Latest news with #Bourita
Morocco World
a day ago
- Business
- Morocco World
Moldova, Morocco Abolish Visas for Diplomatic Passport Holders
Doha – Moldova and Morocco have eliminated visa requirements for holders of diplomatic, service, and special passports, following the Moldovan Parliament's ratification of a reciprocal agreement. According to Moldovan news agency IPN, the agreement was signed in Chisinau on April 15. The newly ratified accord allows diplomatic, service, and special passport holders to enter, exit, or transit through either country without a visa for up to 90 days within any 180-day period. This calculation takes into account the previous 180 days before each day of stay. Family members of eligible individuals will also benefit from the visa exemption. This includes spouses, children, parents, and other dependents who live together during their official stay and hold valid diplomatic, service, or special passports. The Moldovan Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the agreement aims to develop and strengthen collaborative and friendly relations between the two countries by enabling visa-free travel for holders of these specific passport types. Read also: Morocco Lifts Visa Requirements for Albanian Citizens, Not Vice Versa This visa agreement comes on the heels of Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita's diplomatic tour in Europe in mid-April, which included a stop in Moldova. During this visit, Moldova recognized Morocco's Autonomy Plan for the Sahara as 'the most serious and credible basis' for resolving the regional dispute. Meanwhile, high-level talks between Bourita and Moldovan Foreign Minister Mihai Popșoi resulted in five cooperation accords, including the visa exemption agreement. The other agreements focused on establishing political consultations between the two countries' foreign ministries, promoting economic diplomacy, facilitating exchanges between diplomatic institutes, and enhancing cultural cooperation. Both ministers expressed satisfaction with 'the excellence of relations between the two countries' and committed to intensifying political dialogue across all sectors. They agreed to organize a comprehensive business forum targeting specific sectors with high partnership potential, including agriculture, fertilizers, energy, industrial outsourcing, digital technology, and cybersecurity. During their meeting, Popșoi voiced Moldova's 'full support for the sincere efforts' deployed by Morocco to resolve the Sahara issue. The Eastern European country reiterated its backing for the UN-led process aimed at reaching a 'just, pragmatic, durable and mutually acceptable' political solution. The Moldovan minister described Morocco as 'a regional stability hub and growth catalyst in Africa,' while Bourita expressed support for Moldova's EU accession negotiations and ongoing reform efforts. Both countries reaffirmed their commitment to maintaining regional stability, security, and peace. Tags: Abolition of Visa requirementsMoldovaMorocco
Morocco World
3 days ago
- Business
- Morocco World
Morocco, Egypt Strengthen Strategic Partnership with New Bilateral Mechanisms
Rabat — Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita welcomed his Egyptian counterpart Badr Abdelatty to Rabat today, marking a significant step in their shared desire to strengthen the partnership between the two North African nations. The high-level meeting established new institutional frameworks to elevate bilateral cooperation in accordance with the vision set by King Mohammed VI and President Abdel Fattah El Sisi. Bourita described the Moroccan-Egyptian relationship as rooted in history with solid foundations, enjoying special care from both leaders. 'This relationship has history, it has solid foundations, and it enjoys special care from His Majesty King Mohammed VI and his brother His Excellency President El Sisi,' he said during a press conference. The ministers activated the High Joint Committee as an umbrella mechanism to oversee bilateral relations. Under this framework, both countries will establish a Joint Coordination and Follow-up Committee at the governmental level. This will be chaired by both prime ministers and include sectoral ministers to monitor cooperation between the nations. The two top diplomats also pledged to enhance their countries' existing political consultation and dialogue mechanisms, recognizing their shared positions across Arab, African, and Mediterranean spaces. The coordination committee will meet every two years, alternating between Cairo and Rabat, while political dialogue sessions will occur at least annually, with additional meetings as circumstances require. These mechanisms will address issues ranging from Middle Eastern affairs to Mediterranean concerns and African continental matters. Morocco-Egypt bilateral economic ties A major focus centered on transforming the economic relationship from competition to complementarity and mutual benefit. Bourita stressed moving away from 'zero-sum game' thinking and exploring economic integration that leverages each country's regional presence. 