Morocco, El Salvador Open New Page in their Relations

Morocco and El Salvador have convened to open a new page in their relations, based on mutual respect, strong partnership and active solidarity.

To this end, they adopted Saturday a four-year cooperation roadmap (2019-2022), that covers several areas, including regular political consultations, diplomacy, training and higher education, youth, technical cooperation in key sectors (vocational training, water, health, agriculture, energy, tourism), human development, security cooperation as well as support for development projects and exchanges of visits.

A joint statement, signed Saturday in San Salvador, in the presence of President of El Salvador, Nayib Bukele, by the Salvadoran Foreign Minister, Alexandra Hill Tinoco, and his Moroccan peer, Nasser Bourita, states that under the roadmap, Morocco and El Salvador have agreed to hold political consultations and regular high-level meetings on issues of common interest at the level of the Foreign ministers and senior officials of the two countries.

They also vowed to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the area of renewable energies and energy efficiency as well as in the management of illegal immigration.

This cooperation will also enable El Salvador benefit from the Moroccan experience in the fight against poverty and social exclusion, the fight against transnational organized crime and drug trafficking, and borders control, the joint statement added.

At a joint press briefing with President Nayib Bukele, Bourita underlined the resolve of King Mohammed VI to open a new page of South-South cooperation with El Salvador.

“The message that HM the King has instructed me to convey to the Salvadoran President is that he can rely on Morocco as a reliable partner that will strengthen solidarity and pragmatic South-South cooperation with El Salvador,” Bourita said.
Touching on El Salvador’s decision to cut all ties with the Polisario and to no longer recognize its Sahara Republic, Bourita said the Government of El Salvador is correcting an anomaly and a decision that is against international law. This withdrawal paves the way to the strengthening of partnership between the two countries in all fields, Bourita added.

El Salvador announced Saturday its decision to withdraw its recognition of the so-called “SADR”, voiced its support for Morocco’s territorial integrity and national sovereignty, and pointed out that the Morocco-proposed autonomy initiative is the only possible solution to the dispute over the Sahara.