Rabat – Ahead of the 8th Ministerial Conference on Migration and Development (5 + 5 Dialogue) in Marrakech, Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita met separately with the foreign ministers of Malta and Portugal to discuss means of developing bilateral cooperation.
Bourita’s talks yesterday with Portugal’s FM, Augusto Santos Silva, focused on preparations for the Morocco-Portugal high-level meeting, to be held this year in Lisbon.
The Libson meeting will prioritize bilateral economic relations between Morocco and Portugal, as well as cooperation projects in Africa.
The Portuguese FM added that the Lisbon meeting may produce a bilateral agreement on migration and the movement of seasonal workers.
Bourita and Silva also took the opportunity to discuss the latest developments in West Africa, particularly in Guinea-Bissau.
The Moroccan FM also met with his Maltese counterpart, Evarist Bartolo, in Marrakech yesterday.
The two ministers discussed the prospects for consolidating bilateral relations between Morocco and Malta, as well as relations at the level of the EU and the AU.
“We must work together on trade and development, and for the creation of opportunities here, but also throughout Africa,” Bartolo said during a press conference. “The future of Europe and that of Africa are linked, hence the need to work together.”
In an interview with Morocco World News at the eighth annual Atlantic Dialogues conference in Marrakech from December 12 to 14, Malta’s Minister of Finance, Edward Scicluna, also emphasized the importance of strengthening Morocco-Malta relations.
Scicluna highlighted the issue of irregular migration, arguing that Malta and other European countries should invest in Morocco’s efforts to reduce the flow of people from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe.
Like Bartolo, the Maltese finance minister considers cooperation with Morocco, as a gateway between Africa and Europe, to be a valuable area of the island nation’s foreign policy.
The 5 + 5 Dialogue is aimed at initiating a consensual approach to migration and illuminating the benefits of enhanced cooperation between Europe and Africa.
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