker of Finnish parliament Maria Lohela, and the Finnish president, Sauli Niinisto.
Benchamach and Niinisto, along with Morocco’s ambassador to Finland, Mohamed Ariad, discussed the prospects of bilateral cooperation and a wide range of regional and international issues of common interest.
Morocco as “an exception” in a region threatened by instability, Niinisto said at the meeting, commending the major reforms initiated by King Mohammed VI.
“Morocco is a haven of stability with huge opportunities for bilateral and multilateral cooperation, especially with the European Union,” said Niinisto.