'Egypt has a presence in East Africa, Morocco has a presence in West Africa,' he said, urging better economic coordination between the countries. The ministers referenced existing frameworks, including the Arab Trade Agreement, the Agadir Agreement, and the African Continental Free Trade Area, as foundations for enhanced cooperation. The meeting addressed cultural dimensions, with plans to strengthen connections between intellectuals, journalists, and artists from both countries. Minister Abdelatty carried a written message from President El-Sisi to King Mohammed VI, underlining the personal leadership engagement. The countries' stance on regional pressing challenges On regional challenges, Morocco reiterated support for Egypt's water security rights, calling it a matter of Arab national security that must be resolved through dialogue. Meanwhile, both ministers condemned Israel's unrelenting assaults on Palestinians in Gaza. They voiced support for a two-state solution, calling for the establishment of a Palestinian state based on 1967 borders and with East Jerusalem as its capital. Bourita noted that Morocco and Egypt consult almost weekly before major regional commitments, positioning both nations as voices of wisdom that push toward solutions rather than inflaming tensions. This visit, the first by the current Egyptian Foreign Minister, establishes systematic cooperation across multiple domains. The meeting reflects the deep-rooted strength of Moroccan-Egyptian relations and the commitment of both sides to translate high-level political will into practical mechanisms that match the ambitions set by their respective leaderships. With both countries positioning themselves as stabilizing forces in their respective regions while maintaining strong historical ties, today's agreements provide a structured framework for addressing shared challenges while maximizing mutual opportunities in an increasingly complex regional environment. Tags: MoroccoMorocco Egypt RelationsMorocco-Egypt
Morocco World
3 days ago
- Politics
- Morocco World
The Bourita Effect: Kenya's Western Sahara U-turn Is a Testament to Bourita's Visionary Diplomacy
Washington DC – Three years ago, I suggested that Kenya's endorsement of Morocco's autonomy plan for the Sahara, and its rejection of the separatist project, was a matter of time. In September and November 2022, I published two articles analyzing and outlining the factors that would ultimately drive Kenya to align with the Moroccan position on the Sahara question. I elaborated further on Kenya's evolving stance in the book I published last year, reiterating that its unequivocal support for Morocco's proposal was imminent. Kenya on Monday has officially declared that Morocco's autonomy initiative represents 'the only sustainable approach' to resolving the Western Sahara dispute. A clear rebuke to Algeria's military junta, this development marks a turning point in the diplomatic landscape surrounding the conflict, as well as the total collapse and resounding failure of Algeria's separatist agenda. With Kenya now having officially joined the growing number of countries backing Morocco's sovereignty over its southern provinces, the country is closer than ever to bringing this issue to a definitive close. I cannot say with certainty whether the dispute will be resolved this year, but all indicators suggest that Morocco is approaching the finish line. The Bourita effect Still, there should by now be little disagreement over the idea that Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita ranks among the most accomplished figures to have overseen contemporary Morocco's foreign policy—if not the most accomplished of all. His tenure has coincided with an era of unprecedented diplomatic breakthroughs in some of the most critical areas for Moroccan foreign policy. On the Western Sahara front in particular, his tenure has enabled Morocco to achieve what I described in one passage of my latest book as a historic 'remontada.' That is, Bourita's visionary and effective leadership at the helm of Moroccan diplomacy has made possible a sweeping comeback that has ultimately allowed Morocco to dismantle decades of Algerian diplomatic gains on the Western Sahara and other strategic fronts. Bourita has thus proven to be the ideal executor of the foreign policy vision of King Mohammed VI. He has undertaken numerous initiatives that have generated a diplomatic momentum unlike anything Morocco has witnessed before, chief among them the strategy of convincing an increasingly expanding cohort of countries to open consulates in the Sahara. His term has also been marked by the successful appointment of seasoned ambassadors in key, strategic capitals, many of which were once strongholds of separatist, pro-Poliario sentiment. Winning over these capitals, or at least convincing them to adopt a position of positive neutrality on the Western Sahara dossier, has been one of the most defining markers of the effectiveness — or even genius — of Moroccan diplomacy under Bourita. For context, Algeria had long relied on some of those capitals to prolong the dispute and, in the words of the late President Houari Boumediene to a number of Polisario leaders, including Bachir Dkhil, turn it into a 'stone in Morocco's shoe.' Kenya's recent, unequivocal declaration that Morocco's autonomy plan is the only viable foundation for a political solution to the Sahara dispute marks yet another milestone in Morocco's diplomatic achievements over the past decade. This shift is especially significant considering this African country's early and persistent support for the separatist agenda backed by Algeria. For years, Kenya exerted considerable diplomatic effort at the multilateral level, particularly within the United Nations and the African Union, to obstruct Morocco's attempts to garner international backing for its position. Even after Morocco's succeeded in neutralizing the African Union's role in the dispute—beginning with the 2018 summit in Mauritania—Kenya was among the African states that fiercely and relentlessly advocated for the need for the AU to play a central role in the UN-led political process. Nairobi notably supported the appointment of former Mozambican President Joaquim Chissano as the African Union's envoy for the Sahara and pushed for him to brief the UN Security Council in April 2016, a move that Moroccan diplomacy successfully blocked. What