COVID-19: EU Ambassador to Rabat hails Morocco’s vaccination campaign

European Union ambassador to Rabat Mrs. Claudia Vidaye has commended Morocco’s immunization campaign against covid-19, which has been launched on Jan.28 and which is doing better than some European countries.

At a press conference held on Wednesday in Rabat on achievements by EU-Morocco partnership last year and cooperation prospects for 2021, the diplomat voiced EU willingness to fund the manufacturing of a COVID-19 vaccine in Morocco for Africa.

The whole world has been affected deeply in 2020 by the coronavirus pandemic, she said, noting that the EU has helped many countries around the globe to alleviate the social and economic negative impact of the pandemic.

She recalled in this regard, the €450 million financial assistance provided by the Union to support Morocco’s health sector and enable the country address the social and economic impact of the pandemic.

The health crisis, generated by covid-19, has shown the resilience of EU-Morocco partnership which is based on solidarity, mutual respect, trust and shared responsibility, affirmed the EU diplomat, stressing that the two partners look forward to strengthening further their cooperation in 2021, within the frame of the EU new agenda set for its southern Mediterranean partners.

In 2020, Morocco’s exports to the EU reached €15 billion against €20 billion EU exports to the North African Kingdom. Morocco-EU trade represents nearly 60 pc of the Kingdom’s foreign exchange. Rabat is also EU 1st partner in the Southern Mediterranean.

Last year, farm trade between Morocco and the Union reached nearly €4.6 billion and despite covid-19 Morocco’s farming exports to EU maintained their growth.