New Delhi – Morocco and India signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on Wednesday in New Delhi, with aims of strengthening cooperation between the two countries in the fields of mining and geology.
Signed by Minister of Energy, Mining, and Sustainable Development, Aziz Rabbah, and Indian Minister of Mining, Narendra Singh Tumar, the MoU covers the areas of geological infrastructure development, the production of geological, geophysical, and geochemical maps, the strengthening of scientific research, and the assessment of mineral resource potential.
The memorandum also provides for the establishment of a joint commission to oversee its implementation and encourage the setting up of qualitative agreements between agencies, public and private institutions, and companies from both countries in order to promote bilateral cooperation projects and activities.
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During his talks with his Indian counterpart, Rabbah, who is leading a Moroccan delegation to the 16th ministerial meeting of the International Energy Forum, expressed Morocco’s desire to build a strategic partnership in the field of phosphate with India, noting that the North African country aspires to establish more investment partnerships with countries such as India, Brazil, Canada, the United States, Ethiopia, and Niger, where Morocco has USD 3 billion in investments.
He added that Morocco is one of the region’s most important phosphate producers, with investments that will peak at USD 20 billion by 2025, through Morocco’s phosphate company, the OCP Group, which has launched twinning programs with Indian companies, highlighting the various investment opportunities in the Moroccan market that can serve as a business base for India.
For his part, Singh Tumar noted that India, in addition to its great assets in the fields of mining and energy, also allocates considerable funds to develop clean energy, another field that has benefited from India’s strong knowledge base.
In this regard, he called for promoting relations between Morocco and India, expressing the Indian government’s willingness to share its expertise with the Kingdom through a bilateral cooperation commensurate with the existing partnership between the two countries.
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