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Rabat – Philippines’ Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro Locsin Jr. has set to visit Morocco to strengthen bilateral relations by signing numerous agreements.
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita extended an invitation to Locsin, initiating his first official visit to Morocco from March 15 to March 19, reported the Philippine News Agency (PNA) on March 14.
The chief diplomats intend to sign two cooperation agreements and two Memorandums of Understanding (MOU), including a Philippines-Morocco Air Services Agreement and a Philippine News Agency (PNA) and Morocco Press Agency (MAP) cooperation agreement.
The MOUs bind Foreign Service Institute and the Moroccan Academy for Diplomatic Studies and call for political consultations.
Additionally, Bourita and Locsin will hold a meeting to discuss prospects of strengthening “cordial ties between the Philippines and Morocco and ways to advance the common interests of the two countries in various areas of cooperation,” said PNA.
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Morocco and the Philippines established diplomatic relations in 1975, resulting in a gradual consolidation of diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries.
OEC reported that Moroccan exports to the Philippines reached $7.48 million in 2019, consisting of phosphoric acid ($4.68 million), aircraft parts ($507k), and non-knit women’s suits ($364k).
Moroccan imports from the Philippines amounted to $30.5 million in 2019, with office machine parts ($7.96 million) dominating the imports ahead of electric motors ($4.81 million), and insulated wire ($2.63 million).
The Filipino community in Morocco is estimated at 4,600 people. Filipinos in Morocco primarily work in domestic jobs and beauty and wellness as well as other sectors, noted PNA.
While Morocco and the Philippines seek to strengthen bilateral relations, the Philippines embassy in Rabat reopened in 2020 after roughly three decades of closure.
The embassy closed in March 1986 following the overthrowing of PresidentFerdinand Marcos during the People Power Revolution that placed Corazon Aquino as president. In the aftermath of the revolution, Marcos and his family resided in Morocco as they had close relations with the late King Hassan II.
Following the embassy’s reopening, Ambassador Leslie Baja has headed the diplomatic mission in Morocco since his arrival in May 2021.
In January 2022, he presented his credentials to King Mohammed VI. Ambassador Baja also serves as non-resident ambassador to Mauritania and Guinea and will present his credentials soon in Mali and Senegal.
