Morocco World News
Friday March 29, 2019
By Mohammed Amine Benabou
Morocco and Somalia have signed MoUs to set up a Moroccan-Somali High Joint Committee to boost political and diplomatic cooperation.
Foreign Ministers Nasser Bourita and Ahmed Isse Awad
Rabat –
The Somali minister of foreign affairs, Ahmed Isse Awad, has stressed
his country’s support for Morocco’s national territorial integrity and
appreciated Morocco’s support for Somalia.
“In
Somalia, we stand alongside the Kingdom of Morocco on the issue of its
territorial integrity,” Awad declared earlier this week. He also said
Morocco’s support is “very important for the strengthening of Somali
institutions.”
Morocco
and Somalia held a signing ceremony on Tuesday, March 26, where they
inked three MoUs to strengthen cooperation in politics and diplomacy.
The
signing ceremony comes at a time when Somali is in the grip of a
decades-long civil war. Many of the Somali population who were
vulnerable to war, drought, and food insecurity, have found refuge in
other countries.
Morocco
has granted refuge to seven Somali refugees, the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) told Morocco World News.
According
to a 2017 report by the UNHCR, as many as 900,000 Somalis were displaced
in the surrounding regions since 1992. In a 2018 report,
UNHCR noted that Somalia is the fifth highest country of origin of
refugees in the world, with an estimated 1 million refugees worldwide.
Some
Somalis escaped the violence and came to Morocco as a destination rather
than a transit country. In reference to Morocco’s welcoming migration
and asylum policy, UNHCR Commissioner Filippo Grandi described Morocco
as a model for other countries to follow.
The Moroccan and Somali foreign ministers, Nasser Bourita and Ahmed Isse Awad, signed the three MoUs on Tuesday.
The first
memo created the Morocco-Somalia High Joint Committee to be presided
over by the foreign ministers of Morocco and Somalia. The aim is to
ensure consultation and political cooperation on bilateral issues
relating to regional and international common interests.
The High
Joint Committee will implement cooperation at the levels of economy,
finance, commerce, culture, science, judiciary system, consulate, and
society. It will also monitor the process of putting into practice the
agreements, treaties, and MoUs.
The second
MoU intends to create a consultation facility between senior officials
of the two ministries to hold regular meetings on bilateral relations
and regional and international issues.
The third memorandum concerns the consolidation of cooperation on diplomatic training for diplomats of both countries.
Through
the partnership, Morocco and Somalia will train young diplomats within a
framework of preparatory training courses and facilitate the exchange
of experiences and information.
In 2016,
Morocco’s Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs Ahmed Taoufik
signed a cooperation agreement with his Somali counterpart to improve
bilateral exchange in the religious field between Morocco and Somalia.
In March
2018, Morocco’s Minister of the Interior Abdelouafi Laftit held a
working session with his Somali counterpart, Mohamed Abou Bakr Eslo,
after the 35th session of the Council of Arab Interior Ministers.
The two
countries discussed ways to enhance cooperation in internal security,
especially in fighting terrorism and radicalization.