Rabat – Japan and Morocco have signed a first Memorandum of Cooperation of its kind in the fields of land-use planning, town planning, infrastructure, and investment, indicates a press release from the Moroccan Ministry of National Planning, Urban Planning, Housing and Urban Policy.
Nouzha Bouchareb, the Moroccan minister of national planning, urban planning, housing and urban policy, and Iwai Shigeki, the Japanese minister of land, infrastructure, transport and tourism, participated in the video conference on Friday, March 12. The two ministers signed the memorandum in the presence of Takashi Shinozuka, ambassador of Japan to Morocco. This is the first such agreement the two ministries have signed.
The agreement, set to last five years, will promote the sharing of expertise, capacity building, as well as good practices in the fields of planning and promotion of public policies relating to layout and infrastructure, read the press statement.
The cooperation between the two countries prioritizes “metropolization,” urban resilience, and risk management in cities, as well as digitization and business intelligence and observation, connectivity, and competitiveness.
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Furthermore, the memorandum aims to encourage public-private partnerships between the private sectors of the two countries. Another priority for the agreement is paving the road for cooperation opportunities on the African continent. This would support sustainable urban development, boost planning and investment policies, and provide quality infrastructure.
The video conference came as part of the international Morocco-Japan webinar “High-Quality Infrastructure and Urbanism.”
Although historically cooperation between Japan and Morocco has been limited, the last few years have seen an increase in bilateral diplomacy and trade. The Japanese House of Councillors adopted on May 13, 2020, an agreement on the protection and promotion of investments between Morocco and Japan.
In January 2020, Morocco’s Minister Delegate to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mohcine Jazouli, and Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Keisuke Suzuki, chaired the fifth Morocco-Japan Joint Commission meeting in Rabat.
