House of Advisors: Ratification of Seven Bilateral and Multilateral International Cooperation Agreements

The House of Advisors approved, during a legislative session on Tuesday, seven draft laws ratifying seven bilateral and multilateral international cooperation agreements. Presenting the seven agreements, which were adopted unanimously, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, said that the agreements are in line with the Royal High Directives calling for the diversification of partnerships and the broadening and consolidation of existing relations between Morocco and several brotherly and friendly countries, thereby strengthening the Kingdom’s position at international and regional level. In a speech read on his behalf by Minister for Relations with Parliament and Government Spokesman, Mustapha Baitas, the Minister pointed out they are two bilateral agreements and four regional conventions, two of which were adopted at African level and one at Arab level, as well as one multilateral agreement. In this respect, the Minister noted that the two bilateral agreements provide for the strengthening of cooperation with two countries whose relations with the Kingdom are experiencing a dynamic and qualitative development, Saudi Arabia and Djibouti, and concern the field of transport (air and maritime navigation respectively), underlining that these agreements represent “a new addition to the legal arsenal framing the distinguished ties of cooperation drawing on the sincere fraternity, mutual appreciation and close solidarity uniting the Kingdom with these two brotherly countries”. The air transport agreement between the Kingdoms of Morocco and Saudi Arabia, signed on September 28, 2022 in Montreal, aims to strengthen and improve the air transport network between the two countries on the basis of fair competition, through diversifying services and applying competitive prices to meet the needs of all travelers and carriers, he said. The cooperation agreement in the field of commercial shipping, signed on November 14, 2022 between the Kingdom and the Republic of Djibouti, aims to organize and develop maritime transport between the two countries, accelerate and facilitate trade by sea and via ports, and strengthen cooperation in the fields of maritime training, port management, maritime safety and security, and the fight against marine pollution. With regard to the four regional conventions, the Minister noted that two of them concern the African continent, one adopted within the framework of the Arab League, and another at the level of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC). The first of these is the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the Organization of African Union/African Union, signed in Accra, Ghana, on October 25, 1965, said the Minister, noting that it is part of “the completion of Morocco’s accession to the agreements signed within the framework of the OAU/AU, following its return to the African institutional family”, adding that it aims to define the procedures and standards specific to the work of the various bodies and centers under the AU. Regarding the regional convention on the statute of the African Minerals Development Centre, adopted on January 31, 2016 in Addis Ababa, Bourita noted that this statute represents the legal framework for the creation of the African Minerals Development Centre as a specialized agency of the AU, responsible for the development of mineral resources on the African continent, noting that Morocco’s accession to this convention is part of the Kingdom’s efforts to support sustainable development, access to energy, resource development and capacity building. There is also a third revised convention on the recognition of studies, certificates and diplomas in higher education in the Arab countries, adopted on February 2, 2022, which lays down “the general conditions for the recognition of qualifications and diplomas in higher education, and urges the States Parties to harmonize their national legislation with its provisions and to take the necessary measures for coordination at the national, bilateral and multilateral levels”, the Minister said, adding that the fourth convention relates to the status of the OIC Action Center, adopted in Tashkent in October 2016, which aims to create a center for the development of practical projects and field strategies, support the principles and initiatives of member states and ensure their accompaniment in the field of the application of legal mechanisms relating to the field of labor, employment and social protection. As for Bill 59.22, it approves the agreement between the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the International Centre for Migration Policy Development, establishing a representative office of the Centre in the Kingdom of Morocco.