Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita held a bilateral meeting with U.S Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday in Washington and discussed about the strong U.S.-Morocco strategic partnership and ways of achieving shared security objectives in the region.
The meeting took place in the context of the celebrating the 20th anniversary of two milestones of their relationship:the Free Trade Agreement, the only one that the U.S.haveconcluded with an African country and the African Lion military exercise, the largest American military exercise on the continent.
In a statement to the press, MFA Nasser Bourita highlighted the close partnership relations that bind the two countries, and stressed that his talks with his U.S. counterpart provided an opportunity to coordinate actions between the two countries within the framework of their strategic partnership.
“We are partners for peace. And this partnership is vital today as we are witnessing escalations in the Middle East, problems in the Sahel, in Libya, in Europe,” MFA Nasser Bourita underlined.
The Secretary expressed appreciation for King Mohamed VI’s crucial voice in advancing a more peaceful and secure Middle East region.
The Secretary highlighted Morocco’s leadership in responding to humanitarian needs in Gaza, supporting stabilization in the West Bank, and contributing to the revitalization of the Palestinian Authority. The Secretary welcomed Morocco’s ongoing efforts to end the political stalemate in Libya and address instability in the Sahel.
The Secretary affirmed full U.S. support for UN Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General Staffan de Mistura and his efforts to advance negotiations leading to an enduring and dignified political solution for Western Sahara without further delay.
He reiterated that the United States continues to view Morocco’s Autonomy Proposal as serious, credible, realistic, and one potential approach to satisfy the aspirations of the people of Western Sahara.