a good ambassador can do With the benefit of hindsight, a compelling case can now be made that one of Bourita's most astute decisions as minister has been his proposal to appoint Dr. Mokhtar Ghambou as Morocco's ambassador to Kenya. That the appointment came at a time when Kenya was among the fiercest defenders of the separatist thesis in the Western Sahara dossier spoke volumes about his confidence in Ghambou's potential to convince the Kenyan political establishment to reconsider their take on this lingering territorial dispute. What's more, appointing an ambassador to Nairobi at a time when Kenya had no diplomatic representation in Morocco was an indication of the resilience and foresight of Moroccan diplomacy over the past two decades. It spoke of a proactive strategy to engage countries outside Morocco's traditional 'comfort zone' in West Africa, with which it shares longstanding historical ties. Following his appointment, Dr. Ghambou led a tireless campaign to open lines of dialogue and cooperation with all stakeholders of Kenyan society: political actors, civil society, academia, and media. As someone who closely monitors this dossier, I observed firsthand the extraordinary diplomatic work Dr. Ghambou undertook during his tenure at the Moroccan Embassy in Nairobi. He knocked on every possible door. During the period when William Ruto was still Vice President, Dr. Ghambou held multiple meetings with him, as well as with various ministers, and members of parliament across Kenya's political spectrum. By April 2021—over a year before Ruto's rise to the presidency—signs of Morocco's diplomatic success in Kenya had begun to emerge. Several Kenyan media outlets, as well as Morocco World News, and Maghreb Arab Press (MAP), reported that Ruto, then Kenya's Vice President, supported the Moroccan autonomy initiative. That development came on the heels of a meeting between the Moroccan ambassador and the Kenyan official at the ambassador's residence in Nairobi. These early signals culminated in August 2022, shortly after Ruto's election as President, when he published a post expressing support for Morocco's position—only to delete it later. Nevertheless, it was a clear indicator that a portion of Kenya's political elite had grown increasingly aware of the shifting geopolitical dynamics across Africa and recognized the strategic benefits of recalibrating Kenya's position to align with those realities. These developments also demonstrated that Moroccan diplomacy had been working relentlessly and preemptively to engage Kenya and steer it away from the hostile stances it had historically adopted toward Morocco's territorial integrity. To give credit where it's due, Ambassador Abderrazzak Laassel—who succeeded Dr. Ghambou in April 2022 and brings with him vast experience in both bilateral and multilateral diplomacy— has proven to be a worthy successor. Since taking office, he has built on the diplomatic groundwork laid by his predecessor and has worked tirelessly to consolidate trust with Kenya's political, economic, academic, and media elites, making the case that deepening relations with Morocco serves Kenya's national interests. In this sense, Morocco is now gradually harvesting the fruits of the African policy launched by King Mohammed VI nearly two decades ago. As a result, the number of countries that support Morocco's position has risen to 117. This growing support stems from two key factors. First, it reflects the esteem and strategic value Morocco enjoys at the regional, continental, and international levels—thanks to its rising economic and security stature and the eagerness of global partners to deepen ties with the Kingdom. Second, it is the product of the evolving dynamics of the UN-led political process, and the implicit acknowledgment by the Security Council that a lasting solution to the conflict cannot be found outside the framework of Moroccan sovereignty. The end of the Sahara conundrum is closer than ever With the tremendous diplomatic momentum Morocco has built over the past two decades, it can now be said that the country is closer than ever to definitively resolving the Western Sahara dispute. Some might argue that, following this latest breakthrough, Morocco's next step should be to seek the expulsion of the Polisario from the African Union. In my view, such a move may be premature at this stage. What Morocco should focus on in the near term is working toward the removal of the Sahara from the list of non-self-governing territories on the UN General Assembly's agenda. As I emphasize in the conclusion of a new book I will publish this summer on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Green March, Morocco—thanks to growing international support for its sovereignty over the Sahara—is now in a position to push for the removal of this agenda item from the UNGA agenda. Considering the diplomatic backing Morocco has garnered over the past ten years for its territorial integrity, and the growing isolation of Algeria—regionally, continentally, and internationally—the current geopolitical environment offers Morocco a historic opportunity to rally the necessary support to achieve this goal. According to Rule 22 of the UN General Assembly's Rules of Procedure, 'items on the agenda may be amended or deleted by the General Assembly by a majority of the members present and voting.' Given that 117 out of the 193 UN member states currently support Morocco's position, there is a strong likelihood that Morocco could secure the required majority—98 votes—to remove the from the General Assembly's agenda. Once the Polisario loses the symbolic legitimacy that the General Assembly has long granted it, its presence in the African Union will become indefensible. This would in turn strip Algeria of one of the last remaining tools it uses to prolong the conflict, effectively depriving the Algerian regime of the leverage it has long exploited. Samir Bennis is the co-founder and publisher of Morocco World News. You can follow him on Twitter @SamirBennis. Tags: Algeria and the Western Saharaautonomy plan
