High Joint Partnership Commission: Morocco, Belgium Welcome Signing of two MoU, Cooperation Roadmap

Morocco and Belgium welcomed, here Monday, the signing of two memoranda of understanding and a cooperation roadmap, on the occasion of the 3rd meeting of the Morocco-Belgium High Joint Partnership Commission, co-chaired by Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, and Belgian Prime Minister, Alexander De Croo. The two Heads of Government hailed the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding between the Justice ministries of the two countries and the prospect of the imminent adoption, at the administrative level, of an action plan for 2024-2026, according to the Joint Declaration adopted at this meeting.* They also voiced their will to promote innovative judicial cooperation, aligned with the highest international standards, for the effective management of cross-border judicial matters. The two Heads of Government also welcomed the progress in their judicial cooperation, through the permanent exchange of expertise, official visits and joint commissions, welcoming the conclusions of the last Joint Commission in civil and criminal matters, held in December 2023, in particular the concrete implementation of the Convention between the Kingdom of Belgium and the Kingdom of Morocco on assistance to detainees and the transfer of convicted persons, and its Additional Protocol. The two parties also welcomed the prospect of the conclusion of a memorandum of understanding between the Belgian Federal Prosecutor’s Office and the Moroccan Public Prosecutor’s Office, underlining the common interest of the two countries in continuing and strengthening close bilateral cooperation to fight threats to national and international security. The two Heads of Government also welcomed police cooperation and affirmed their will to further reinforce it, including through the establishment of a regular cooperation body. They welcomed the implementation of the Cooperation Convention in the fight against organized crime and terrorism, which entered into force in 2022, and the 2022-2024 action plan in the field of police cooperation.* Both parties also welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on green energies, while reaffirming their will to further strengthen cooperation in the field of energy transition. They thus expressed their will to strengthen trade and investments, and to cooperate on climate and energy transition through the development of renewable energies and green molecules, as well as on water management, infrastructure and transportation. The two parties also welcomed the adoption of the roadmap for the implementation of the 2022 Joint Declaration. In this context, the two Heads of Government welcomed the regular political dialogue, as evidenced by the visit to Morocco of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade, and Federal Cultural Institutions, Hadja Lahbib, on October 20, 2022, following which this Joint Declaration was adopted between the two countries.