Benin supports Morocco’s territorial integrity, contemplates opening of Consulate in Laayoune
Benin’s Foreign Minister Olushegun Adjadi Bakari has expressed support to Morocco’s territorial integrity, stating that his country considers the Autonomy Plan as the only credible and realistic solution to the regional dispute over Sahara.
This came in a phone talk Olushegun Adjadi Bakari had this Tuesday with his Moroccan peer Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan Foreign Ministry said in a press release.
The Beninese official assured Bourita that as part of the review of the diplomatic and consular map, he would advocate the establishment by Benin of a consular presence in the town of Laayoune in the Moroccan Sahara.
He also announced that he would be visiting Dakhla to take stock of the region’s economic and social development, and to forge local partnerships.
The two sides, who also stressed the importance of bilateral relations driven by the willingness of King Mohammed VI and President Patrice Talon, reiterated the importance of active solidarity and mutually beneficial partnership as the basis of these bilateral relations.
The two officials also agreed to hold the 7th Moroccan-Beninese Joint Cooperation Commission in Cotonou in early 2024.
In this context, they commended the successful preparation of this Joint Commission, marked by the finalization of agreements and MoUs in several areas of cooperation, reflecting both countries’ willingness to breathe new life into the excellent relations binding them.
Nasser Bourita, who stressed the importance of the human dimension in bilateral relations, informed his Beninese counterpart of Morocco’s decision to increase the number of training scholarships for Beninese students. He also informed him that, in the context of facilitating the free movement of people between the two countries, Morocco would give due consideration to visa exemption for Beninese nationals holding ordinary passports.
In the meantime, Beninese citizens will benefit, as from January 1, 2024, from the e-Visa facility, developed since 2023 with the Kingdom’s brotherly and friendly states.
