Rabat – Speaking at a reception event in Rabat, the Japanese ambassador to Morocco, Shinozuka Takashi, praised Moroccan scholarship students in Japan for their role in strengthening the bilateral ties between the two countries.
The reception took place on March 9 in Rabat, paying tribute to former and current Moroccan scholarship students.
Takashi remarked at the ceremony that the Moroccan student population in Japan plays a significant role in bringing the two countries closer, in terms of academic and cultural exchange and friendship.
The Japanese diplomat pointed out that Japan will grant four Moroccan students this year with ‘Monbukagakusho’ scholarships, including three researchers from Moroccan universities.
The Japanese government grants Monbukagakusho scholarships to Teacher-Training Students, Research Students, Undergraduate Students, and Specialized Training College Students.
Takashi added that Japan has received 172 Moroccan scholarship students since 1980.
Moroccan students who want to obtain a scholarship from the Japanese government must pass the primary selection at the Japanese embassy in Rabat and complete a secondary test by the Japanese Ministry of Education.
Relations between Japan and Morocco have enjoyed immense progress, and the recent visit of Japan’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Keisuke Suziki to Rabat reaffirmed the two countries’ increasingly prosperous ties.
On January 8, Suziki and Morocco’s Minister Delegate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohcine Jazouli, chaired the fifth Morocco-Japan Joint Commission meeting in Rabat.
The meeting confirmed the “profound, sincere, and solid” friendship between Morocco and Japan, Jazouli commented.
A Japanese delegation also visited Rabat in February, and Japan’s Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs, Shinichi Nakatani, reaffirmed his country’s support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
Nakatani also expressed his satisfaction with the bilateral agreements between the two nations, highlighting Morocco’s “promising” potential in attracting more Japanese investment, particularly in its ports and logistics sectors, during an official meeting with Morocco’s Head of Government Saadeddine El Othmani.
The Japanese official shared statistics about the growing rate of trade between the two countries, emphasizing that trade ties between Morocco and Japan represent 4.5% of trade between Morocco and Asia and 2.7% of trade between Japan and Africa.
Jazouli said that business cooperation between the two countries is reinforced by the presence of more than 71 Japanese companies in the North African country that hire more than 40,000 Moroccans.
The Moroccan minister delegate stressed that the delegation’s fruitful visit to Rabat confirmed the “profound, sincere, and solid” friendship between Morocco and Japan.
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