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Rabat – Lord Tariq Ahmad, British Minister of State for South and Central Asia, North Africa, United Nations and the Commonwealth, said on Wednesday that it is time to elevate relations between Morocco and the UK.
The statement came during a meeting the British minister held with Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita, with the pair discussing several avenues to strengthen bilateral relations.
Speaking to the press after the meeting, Lord Ahmad said that the celebration of 300 years since the two countries’ first trade agreement constitutes an opportunity to “strengthen ambitions and evolve bilateral relations.”
He also described the meeting with Bourita as fruitful and constructive, adding that Morocco-UK relations stand on solid foundations, especially in the fields of trade, sustainability, and cooperation on common issues.
Those solid foundations, Lord Ahmad said, can contribute to the further strengthening of the ties between the two kingdoms.
Among the common issues the two ministers discussed was that of climate change and climate resilience, as well as improving ties between the two countries’ people, especially in the sector of higher education.
The British minister, who is on his first visit to Morocco, also met the Speaker of the Moroccan House of Representatives, Rachid Talbi Alami, discussing opportunities for parliamentary cooperation between the two countries.
The pair highlighted cooperation between the Moroccan Parliament and the UK’s House of Commons, with Lord Ahmad praising the evolution of Morocco’s parliamentary experience.
The British official also met Morocco’s Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development Leila Benali, as well as Minister of Higher Education Abdellatif Miraoui.
Relations between the UK and Morocco have vastly improved since the two countries signed a post-Brexit “association agreement” in late 2019. Bilateral cooperation has especially been accelerating in the domains of trade and green energy.
Most notably, the two countries are working on the Xlinks undersea cable which is expected to export 3.6 GW of green energy from Morocco to the UK, starting in 2027.
