Minister of State for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia
and United Nations, Lord (Tariq) Ahmad of Wimbledon, visited
Morocco from 8 to 9 May 2023. He attended the fourth UK-Morocco
bilateral Strategic Dialogue, following and complementing the
UK-Morocco Association Council held in Rabat on 16 February.
During his visit, Lord Ahmad visited and prayed at the iconic
Hassan II Mosque in Casablanca, as well as meeting British
business representatives based there. On 9 May, Lord Ahmad
co-chaired the ministerial session of the annual UK-Morocco
Strategic Dialogue with host, Morocco’s Minister for Foreign
Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr Nasser
Bourita. As reflected in their Joint Declaration, the
ministers reviewed the deepening collaboration between the UK and
Morocco and identified priorities for the next year, under the 4
pillars of cooperation: political, economic, security and
defence, and education and culture.
This collaboration includes growing bilateral cooperation in the
health and agricultural sectors, as well as on climate, energy
and sustainable finance. The Ministers signed a ‘Strategic
Cooperation Framework on Climate action, Clean energy and Green
growth’. It also includes:
*ongoing exchanges of expertise, such as the joint defence
exercises, ‘Jebel Sahara’ and ‘African Lion’, both held in 2022 *
collaboration between law enforcement agencies on border
security, hostage negotiations, and counter-terrorism efforts
The ministers also discussed regional and international issues of
common interest. These included the situation in Sudan and in
Libya, developments in Israel and the OPTs, the ongoing global
implications of the Russia-Ukraine war, and food security in
Africa.
On completing his visit, Lord Ahmad said:
This has been a fruitful visit which has built upon the strong
relationship between our 2 countries. It follows on from our
collaboration as Guest of Honour at the 15th edition of SIAM last
week in Meknes, and we were honoured to have hosted HRH Princess
Lalla Meryem at the Coronation of HM King Charles III last
week. I am confident that this relationship will continue to
thrive, going forward, as our 2 Kingdoms work in partnership on
political, economic and security matters, and connect our people
and cultures.
