Rabat – Morocco and Colombia hope to boost bilateral cooperation, announced the President of Morocco’s House of Representatives, Habib El Malki, and the Colombian ambassador to Rabat, María del Pilar Gómez Valderrama.
The senior officials met on Tuesday, March 3, at the Moroccan Parliament in Rabat.
During the meeting, the Moroccan speaker spotlighted the recent development of diplomatic ties between Morocco and Colombia.
The two countries share the same democratic values and concerns for security and stability, allowing them to cooperate at both regional and international levels, he continued.
El Malki commended Colombia’s position on the Western Sahara issue and their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity.
“Your position on the issue of the Moroccan Sahara is very positive and oriented towards the future,” he said.
In 2018, the Colombian Congress adopted a motion in favor of Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as a pragmatic and fair solution to the territorial dispute in Western Sahara, recalled the official.
The President of the House of Representatives expressed his institution’s firm will to push their relations with Colombia’s legislative institution towards more cooperation and solidarity.
The President of the Colombian House of Representatives is set to visit Morocco in the upcoming weeks, revealed El Malki. The visit aims to consolidate the rapprochement between the two institutions.
Meanwhile, the Colombian ambassador stressed that her country attaches great importance to its relations with Morocco.
“Our relationships are characterized by mutual respect and good cooperation and they span approximately 40 years,” she said.
The two countries have several cooperation agreements, notably in the fields of culture, tourism, and higher education, added Gómez Valderrama.
The Colombian diplomat reiterated her country’s position on Morocco’s territorial integrity. Colombia’s position is clear on the issue and favors Morocco’s Autonomy Plan as a solution to the dispute.
Colombia is one of Morocco’s strongest partners in Latin America. The two countries established diplomatic ties in 1979. Despite recognizing the self-proclaimed Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic (SADR) in 1985, Colombia withdrew its recognition of the breakaway group in 2000.
Since then, bilateral ties between Morocco and Colombia slowly improved, resulting in the signing of several partnership agreements and the support of the Latin American country for Morocco’s proposed solution to the Western Sahara conflict.
The list of South American countries that expressed their support for Morocco’s territorial integrity includes Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Chile, among others.
