After six years, the Morocco-Portugal High-Level Meeting will be held again, this Friday in Lisbon, in a context marked by a strong common desire to strengthen the ties of cooperation and to hoist the bilateral relations, historical and marked with the seal mutual respect, at higher levels.
The 14th Morocco-Portugal High-Level Meeting demonstrates, to this end, the constant determination of the two neighboring countries to continue their cooperation, in order to expand partnerships in all areas, particularly in the economy and sectoral cooperation.
Rabat and Lisbon also aspire to boost exchanges, explore new areas of cooperation and scan the horizons of a multifaceted and strategic partnership reflecting the solidity of the ties between the two countries, in order to face the regional challenges they face. .
Having enjoyed great success in 2017, reflected in the signing of a dozen agreements essentially relating to economic, energy, cultural, health and administrative areas, this year’s meeting is likely to open up new horizons for cooperation. Moroccan-Portuguese.
Placed under the sign “Morocco-Portugal: an exemplary strategic partnership”, this meeting will be marked by the deepening of the partnership to consolidate bilateral relations, in consecration of the Royal vision aimed at making Portugal one of the first ten partner countries. in the Kingdom.
Chaired by the head of government, Aziz Akhannouch, the Moroccan delegation will include representatives from several strategic ministerial departments.
On the menu of the meeting, there is notably the Moroccan-Portuguese electrical interconnection with a capacity of around 1,000 megawatts, a project of great importance not only for the two countries, but also for the European and African continents. Intended for the management of the electricity networks of the two countries, this project translates the ambition of Rabat and Lisbon to build together a ”regional energy hub”.
The geostrategic position of Morocco, as a link between two continents and gateway to Africa, the realization by the Kingdom of major structuring projects to further develop its infrastructure, such as the port of Tanger Med, the LGV project, as well as the establishment of free zones and integrated industrial platforms, are all factors of rapprochement to further stimulate trade relations between Morocco and Portugal, give meaning to the development of relocations, in particular through targeted investments that optimize everyone’s position in the value chain and strengthen complementarities.
In addition to the energy sector, bilateral cooperation also covers other promising areas stimulating investment opportunities, such as the automotive industry, the environment, textiles and the modernization of administration.
Gateway to the Arab world and Africa, the Moroccan market is experiencing a craze from Portuguese companies. They are also more than 200 to have settled in the Kingdom, operating particularly in the service sectors, the food industry and the hotel industry, while 1,300 other companies export to Morocco, according to estimates by the Ministry. Portuguese Investment and Foreign Trade Agency.
Morocco is also Portugal’s leading trading partner in the Arab world and the second globally outside Europe, after the United States. Moroccan exports to Portugal have, in fact, experienced a significant increase of nearly 20% in 2022, while imports have increased by 30%.
The new Moroccan-Portuguese meeting brings together all the ingredients for success, thanks in particular to distinguished relations nourished by ancestral historical and cultural ties and high-level political will.
The work of the 14th Morocco-Portugal High-Level Meeting will be sanctioned by the signing of a panoply of cooperation agreements in several areas.
