Morocco, Indonesia poised to establish strategic partnership

Morocco and Indonesia signed, Friday, a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to establish a strategic partnership between the two countries.

The MoU was signed following talks in Rabat between Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, and his Indonesian peer, Retno Marsudi. The MoU aims to diversify and expand cooperation areas, notably in matters of security and economic partnership, as well as in the cultural, scientific, technical, social, consular, and migratory realms.

The MoU also covers parliamentary and regional cooperation, cooperation within international organizations, and tripartite cooperation.

This strategic partnership shall not be a simple slogan but a reality on the ground, said Bourita at a joint press briefing with his Indonesian peer, adding that establishing a strategic partnership is “an ambition that we shall achieve, by giving substance to what has been signed.”

For her part, Marsudi who welcomed the privileged ties between the two countries, called for pooling efforts to promote this new strategic partnership and give it a substance that serves the interests of both peoples.

This strategic partnership, she pointed out, is likely to strengthen bilateral ties for greater cooperation between Morocco and Indonesia.

She affirmed that Indonesia is a “reliable partner of Morocco” and that the two countries “defend the principle of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States.”

She also welcomed the decision of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to grant to Morocco the status of “Sectoral Dialogue Partner”. This status opens prospects for stronger cooperation between this regional bloc and the Kingdom, she said.

Marsudi also called for promoting collaboration between health institutions and companies in the two countries for the exchange of expertise in vaccine manufacturing.

In the same vein, she highlighted the positive momentum of bilateral trade, citing the ongoing B2B cooperation with the OCP group in the supply of potassium and phosphorus, hoping to see this collaboration cover the areas of investments and joint production of fertilizers.

Tackling the situation in the Gaza Strip, the minister emphasized the need to declare a ceasefire that paves the way for the delivery of humanitarian aid to the populations of Gaza, while calling for the revival of the two-state solution to guarantee Palestinian rights.