Rabat – Morocco and Malawi signed four agreements in Rabat on Saturday to boost cooperation in several fields, including agriculture, food security, higher education, scientific research, and housing, among others.
The signing took place during the visit of Malawi Foreign Minister Eisenhower Nduwa Mkaka, who held talks with his Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita on Saturday.
Following the signing of the agreements, Bourita said that these four ‘important” Memoranda of Understanding strengthen bilateral relations to consolidate the legal framework of the partnership between Morocco and Malawi.
“We have established a roadmap of cooperation for the years to come,” the Moroccan foreign minister said.
Bourita also recalled the increase in the number of scholarships Morocco grants to students from Malawi, in both academic institutes and vocational training centers.
He announced that the number of these scholarships should reach 100 per year.
The two parties also agreed to relaunch an integrated cooperation project in the field of agriculture to establish collaboration in renewable energies, particularly solar energy.
Morocco’s foreign minister said cooperation in the field of youth and sports is also among the areas of increased collaboration between the two counties.
“Morocco’s willingness, in accordance with the instructions his majesty King Mohammed VI, to accompany Malawi in this important phase of its history to give all the support to the action of its president Mr. Lazarus Chakwera to strengthen the stability and development of the country,” he said.
During a press conference with Bourita, Malawi’s foreign minister expressed his country’s support for a political solution for Western Sahara.
Mkaka reiterated Malawi’s support for Morocco’s position, recalling his country’s withdrawal of its recognition of Polisario in 2017.
The support came one day after three African countries opened diplomatic representations in Dakhla.
Burkina Faso, Guinea-Bissau, and Equatorial Guinea each opened consulates general on Friday.
The full list of countries that inaugurated diplomatic representations in Dakhla includes The Gambia, Guinea, Djibouti, and Liberia.
Several other African countries have also opened consulates in Laayoune, another city in southern Morocco. These countries include Cote D’Ivoire, Burundi, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Sao Tome and Principe, and Comoros.
