Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco

06/08/2022 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 06/08/2022 16:26

Joint Statement: MFA Nasser Bourita Holds Talks with His Cape Verdean Counterpart

Wednesday 08 June 2022
As part of the continued strengthening of strategic Moroccan-Gabonese relations, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita, held talks on June 8, 2022, with his counterpart, Mr. Rui Alberto De Figueiredo Soares, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and Regional Integration of the Republic of Cabo Verde.

The two FMs, who held fruitful talks, welcomed the excellent ties of friendship and solidarity between the two countries. In that regard, they praised the feelings of esteem and respect that characterize the relations between the two Heads of State, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and His Excellency Mr. José Maria Pereira Neves, President of the Republic of Cape Verde.

The two heads of diplomacy commended the successful conduct of local, legislative and presidential elections organized in the last two years in Cape Verde in a free, peaceful, and transparent atmosphere.

Both Ministers stressed that Morocco and Cape Verde share a common will to contribute to the preservation of peace and stability in the African continent.

The Cape Verdean top diplomat reaffirmed his country's support for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco, while welcoming the efforts of the United Nations as the exclusive framework for achieving a realistic, practical and lasting solution to the dispute over the Sahara.

Mr. Rui Alberto De Figueiredo Soares his country's support for the territorial integrity of Morocco and for the Autonomy Plan presented by the Kingdom, which constitutes the only credible and realistic solution for the settlement of the dispute over the Sahara issue.

Mr. De Figueiredo Soares also expressed his country's support for the search for a lasting solution that would preserve the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco, under the exclusive auspices of the United Nations and in accordance with Decision 693 of the Summit of Heads of State and Government of the African Union of July 2018.

The Cape Verdean Minister announced the imminent establishment of a resident Embassy of the Republic of Cape Verde in Rabat, and the upcoming opening of a Consulate General in the city of Dakhla.

Mr. Bourita, who welcomed this decision, thanked the Cape Verdean side for its support for the Moroccanness of the Sahara and recalled the commendable participation of the Republic of Cape Verde, at the level of its Ambassador in Dakar, at the African Ministerial Conference on the support of the African Union to the United Nations' Political Process on the Sahara regional dispute, held in Marrakech, on March 25, 2019.

Mr. Bourita noted that Morocco is willing to contribute to socio-economic development efforts in the Republic of Cape Verde, especially in priority sectors such as agriculture, fisheries, tourism, housing and construction, vocational training and energy.

Morocco's top diplomat expressed the readiness of the Kingdom to contribute to the reinforcement of the integration of Cape Verde in ECOWAS, taking into account its specificities as an island country.

For his part, Mr. Rui Alberto De Figueiredo Soares handed his Moroccan counterpart letters of ratification of agreements signed between the Government of Cape Verde and the Government of Morocco that were previously ratified by the Kingdom.

These are the agreements:

  • an agreement on sea fisheries,
  • a cooperation agreement on merchant marine
  • a cooperation agreement on tourism.

The two Ministers called for an ambitious Public-Private Partnership (PPP) between the two countries to serve as a model of South-South cooperation in the continent.

They invited the private sectors of both countries to explore opportunities for economic exchange and investment and called on the relevant departments of both countries to establish committees to ensure the follow-up and implementation of these projects.

Both sides reaffirmed the commitment of their Heads of State and Government to work together in the pursuit of lasting peace and economic development on the continent in the context and implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Area.

At the multilateral level, both FMs committed to better coordination of their actions and mutual support in regional and international forums, and thus create conditions conducive to peace, regional and international security, and economic development of the African continent.

On this basis, the two sides agreed to support, in a concerted and mutual way, Morocco's and Cape Verde's candidacies in regional and international forums.

They also agreed to instruct their Permanent Representatives in New York, Geneva and the African Union to coordinate their actions and decisions on issues of common interest.

The two Ministers agreed to hold in Praia, as soon as possible, the second session of the Joint Morocco-Cape Verde Commission, on a date to be decided by mutual agreement through diplomatic channels.