Morocco, Israel ink three transportation deals
Three transport cooperation agreements were signed on Monday in Rabat between Morocco and Israel to facilitate exchanges between the two countries.
The agreements cover maritime transport to encourage direct shipping between the two countries, reciprocal recognition of driving licenses and facilitate exchanges related to road safety and transportation innovation.
The agreements were initialed by the Minister of Transport and Logistics Mohamed Abdeljalil and the Israeli Minister of Transport and Road Safety Miri Regev, who is on a working visit to the Kingdom at the head of a large delegation.
The deals include two intergovernmental agreements concerning cooperation in the field of maritime transport and reciprocal recognition of driving licenses, as well as a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) concerning the development of technical cooperation in road safety and sustainable mobility.
“Today, we signed three agreements concerning the recognition of driving licenses, cooperation in maritime transport and in the road safety field,” Regev told the press at the end of the meeting, noting that it had been decided to set up a joint team dealing with issues relating to innovative technologies in transport, including intelligent traffic, drones and electric or autonomous cars.
For his part, Abdeljalil said that the Israeli delegation’s visit to Morocco is an opportunity to promote cooperative relations between the two countries, and that both parties would work to activate the agreements signed previously and those signed this Monday.
He stressed that Moroccan-Israeli cooperation relations should be further strengthened during his next visit to Israel, scheduled for September.
On the sidelines of the signing of these agreements, the two ministers expressed their satisfaction at the level of development of relations in a short time, and their desire to strengthen and further develop a framework for bilateral cooperation in the various areas of common interest.
Discussions also focused on promoting cooperation in rail transport and high-speed lines, airport infrastructure development, logistics platforms and intelligent mobility (traffic management, autonomous vehicles, intelligent traffic lights, transport technologies).
The two sides also discussed developing air frequencies between the two countries with a view to encouraging tourism between Morocco and Israel, digitalization in transport, and encouraging the private sector and start-ups to invest in the transport sector.
The Israeli minister’s working visit is part of the intense exchange between the two ministries since the two sides met in May 2022 in Germany.
Regev’s program includes a themed trip aboard Al Boraq to Tangier, a visit to the Tanger Med port, and meetings with senior Moroccan officials.
The Israeli minister tweeted Sunday that she planned to visit and light a candle at the grave of her grandfather, who “was lucky to live a long life in Morocco,” the Times of Israel reported.
