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Rabat – Ukrainian Foreign Affairs Minister Dmytro Kuleba has arrived in Morocco as part of his second Africa tour.
The visit is the first of its kind for a Ukrainian foreign minister since the establishment of bilateral ties between the two countries.
Kuleba shared a picture of him at the Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca on Monday, stressing that the visit is at the invitation of “Moroccan partners.”
“At the beginning of the second tour of African countries, the Moroccan partners invited to visit the beautiful mosque of Hassan II in Casablanca – the largest operating mosque in Africa,” he wrote on Instagram. “This is a real work of art, on which more than 10 thousand Moroccan artists and craftsmen worked for seven years.”
Kuleba’s visit is part of his second African tour. He carried out the first tour in October 2022, when he visited Senegal, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, and Kenya.
The tours are part of the country’s approach to strengthening ties with the African continent, as Kyiv continues its attempts to obtain allies and counter Russian influence.
Morocco and Ukraine share good diplomatic ties, with the two countries determined to boost cooperation in all fields, including trade.
In August 2022, King Mohammed VI commended the solid ties and cooperation between the two countries in a message of congratulations to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on his country’s national day.
In the message, the King extended his “warm congratulations” to the Ukrainian people, highlighting the shared will of both Rabat and Kyiv to further boost cooperation.
Morocco is one of the countries that have called for a peaceful settlement of the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine as part of its principle of non-interference in the domestic affairs of other countries.
In March, Morocco’s Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Boruita reiterated the North African country’s appeal, stressing the impacts of the Russia-Ukraine conflict on global peace and security.
Commenting on Morocco’s position on the dispute, Bourita said that Rabat is not a party to the “armed conflict.”
He emphasized that Morocco has not and will not participate in any form whatsoever in the Ukraine-Russia conflict, indicating that its position vis-a-vis the dispute is based on the principles of preservation of the sovereignty of states and respect for the territorial integrity of the member countries of the UN, as well as respecting international law and the UN charter.
“Every time there is a vote within the UN and its specialized agencies, Morocco abstains from voting except when the resolution concerns the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of international law according to the four principles which it defends,” Bourita emphasized.
On February 23, Morocco was among the 141 countries that voted on a UN resolution that called for Russia to withdraw from Ukraine, explaining that the decision should not be subjected to any interpretation.
Morocco, however, also abstained from voting on a few resolutions in the past. Clarifying its decision, the North African country’s foreign ministry similarly stressed that its non-participation should not be subjected to any interpretation.
