Moroccans in London Defend Morocco-UK Association Agreement

Moroccans living overseas mobilized on Wednesday in front of the Royal Courts of Justice in London to defend the association agreement between Morocco and the United Kingdom, which fully benefits the southern provinces. Faced with the maneuvers hatched by the enemies of the territorial integrity of the Kingdom, who try to hide their repeated failures, trying to convince the British justice to review the post-Brexit trade agreement, concluded and supported by the two kingdoms, Moroccans in Britain gathered in front of the court building, flags in hand, to make their voice heard and assure the British justice that the agreement does benefit the people and development of all regions of the Kingdom, from north to south, without exception. “We have gathered here to affirm to the British that we support the association agreement, which benefits both kingdoms and in particular the southern Moroccan provinces,” said Youssef El Caidi, a Moroccan national based in London. Asserting that this agreement “can only have a beneficial effect on the economy of both countries,” he stressed that as Moroccans, “we want to affirm that we strongly support the agreements concluded by the Kingdom and which apply de facto from Tangier to Lagouira, and call on the British authorities to further develop relations with Morocco. For her part, Hanna El Hafidi, a pharmacist based in the United Kingdom and originally from Dakhla, said she supports the association agreement, which links Morocco to the United Kingdom and which benefits both peoples. “Having just returned from Dakhla, my hometown, only two weeks ago, I have had the pleasure of seeing with my own eyes the development of the southern provinces and I can only support the trade agreements concluded by Morocco and which benefit my region,” said El Hafidi. Other Moroccan nationals, established in Great Britain, including associative actors and skills from different sectors of activity, urged the British government to capitalize on the achievements of the association agreement between Morocco and Britain to invest in other areas of cooperation, especially in the southern provinces of the Kingdom, which abound in economic potential. Holding banners recalling the threat posed by separatists to the stability of all of North Africa, Moroccans present at the event called on the British judiciary to reject the review of this agreement, warning against the vain maneuvers of so-called NGOs, whose string pullers are all too well known. The Association Agreement between Morocco and the United Kingdom, signed in London on October 26, 2019, entered into force on January 1, 2021. The Agreement restores, in the context of bilateral relations, all the effects that the two countries granted each other, mutually, under the Association Agreement Morocco-EU. It ensures the continuity of trade between Morocco and the United Kingdom after December 31, 2020. Enabling the two kingdoms to establish a structured partnership on a long-term basis, with operational and institutionalized cooperation instruments, and driven by a common ambition, the Agreement constitutes a guarantee for Moroccan and British companies undertaking economic and commercial relations in all sectors of cooperation.