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Morocco and European Union have reached a new historic agricultural agreement opening the EU market to Moroccan Saharan products with the same preferential tariffs as those applied to all Moroccan products.
The deal is expected to boost agriculture and employment. It also confirms Morocco status as a key strategic partner of the European bloc.
The two partners have concluded negotiations on the new farming agreement that includes the Saharan provinces of the Kingdom. The announcement was made Thursday by foreign minister Nasser Bourita.
The amended deal will be signed in Brussels. And pending the finalization of EU internal procedures, it will be temporarily implemented as soon as it is signed.
The products originating from Moroccan Sahara will benefit from the same preferential tariffs as those applied to all Moroccan products under the EU-Morocco Association Agreement.
The new agreement “brings the necessary clarifications, in accordance with the national fundamentals of the Kingdom”, said Mr. Bourita. The text introduces technical adjustments relating to consumer information on the origin of the products.
The Moroccan Saharan agricultural products will bear a label mentioning the regions of their production “Laayoune-Sakiat el Hamra” or “Dakhla-Oued Eddahab”.
The text recalls the position voiced by the EU in 2019 on the issue of Moroccan Sahara, saying the Union takes note of the serious and credible efforts led by Morocco, said Mr. Bourita.
He cited in this regard supportive stand expressed by several EU member states for the Moroccan Autonomy offered for the Sahara under its sovereignty.
Thanks to the royal vision and leadership, the Moroccan Sahara has become a regional hub of development, prosperity and stability, said the minister, underlining the interest of major world and regional powers in economic activities thriving in the Moroccan Sahara, and their willingness to encourage trade and investment in the region, to make the Sahara a gateway for Europe, Africa, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic.
“His Majesty the King has always wanted the Morocco-EU Partnership to be deployed through joint and concrete actions”, Mr. Bourita said, noting that trade and agriculture are important for both Morocco and EU as their partnership extends to a wide range of areas: political, economic, social, environmental, as well as the migration and mobility, security, digital and cultural sectors.
Last year, the European Court of Justice issued unfair ruling scrapping fisheries & agricultural deals with Morocco because they included goods from the southern provinces: the Sahara.
Morocco’s key European partners and top EU officials were quick to voice their anger and refusal of the court’s biased decision going contrary to the EU geostrategic interests.
Rabat has always affirmed that it will never accept a commercial deal that does not respect its territorial integrity and national unity.
In his Green March speech of 2024, King Mohammed VI said Morocco’s partnerships and legal obligations will never be at the expense of its territorial integrity or its national sovereignty.
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