Rabat – Morocco and the US signed today a bilateral agreement on the consolidation of diplomatic privileges and immunities.
The agreement aims to ensure an efficient functioning of diplomatic representations in Morocco and the US.
US Ambassador to Morocco David Fischer and the Director of Protocol at the Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Anas Khales, signed the agreement during a videoconference ceremony.
The agreement stipulates that Morocco and the US grant diplomats from the other country, as well as their families, the privileges and immunities provided for in the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
Articles 29 to 36 of the convention provide for several privileges, including the inviolability of diplomats and their residences, among other legal, financial, and administrative privileges.
The agreement extends the privileges to diplomats working at the US Consulate General in Casablanca and the Moroccan Consulate in New York.
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo both attended the videoconference ceremony. Prior to the agreement’s signing, the two senior officials commended the strategic partnership uniting Morocco and the US.
Diplomatic confidence in US-Morocco ties
Pompeo took the opportunity to express pride in US-Morocco relations in 2020. The agreement “reflects the incredible service our teams have performed this year,” he stressed. He referenced in particular jointly-coordinated repatriation operations for US citizens from Morocco, as well as the upcoming construction of a new US consulate in Casablanca.
“This agreement, along with the new consulate we’ll begin constructing in Casablanca later this year, is a statement of how much our two nations value the safety and morale of our teams and their families,” Pompeo said.
“It’s another achievement in our long history of friendship, which, God willing, will continue long into the future,” he added.
According to the US Department of State, the agreement signed today is the first of its kind between the US and an African nation, proving Morocco’s important role as a primary US partner in Africa.
A proof of ‘commitment’ to the Moroccan-American alliance
In a statement issued after the ceremony, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the signing of the agreement testifies to “the long tradition of ties that unite Morocco and the US, marked by a common vision of peace, tolerance, coexistence, and a fight against all forms of extremism and terrorism.”
According to the ministry, the agreement consolidates bilateral relations between Rabat and Washington. Signed shortly after Pompeo’s visit to several Gulf countries to discuss security matters, it is also set to help Morocco and the US promote security, stability, and prosperity of their populations.
During the ceremony, Minister Bourita said the agreement confirms “that our commitment to the Moroccan-American alliance is as vibrant and promising as ever.”
