The Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Nasser Bourita, and his Beninese counterpart, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari, underlined, during a phone conversation on Tuesday, the importance of bilateral relations driven by the willingness of King Mohammed VI and President Patrice Talon.
The two ministers reiterated the importance of active solidarity and mutually beneficial partnership as the basis of bilateral relations. In this context, the Beninese Minister of Foreign Affairs reiterated the Republic of Benin’s backing for the territorial integrity of the Kingdom of Morocco, and reaffirmed his country’s support for the Autonomy Initiative presented by Morocco, as the only credible and realistic solution to resolving the regional dispute over the Sahara.
In this respect, Olushegun Adjadi Bakari assured Bourita that as part of the review of the diplomatic and consular map, he would advocate the establishment by Benin of a consular presence in the town of Laayoune in the Moroccan Sahara.
He also announced that he would be visiting Dakhla in order to take stock of the region’s economic and social development, and to forge local partnerships.
The two ministers also agreed to hold the 7th Moroccan-Beninese Joint Cooperation Commission in Cotonou in early 2024.
In this context, they commended the successful preparation of this Joint Commission, marked in particular by the finalization of agreements and memorandums in several areas of cooperation, reflecting both countries’ willingness to breathe new life into the excellent relations they already enjoy, according to a press release by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.
For his part, Nasser Bourita, stressing the importance of the human dimension, informed his Beninese counterpart of the decision to increase the number of training scholarships for Beninese officials in Morocco. He also informed him that, in the context of facilitating the free movement of people between the two countries, Morocco would give due consideration to visa exemption for Beninese nationals holding ordinary passports.
In the meantime, Beninese citizens will benefit, as from January 1, 2024, from the e-Visa facility, developed since 2023 with the Kingdom’s brotherly and friendly states.