FM Holds Talks in Budapest with his Peers from Czechia, Slovakia and Poland

The Moroccan minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, on Monday held talks with his counterparts from the Czech Republic, Jakub Kulhánek, Slovakia, Ivan Korčok, and Poland, Zbigniew Rau. These talks were an opportunity for the three ministers to underline the special interest they place in Morocco and their admiration for the reforms undertaken in recent years under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI. They also paid tribute to Morocco’s exemplary management of the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and particularly the success of its vaccination campaign. The Foreign Ministers of the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland were also unanimous in underlining Morocco’s role as a country providing peace and stability and a regional model in terms of development and security. They reiterated their determination to support Morocco’s role as a credible partner of Europe and a source of stability at the regional and international levels. The ministers also stressed that Morocco constitutes a real development platform and a growth driver for the whole region. They expressed their interest in strengthening the economic partnership with the Kingdom in a way that strengthens the positioning of their countries in Africa, a continent that abounds in important opportunities, in order to tackle the root causes of illegal immigration in particular. The ministers were also unanimous in supporting Morocco as a strategic partner of the European Union, insisting on the need for the EU to do more to support the role of the Kingdom in terms of strengthening stability and security in the Euro-African region and to further support its development. Reaffirming the will of their countries to strengthen bilateral cooperation with Morocco, the ministers also attached particular importance to the development of cooperation in research and development and in the fields of academia and student exchange. Earlier in the day, Mr. Bourita had a meeting with his Hungarian counterpart, Péter Szijjártó. The two ministers welcomed the excellent relations between Morocco and Hungary, while affirming their common will to further consolidate them through the exploration of new areas of cooperation and the strengthening of consultations on issues of common interest. They also stressed the importance of raising the level of economic and trade cooperation to match the excellence of bilateral political relations. Talks between Mr. Bourita and the Foreign Ministers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia, the four member countries of the Visegrád Group “V4”, took place before the first ministerial meeting “V4 + Morocco” to be held in Budapest on Tuesday.