Marruecos y Egipto se reúnen para dar un nuevo impulso a sus relaciones

Sameh Choukri, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs, is on an official visit to Morocco where he met his Moroccan counterpart, Nasser Bourita. During this meeting, the two politicians held a series of talks in which the two sides affirmed that diplomatic relations need to be turned around and need a new impetus. After a press conference, the two countries told the media that they will start cooperating on important issues. 

"We have agreed to capitalise on our bilateral relations to give them a new impetus by activating various institutional mechanisms and implementing previously concluded agreements between our two countries," the Egyptian minister confirmed. 

For his part, Bourita said that the Alawite kingdom is determined to give a new impetus to its relations with Egypt in a bid to improve the situation between the two countries. He also recalled that it is of vital importance to increase mutual cooperation, following the directives of the Moroccan monarch. The latter has expressly called for a change in the ties between the two nations. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, also expressed the same opinion regarding the Moroccan head of state's guidelines.

"King Mohammed VI's instructions are clear, calling for continuous communication, consultation and coordination with Egypt on international and regional issues. Relations with Egypt are special," the Moroccan minister said. 

To foster good coordination between the two sides, both Egypt and Morocco are preparing to create and launch several political consultation mechanisms. This would allow the two sides to consolidate good economic cooperation in any field. In addition, the Moroccan-Egyptian Business Council will be launched, which will seek to boost business between the two territories. 

Nevertheless, this visit has confirmed that there is a good understanding between Egypt and Morocco. Choukri even inaugurated the new headquarters of the Egyptian embassy in Rabat. Thanks to the new agreements, Cairo has once again reaffirmed its support for the Alawi country on the question of sovereignty over Western Sahara. The Egyptian position was declared in a communiqué between the two Foreign Ministers.

Choukri confirmed in this document that Morocco's plan for this territory is based on the content of Security Council resolutions, including resolution 2602 of 2021. Thus, Egypt points out that the North African nation meets all the requirements of the UN Security Council. For Egypt, the Moroccan plan is serious and credible, and it hopes that progress can be made towards a solution that will bring peace to the region and the continent. 

Issues related to the Libyan crisis, the situation in Africa and the outlook in the Euro-Mediterranean area were also discussed. The meeting also pledged to continue the joint search for solutions on Palestinian, Libyan and anti-terrorist issues.

One of the first issues on which the two sides have already found a solution was the issue of the blockade of Moroccan exports by the Egyptian authorities. Above all, the automotive industry has been singled out as the main target of this past bad relationship. This problem was solved in January, as confirmed by the Minister of Industry, Ryad Mezzour. The Egyptian country finally removed the obstacles to the entry of Moroccan cars into its market. 

This was a very costly obstacle for Morocco. The former Minister of Trade and Industry, Moulay Hafid Elalamy already acknowledged in June 2021 before the House of Representatives that the problem was quite serious for the Kingdom. "It is a crisis that costs Morocco 6 billion dirhams a year," the former minister said. 

This is not the first time the two ministers have met and engaged in talks on how to improve the situation between Morocco and Egypt. The counterparts met during the Negev Summit at the end of March. It is also worth noting that Choukri had not visited the Maghreb nation since 2015.