According to a note from the Portuguese Prime Minister’s Office, “Portugal and Morocco will celebrate in 2024 the 250th anniversary of the Peace Treaty and the 30th anniversary of the Treaty of Friendship, Good Neighborliness and Cooperation.
Regarding the agenda of this summit of the two governments, Portugal recalls that the objective is to promote “a strategic partnership between the two countries, whose historical ties are linked to solid levels of political, economic and cultural cooperation.
“Focused on the areas of knowledge, social cohesion and economic development, the meeting will cover topics such as electrical interconnection and labor mobility. Several legal agreements will also be signed to strengthen the bilateral relationship, and the holding of an economic forum on the same day,” adds the same note.
The last summit between the governments of the two countries took place in December 2017, in Rabat, when 12 bilateral cooperation agreements were signed. “These 12 agreements reflect well the intensity of our political and economic relations,” said António Costa, Prime Minister of Portugal at the time.
Among the 12 agreed issues, three were related to energy issues, with particular emphasis on a memorandum in the field of renewable energy, with a view to triangular cooperation between Luso-Moroccan companies in third markets.
Also on the economic front, the governments of Portugal and Morocco signed a cooperation agreement between the two national energy agencies, as well as commitments around areas such as tourism, geology and mining.
The then Minister of the Sea, Ana Paula Vitorino, signed an agreement with her Moroccan counterpart in the port and maritime field. The two countries have also established commitments of collaboration in areas such as health, employment, labor and social protection, administrative modernization and for joint actions in the field of culture, especially in the film and audiovisual.
Finally, the Prime Minister considered that the growing proximity and economic interdependence between Portugal and Morocco is a central strategic factor for the future of both countries, both in terms of security and Euro-African relations.
“For Portugal, Morocco is the country where Africa begins. For Morocco, Portugal is the country where Europe begins. The closest capital to Lisbon is Rabat,” he said, referring to the geographical proximity of the two countries.
The Prime Minister also mentioned the prospects of starting the construction of a 220-kilometer electrical connection cable between Tavira and Tangier in the first half of 2018 – a project then valued between 500 and 700 million euros. However, this project is not yet completed.
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