Morocco and Switzerland Sign MoU on Road and Rail Transport Cooperation

Rabat – During a visit to Switzerland, a Moroccan delegation led by the Minister of Equipment, Abdelkader Amara, signed a memorandum of understanding with the Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga, Minister for the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications. 

The two parties signed the memorandum following their bilateral talks during a train journey to Erstfeld where they visited the Ripshausen Heavy Traffic Control Center. 

The memorandum aims to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in the field of road and rail transport. Road safety is one of the issues at the core of this cooperation.

In a statement to Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), Amara said that the memorandum of understanding “covers about twenty areas of cooperation, from planning to the operational phase.” 

According to Amara, the transports issue concerns, at least, two levels. The first is related to the theme of “sustainability,” noting that “this is a strategic theme in Morocco as the country has adopted a pioneering strategy of renewable energy.”

The second level relates to the efforts needed for the development of railway transportation. The goal is to give this type of transportation enough “importance given that it is ecological and allows mass transport and optimized territorial planning.” 

Swiss Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga welcomed the signing of the memorandum noting that the discussions were an opportunity to tackle different issues related to transportation and infrastructure.

Sommaruga stressed “the importance of transporting more goods on railways from an ecological and efficiency point of view although the needed infrastructures can take a lot of time to be accomplished”. She also emphasized that “financing such infrastructure is also very important.”

The Federal Councilor highlighted the determination of the two countries “to collaborate on issues related to the transport sector, whether funding, infrastructure issues, road safety, or tunnels, in which Switzerland has gained a great deal of experience.”