Maroc
4 days ago
- Business
- Maroc
FM Outlines Govt. Approach to Boosting Moroccan Diaspora's Role in Development
Recognizing the vital role of Moroccans living abroad in the country's development, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita emphasized Monday the government's approach to preserving their identity and safeguarding their rights. Speaking during a question session at the Lower House, Bourita noted that these efforts focus on providing the community with adequate administrative services and facilitating their effective contribution—as investors and skilled professionals—to Morocco's economic growth. Bourita emphasized that Moroccans living abroad are held in high regard by HM King Mohammed VI, highlighting the Royal Speech of November 6, 2024, which called for a renewed approach to addressing the issues of the expatriate community. In this regard, he noted that, as an integral component of the Moroccan nation, addressing their issues should never be circumstantial or ad hoc but should rather build on the achievements made, such as the Marhaba operation. He added that the government is acting on the clear Royal Instructions outlined in the speech by working on proposals to restructure institutions and put the Sovereign's goals into action. On a separate note, Bourita pointed out that the Kingdom does not benefit from the added value of Moroccan businessmen and investors living abroad, especially considering that only 10% of the transfers from this community—exceeding MAD 117 billion—are allocated to investment. He noted that the High Royal Guidelines contained in the speech, which addressed both the institutional framework and the creation of the Mohammadia Foundation for Moroccans Residing Abroad, gave this issue a central place. The minister further called for involving Moroccans of the world in the development and implementation of laws, including those related to investment, in order to better take into account their specificities and constraints, and to benefit from their expertise. "The High Royal Instructions have been clear in this regard: Moroccans of the world are capable of significantly contributing to the country's development as investors, provided that procedures are adapted to their specificities." MAP: 27 mai 2025
Morocco World
4 days ago
- Business
- Morocco World
Morocco Signed 7,500 International Agreements, Two-Thirds Under King Mohammed VI
Doha – Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita announced Monday that Morocco has concluded approximately 7,500 international agreements, with two-thirds signed during King Mohammed VI's reign. Speaking at the Chamber of Representatives, Bourita said that the conventional framework represents a fundamental tool of the country's foreign policy. 'The importance does not lie in signing conventions but in their effective implementation,' Bourita stated, echoing the King's guidance. Responding to a question from the Authenticity and Modernity (PAM) group about evaluating international agreements, the minister detailed several mechanisms for monitoring implementation. These include bilateral mechanisms such as joint commissions with partner countries, which he described as 'essential instruments to accompany the implementation of commitments.' Governmental departments also ensure agreements are properly executed, Bourita noted. Clear instructions are given to Morocco's ambassadors worldwide 'to make implementation support a key element guaranteeing the credibility of commitments signed by Morocco.' The minister disclosed that Morocco currently maintains about 800 economic agreements capable of generating significant impact in bilateral relations through the facilities and incentives they offer, particularly in the economic sector. Economic diplomacy and diaspora support Economic diplomacy constitutes a fundamental pillar of Morocco's foreign policy established by King Mohammed VI, Bourita told representatives. He pointed out that in today's world of challenges and opportunities, Morocco enjoys enormous potential for international cooperation thanks to 'the royal vision and the country's stability.' The government has taken practical measures to support this dynamic, including creating a Directorate General for Economic Diplomacy within the Foreign Affairs Ministry this year and appointing economic attachés to most Moroccan embassies. Partnership agreements have also been signed as part of the government's foreign trade plan. 'The Foreign Affairs Ministry remains a channel in this field that economic actors must leverage to promote Moroccan products,' Bourita said. He added that economic diplomacy primarily aims to enable economic actors to capitalize on Morocco's diplomatic network of nearly 110 embassies and 60 consulates. Regarding Moroccans residing abroad (MREs), Bourita affirmed that the government's approach focuses on protecting their rights, modernizing administrative services, and mobilizing their economic potential. This vision, Bourita explained, stems from royal instructions expressed in the November 6, 2024 speech calling for a new comprehensive and sustainable strategy. While annual transfers from MREs exceed MAD 117 billion ($11.7 billion), only 10% goes toward investment—a figure the government intends to increase. Bourita stressed the need to rethink dedicated institutions and fully involve Moroccans worldwide in developing public policies, especially regarding investment.
