UAE Renews Support to Morocco’s Sovereignty over Sahara, Condemns Terrorist Activities of Hezbollah & Polisario

The United Arab Emirates renewed on Tuesday its support for Morocco’s sovereignty over the Sahara and condemned the terrorist activities of the Polisario separatist front and the Lebanese Hezbollah party.

This came in the minutes of the 5th session of the Morocco-UAE joint committee, held in Abu Dhabi Tuesday under the co-chairmanship of the two countries’ Foreign Ministers Nasser Bourita and Sheikh Abdellah Bin Zayed Al-Nahyan.

The United Arab Emirates made it clear that no settlement of this artificial regional conflict is possible outside the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Morocco. The Gulf country also condemned the terrorist activities involving Hezbollah and the Polisario and their attempts to undermine the security, stability and territorial integrity of Morocco, according to the minutes.

The UAE also commended the pioneering role played by King Mohammed VI in strengthening the foundations of sustainable development and promoting peace, security and stability in the African continent and his endeavors to fulfil African peoples’ aspirations for progress and prosperity.

The 5th session of the joint committee highlighted by the signing of a document providing for bilateral political consultation and consolidation of the partnership between the two countries, which are both keen to foster their political dialogue and unify their positions at regional and international fora.

According to press reports, the two countries discussed ways of enhancing bilateral cooperation in the fight against terrorism, in the preservation of their respective territorial unity, and also in supporting the Palestinian cause.

The session was marked by the signing of several cooperation agreements, including a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in the field of standardization and conformity assessment between the Moroccan Ministry of Industry, Trade, Investment and Digital Economy and the Emirati Authority for Standardization and Metrology.

The two officials also signed a MoU between the Ministry of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water and the Emirati Federal Transport Authority on the mutual recognition of certificates in accordance with the International Convention on Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping for Seafarers (STCW) and its amendments.

They equally initialed an agreement on the implementation of an executive media cooperation program for the 2018-2020 period and a MoU on cultural cooperation.

The UAE and Morocco are bound by excellent political and economic relations and by nearly 100 cooperation agreements covering various fields, including the military sector. The Emirates became in 2014, the first investor in the Casablanca Stock Exchange totaling 55 billion dirhams of investments.

In 2015 Moroccan exports to the United Arab Emirates amounted to 217.35 million dirhams while imports from the UAE amounted to 2.44 billion dirhams.