By Zubairu Mohammed Abuja,
Morocco and Israel have signed a deal to strengthen their bilateral relations in the areas of economy, trade and investment, aviation, politics and cultural exchange programmes.
This is the historic meeting between the Foreign Ministers of Morocco and Israel that signed the agreement after the two countries agreed to normalise their relations last year.
This is the first visit by a top government official from Israel since their diplomatic relations were normalised between Morocco and Israel last year.
At the end of the meeting three accords have been signed to boost the relationships of the two countries.
Israel Foreign Minister, Mr. Yair Lapid, explains more on the importance of the agreement for socio-economic development in both countries.
“Today, we are changing this for the benefit of tourism and the economy, for trade and cultural exchange, for friendship and cooperation. This moment will improve our lives, because that is what peace does. War ends life, while peace cultivates it.” Yaïr Lapid, the Israeli Foreign Minister said.
The Moroccan Foreign Minister Mr. Nasser Bourita said, the signing of Memorandum of Understanding, MOUs will further enhance the cooperation on political consultations, aviation and culture.
“To support the momentum in cooperation, we created five working groups for promising sectors: research and innovation, tourism and aviation, agriculture, energy and environment, and trade and investment. These groups have held several meetings and have defined objectives and recommendations.” Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Foreign Minister said
Morocco was one the of four Arab countries along with the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Sudan that agree to normalise ties with Israel last year under US-brokered deals.
As part of the Donald Trump led brokered agreement, US recognised Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara, where there has been a decades-old territorial dispute with Morocco against the Algeria-backed Polisario Front.
