Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates Nasser Bourita held talks, in Rabat on Thursday, with the Secretary General of the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (GCC), Jassim Mohammed Al Budaiwi, who is on an official visit to the Kingdom.
Discussions focused on the strategic partnership between Morocco and the GCC since 2011, as well as its particularities and its political, economic and cultural aspects. The foundations of this partnership were established in accordance with the guidelines of King Mohammed VI, and the leaders of the GCC States, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates said in press release.
The Morocco-Gulf Countries Summit held in Riyadh on April 20, 2016, with the participation of HM King Mohammed VI and his brothers the Heads of State of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, was a milestone in the strategic partnership process between the two parties, providing a strong boost to the bilateral momentum in terms of solidarity and complementarity, and opened up broad prospects for fruitful cooperation, the same source added.
The joint declaration issued at the Summit reflected the convergence of the two parties' positions and visions on various regional and international issues of common interest, as well as their determination to enshrine the foundations of stability and sustainable development in the Arab region, so as to strengthen the preservation of States' sovereignty, their territorial integrity and their national constants, the same source noted.
It is in this spirit that the two parties will work to develop, further elevate and enrich this strategic partnership, while involving Moroccan and Gulf private sectors as a key mechanism at the service of overall growth through expanded cooperation in various promising fields in Morocco and the GCC States.
During the meeting, Bourita highlighted that the King had welcomed the constant support shown to the Kingdom by the brotherly Gulf States with regard to its national causes, mainly the territorial integrity issue, and in particular the principled support given by the GCC Supreme Council to Moroccan Sahara, and to the preservation of Morocco's security, stability and territorial integrity.
On this occasion, he stressed that the Kingdom, under the leadership of King Mohammed VI, reiterates its full solidarity with the member countries of the Council in preserving their sovereignty and territorial integrity, and in taking all appropriate measures to defend their security and stability.
The two parties also discussed a series of regional and international issues, while reaffirming their firm and steadfast support for the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to establish their independent State, with East Al-Quds as its capital, on the June 1967 borders.
