Marruecos y Colombia afianzan sus relaciones bilaterales
The Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, and the Colombian Foreign Minister, Claudia Blum, held a virtual meeting on Tuesday, which served for the initialling of several bilateral agreements between Morocco and Colombia. The summit responds to the "common will" of the respective heads of state, King Mohamed VI and Ivan Duque, President of the Republic of Colombia.
The Director of the Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (APC), Ángela Ospina, and the Ambassador and Director of the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), Mohamed Methqal, were present at the videoconference. Throughout the meeting, Bourita and her Latin American counterpart exchanged views on bilateral and multilateral issues.
The two delegations discussed strategic issues of common interest, regional issues and the impact of COVID-19 in their respective areas. "Our cooperative ties offer great opportunities for both countries, and we will continue to work with our cooperation agency to ensure that we can advance both current projects and our Cooperation Programme," said Blum.
Both states enjoy smooth diplomatic relations and share the same vision for peace, security and the peaceful resolution of conflicts. Morocco was one of the first countries in the international community to show its support for the peace process with the FARC, while Colombia renewed its support for efforts to find a just, lasting and consensual solution for Western Sahara following Morocco's intervention over El Guerguerat.
The Colombian foreign policy chief stressed the importance of the Moroccan initiative, with a view to reaching a "realistic and lasting political solution based on the commitment of all parties to put an end to this issue, which is vital for Morocco, within the framework of its sovereignty and territorial integrity". In this respect, Blum remarked that Colombia is in line with the relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council.
Likewise, the heads of foreign policy in their respective countries converged in their views on Venezuela. Nasser Burita declared that the Kingdom of Morocco maintains the legitimacy of Juan Guaidó, as well as the recognition of its envoy to Rabat, Juan Ignacio Guédez, as a "representative of Venezuela", without going so far as to call him an ambassador. However, the Venezuelan embassy in Rabat is still occupied by Maduro's delegate, albeit without diplomatic activity.
The Moroccan minister praised the humanitarian policy deployed by the Colombian authorities in response to the devastating migratory situation caused by the pandemic. Bourita remarked that Morocco has a common vision on the migration issue with Colombia. According to Bourita, it must maintain the fullness of legitimate rights and guarantee the dignity of migrants. In this regard, the Moroccan minister stressed the importance of Colombia's recent adoption of the Statute of Protection for Venezuelan Migrants.
In the same vein, both sides stressed the need to combine intercontinental efforts to create a common front capable of providing a humanitarian response to the pandemic. They also stressed the importance of joint cooperation on challenges shared by both states, such as organised crime, drug trafficking, corruption and climate change, among others.
At the end of the conference, both delegations initialled several strategic agreements. The first agreement allows visa exemption for passport holders, which means that Colombian citizens will not need a visa to travel to Morocco, despite the fact that, for the moment, the two countries do not have direct air links. "Today we are signing, we are promoting tourism and people-to-people contacts. I hope to see more trade missions between Moroccan and Colombian companies in the future," said Foreign Minister Blum.
The second of the pacts involves the development of joint air services, with the aim of boosting tourism in the wake of the devastating crisis that COVID-19 has imposed on the sector. The Colombian-Moroccan summit also resulted in the signing of a memorandum of understanding on cooperation to address and combat the global drug problem. It should be noted that this area is one of the most relevant open fronts for the government of Iván Duque.
Finally, the directors general of the respective cooperation agencies signed another memorandum of understanding between the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI) and the Colombian Presidential Agency for International Cooperation (APC), which is aimed at human development, the eradication of poverty and the full exercise of citizens' rights.