Portuguese Prime Minister, António Costa, underlined the excellent relations between Portugal and Morocco, describing the Kingdom as a “stable and reliable” partner.
Costa stated, Thursday in Lisbon, on the evening of the Morocco-English High-Level Meeting, that “Morocco-Portugal relations are rooted in strong historical, cultural, economic, and commercial ties,” highlighting that Morocco is part of Portugal’s immediate neighborhood.
“We have repeatedly praised Morocco’s ambitious reform efforts to modernize the economy and consolidate a modern society, which makes the Kingdom a stable and reliable partner at the bilateral, regional, and international levels,” stated the Portuguese Prime Minister.
According to Costa, “Morocco, similar to Portugal, plays an important role in promoting stability in the region and facing global challenges, such as the transition to green energies, a necessary component in the fight against climate change.”
The Portuguese official also added that to give new impetus to this partnership, Morocco and Portugal “will hold Friday in Lisbon, the 14th Morocco-Portugal High-Level Meeting, and we will celebrate next year the 30th anniversary of our Friendship, Neighbourhood, and Cooperation Treaty, and the 250th anniversary of the historical Treaty of Peace of 1774.”
Costa also noted that the two countries are linked by a “wide range of bilateral cooperation agreements in several sectors, notably culture, economy, trade, science and technology, environmental protection, infrastructure, and fisheries.”
“It is a relationship with a rich past, but above all, an auspicious future, which is based on the friendship between our two governments and our two peoples, and common projects for the future of our two countries,” noted Costa.
The Portuguese official explained that “this 14th High-Level Meeting would allow us to resume the regularity of our meetings at the highest level following years of interruption, especially following the COVID-19 pandemic.”
It would also “formalize the next phase of our bilateral relationship that the two governments have decided to promote to the status of Strategic Partnership corresponding, in formal terms, to the daily reality of our increasingly dense and diversified relations,” added Costa.
In this regard, the Portuguese Prime Minister reiterated Morocco and Portugal’s willingness to move forward in their cooperation in several fields, namely renewable energies that are fundamental for the decarbonization of the two countries’ economies, the automotive sector, in addition to the decarbonization of maritime transport, offshore renewable energies, higher academic training, the fight against maritime pollution and scientific research.