Morocco, Israel Announce Visa-Free Travel For Diplomats, Officials

Rabat – Moroccan and Israeli diplomats and officials can now travel to each other’s countries without a visa, Israel’s ambassador to Morocco David Govrin announced on Thursday.

The two countries signed an agreement that came into force at the end of last month. It exempts Moroccan and Israeli holders of diplomatic and official passports from applying for visas for work visits, according to a tweet from Govrin.

Israel appointed Govrin as its ambassador to Morocco in October 2021. “We will continue our work towards developing joint relations for the benefit of the two brotherly countries,” he tweeted on the occasion.

His appointment came months after the re-establishment of diplomatic relations between Rabat and Tel Aviv in November 2020, and the visit of the Israeli Foreign Affairs Minister Yair Lapid in August 2021.

Lapid’s visit was the first diplomatic visit of an Israeli FM to Morocco since 2000.

It opened doors for more cooperation between the two countries in sectors such as trade, culture, agriculture, tourism, renewable energy, and aerospace.

“Bilateral ties have been strengthened in the area of business and culture, and continuous political dialogue has taken place on important strategic and regional issues,” Lapid said in an interview with Moroccan newspaper L’Economiste in December.

The diplomatic rapprochement between Rabat and Tel Aviv was recently strengthened during the Negev summit in late March.

Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita reiterated his country’s commitment to the “long-standing relationships between Morocco and Israel and between the Kings of Morocco and the Jewish community.”

During the summit, he stressed the Kingdom’s support of the two-state solution to the conflict with the capital of the independent state of Palestine in Eastern Jerusalem.

Morocco continues to deepen diplomatic, economic, and cultural relations with Israel while providing political and humanitarian support to the Palestinians and their cause.

The Moroccan initiative Bayt Mal Al-Quds Agency, for example, testifies to Moroccan solidarity with Palestine, the agency’s director said in December.