After six years, the Morocco-Portugal High-Level Meeting will be held again this Friday in Lisbon, in a context marked by a strong common will to strengthen cooperation ties and to raise bilateral relations, which are historic and marked by mutual respect, to a higher level.
In this context, the 14th Morocco-Portugal High-Level Meeting testifies to the constant determination of the two neighboring countries to continue working together to develop their partnership in all fields, especially in the economic and sectoral cooperation.
Rabat and Lisbon are also keen to boost exchanges, explore new niches of cooperation, and explore the horizons of a multifaceted and strategic partnership that reflects the strength of the ties between the two countries in order to face the regional challenges they face.
After the great success of 2017, reflected in the signing of a dozen agreements mainly in the economic, energy, cultural, health and administrative fields, this year's meeting is expected to open new horizons for Moroccan-Portuguese cooperation.
Under the theme "Morocco-Portugal: an exemplary strategic partnership", this meeting will be marked by the deepening of the partnership to consolidate bilateral relations, in consecration of the royal vision to make Portugal one of the first ten partner countries of the Kingdom.
The Moroccan delegation, headed by the Prime Minister Aziz Akhannouch, will include representatives of several strategic ministerial departments.
On the agenda of the meeting is the Moroccan-Portuguese electrical interconnection with a capacity of about 1,000 megawatts, a project of great importance not only for the two countries, but also for the European and African continents.
Designed to manage the electricity networks of both countries, this project reflects the ambition of Rabat and Lisbon to build together a "regional energy hub".
Morocco's geostrategic position as a link between two continents and as a gateway to Africa, the implementation by the Kingdom of major structuring projects to develop its infrastructure, such as the port of Tangier Med, the high-speed rail project, as well as the creation of free zones and integrated industrial platforms, are all factors of rapprochement to further stimulate trade relations between Morocco and Portugal, to give meaning to the development of delocalization, including through targeted investments that optimize the positioning of each in the value chain and strengthen complementarities.
In addition to the energy sector, bilateral cooperation also covers other promising areas that stimulate investment opportunities, such as the automotive industry, the environment, textiles and the modernization of the administration.
As a gateway to the Arab world and Africa, the Moroccan market is very popular with Portuguese companies. More than 200 of them have set up in the Kingdom, mainly in the services, food and hotel sectors, while another 1,300 companies export to Morocco, according to estimates by the Portuguese Investment and Foreign Trade Agency.
Morocco is also Portugal's first trading partner in the Arab world and second outside Europe, after the United States. In fact, Moroccan exports to Portugal have experienced a significant increase of almost 20% by 2022, while imports have grown by 30%.
The new Moroccan-Portuguese meeting brings together all the ingredients for success, thanks in particular to the excellent relations fostered by historical and cultural ties and a high level of political will.
The 14th Morocco-Portugal High Level Meeting will be sanctioned by the signing of a series of cooperation agreements in various fields.
