Rabat – King Mohammed VI will make a “historic” visit to Indonesia next December to take part in the 10th Bali Democracy Forum (BDF), announced Indonesia news outlet The Jakarta Post.
The King’s participation in this international meeting was “confirmed” by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita to Indonesian Deputy Foreign Minister Abdurrahman Mohammad Fashir at a meeting on November 3 in Rabat, the news site added.
The Indonesian minister issued an official invitation on behalf of his government to the King, inviting him to the Bali Forum. The visit of King Mohammed VI to the largest Muslim majority country will be the first of its kind.
In 2013, Indonesia and Morocco agreed to establish a joint commission to improve relations in investment, tourism, trade, and human resources sectors. A MoU signed in the same year called for capacity-building cooperation, exchange of training, and increased connectivity between the two countries.
The volume of bilateral trade between the two countries has increased from USD 35.99 million in 2003 to USD 109.31 million in 2008, with phosphate as the main Indonesian import from the kingdom.
In September 2016, Morocco joined the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation (TAP) in Southeast Asia in Vietnam. The regional group consists of 10 states, namely Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Brunei, Cambodia, Burma, Laos and Indonesia.
Both nations are members of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the Non-Aligned Movement, and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC).
Today, political positions embraced by Jakarta, which often align closely with Rabat’s, have further strengthened the political bonds between the two nations. The most important example is Indonesia’s support of Morocco in the Western Sahara issue.
The visa-free entry policy allowing Indonesians and Moroccans to visit each other’s counties more freely has also helped increase the number of tourists between the two countries. Cooperation has also expanded into people-to-people ties, including religion, education, and culture. The strong religious cooperation between the two countries is symbolized by the presence of a mosque named Masjid Indonesia (Indonesian Mosque) in Kenitra, Morocco.
Religious ties between Jakarta and Rabat mainly take place in the form of scholarships. After the signing of MoU on Cooperation in the Area of Religious Affairs in 1994, the government in Rabat offered scholarship for Indonesian students to study Arabic literature and Islamic studies in several universities in Morocco.
