Morocco ties taken step higher with BRI deal

China and Morocco on Wednesday signed an agreement to jointly deepen the construction of the Belt and Road Initiative in the North African country, paving the way for enhanced bilateral cooperation.

The deal, inked during a video conference, will enable Morocco to access Chinese financing provided through the BRI for big infrastructure projects.

The arrangement will also facilitate trade and the establishment of joint ventures in a range of fields such as energy, as well as for research and development and boosting cooperation in technology. Vocational training also will be enhanced.

Nasser Bourita, Morocco's minister for foreign affairs, African cooperation and Moroccan expatriates, signed the agreement on behalf of the government. He hailed the depth of the friendly relations between the two countries. The agreement will raise the bilateral strategic partnership to a new level, the minister said.

He said Morocco sees the initiative as opening up new opportunities for investment, all of which will be consistent with the government's new development model.

Bourita praised China for supporting Morocco with medical equipment and vaccines to fight the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Building on this steady success, we have taken a further step by establishing an industrial unit for the fill and finish manufacturing in Morocco of the anti-COVID-19 vaccine, which benefits from a pioneering partnership with the Chinese State-owned company Sinopharm," he said.

Ning Jizhe, deputy head of China's National Development and Reform Commission, said Morocco is an influential cooperation partner within the framework of the BRI.

He said the program, which embodies the spirit of peace and cooperation, openness and inclusion as well as mutual learning, brings a new impetus for deeper cooperation and marks a new era in Moroccan-Chinese relations.

Expanding trade value

Ning said the trade relationship between the two countries is expanding, with bilateral trade reaching $4.76 billion in 2020, a 2 percent increase from 2019.

"Despite the COVID-19 pandemic and an international trade crisis, the Moroccan-Chinese cooperation has improved in terms of quality and efficiency," he said.

Ning said Morocco is the only country in the region with three branches of the Confucius Institute, with the centers fostering even stronger friendships between the two countries.

To date, China has implemented more than 80 major projects in Morocco via the BRI. One of the key projects is the Mohammed VI Bridge, the longest cable-stayed bridge in Africa.