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Rabat – June 04, 2013 (MAP)
Morocco and Turkey signed, Monday in Rabat, a joint political declaration and two cooperation agreements, on the occasion of the official visit to Kingdom by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Signed by the head of government, Abdelilah Benkirane, and Erdogan, the joint political declaration provides for the creation of a high-level council for strategic partnership between Morocco and Turkey.
The two cooperation agreements, signed by the Minister of Equipment and Transport, Aziz Rabbah, and his Turkish counterpart, Binali Yildirim, touch on transport and the maritime sector.
Rabbah told the press that the two agreements are bound to boost cooperation between the two countries in the field of investments.
The agreement on cooperation in transport touches, according to the Moroccan minister, on aspects related to support in technical, legal, institutional and public-private partnership areas.
The second agreement provides for the development of maritime links between Moroccan and Turkish ports, he said.
Speaking at an enlarged meeting before the signing ceremony, Turkish Prime Minister stressed the excellent relations between the Kingdom and Turkey in several areas, welcoming in this regard the more and more important role of Morocco on the regional and international scenes.
Erdogan called for reducing the imbalance in the trade balance between the two countries and for promoting bilateral investments, stressing the need for an active involvement of the private sector in efforts to strengthen economic relations between Morocco and Turkey.
For his part, Benkirane welcomed the sustained development of the Moroccan-Turkish relations over the last decade, especially in the economic field following the entry into force of the free trade agreement.
He also highlighted the convergence of views between Rabat and Ankara on several regional and international issues, calling for exploring new prospects for bilateral cooperation, particularly at the Euro-Mediterranean level and within the framework of the Arab-Turrkish Forum.
