This meeting was an opportunity to focus on the progress made in economic and financial cooperation between Morocco and Spain and discuss ways to establish a forward-looking bilateral cooperation in this area, Fettah told the press.

"We discussed the various actions and efforts to be carried out together to raise the level of this partnership and expand it to new horizons," she said, highlighting the determination to further strengthen collaboration between the two countries especially in the areas of economy and finance.

She added: "We will have before July a new appointment to maintain this level of cooperation that reflects the strong relationship between the two countries."

For her part, Calviño Santamaría said that during this "very constructive" meeting, in-depth exchanges on issues of common interest were conducted.

"We have covered and deepened the exchanges on all issues of common interest. We made an appointment for a visit to Spain in June or July to continue to deepen the magnificent economic, financial and trade relations between our two countries," she said.

The 12th session of the Morocco-Spain High Level Meeting, which is held eight years after the last session of this institutional mechanism, is part of the strategic partnership and the new dynamic that relations between the two kingdoms are experiencing following the visit of Sanchez to Morocco last April at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI.

FDI revenues recorded an increase of 20.5% to more than 38.44 billion dirhams at the end of 2022, while expenditures increased by 39.2%, said the Office, which has published its monthly indicators of foreign trade.

At the end of the year 2022, Moroccan direct investment abroad stood at nearly 19.4 billion dirhams, showing an increase of 6.8% compared to 2021.

For their part, the transfers of these investments were established at more than 13.17 billion dirhams, down 3.2%. Thus, the net flow of the Moroccan direct investment abroad increased by 36.7%.

Sekkouri told the press that nearly 200 people from the Moroccan workforce will be selected by next June to go to Spain as part of training by alternation, adding that more than 20 specialties have been identified, including trade, marketing and health.

He stressed that this example shows how "our borders can be the subject of a real cooperation," as part of a regular migration that respects human rights and decent work.

This project will thus meet the needs of a youth who aspires to have an international career, said the minister, noting that "we will not find better than a neighboring and friendly country.”

Sekkouri also highlighted the importance of ties between Morocco and Spain, united by "unprecedented" historical, political and strategic relations.

For his part, Belmonte noted that this meeting with the Moroccan minister is of great importance and has allowed to exchange on important topics, and will further consolidate bilateral relations in the fields of vocational training and education.

He also noted that this meeting is an important step forward that will give rise to concrete projects in the coming months, which would give the opportunity to young Moroccans to improve their training and professional skills in Spain.

Belmonte is part of the delegation accompanying the President of the Spanish government Pedro Sanchez, currently visiting the Kingdom to co-chair with his Moroccan counterpart Aziz Akhannouch the 12th session of the Morocco-Spain.

This meeting, which is held eight years after the last session of this institutional mechanism, is part of the strategic partnership and the new dynamic that relations between the two kingdoms following the visit of Sanchez to Morocco last April at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI.

This HLM, which is attended by a large Spanish delegation and several members of the Moroccan government, will be marked by the signing of some twenty agreements between the two countries.

This meeting, which is held eight years after the last session of this institutional mechanism, is part of the strategic partnership and the new dynamic that relations between the two kingdoms following the Sánchez's visit in Morocco last April at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI.

On the sidelines of this meeting, a Moroccan-Spanish Economic Forum was held Wednesday in Rabat, during which Sánchez announced a new 800-million-euro financing protocol on joint projects in Morocco.

Sánchez, who on Thursday visited the Mohammed V Mausoleum to pay his respects to the tombs of late Their Majesties Mohammed V and Hassan II, had arrived in Morocco on Wednesday to co-chair with Akhannouch the 12th Moroccan-Spanish High-Level Meeting.

The 12th Moroccan-Spanish High Level Meeting, which comes eight years after the last meeting of this institutional mechanism, is part of the strategic partnership and the new dynamic that relations between the two kingdoms are experiencing following Sánchez's visit to Morocco last April at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI.

The 12th session of the Moroccan-Spanish High Level Meeting, which is held eight years after the last session of this institutional mechanism, is part of the strategic partnership and the new dynamic that relations between the two kingdoms are experiencing following the visit of Pedro Sanchez to Morocco last April, at the invitation of HM King Mohammed VI.

On his arrival at the Mausoleum Mohammed V, Sanchez, who was accompanied by the Minister of Health and Social Protection Khaled Ait Taleb, was welcomed by the historiographer of the Kingdom and curator of the Mohammed V Mausoleum, Abdelhak Lamrini.

After laying a wreath of flowers on the graves of the late Sovereigns, Sanchez signed in Mausoleum's Guest Book.

On this occasion, Lamrini presented explanations about this historical monument to Sanchez.

The President of the Spanish Government arrived Wednesday evening in Morocco, where he will chair alongside the Head of Government, Aziz Akhannouch, the 12th session of the Morocco-Spain High Level Meeting.

Speaking on the occasion of the Ceremony of Remembrance, organized as every year by the Foundation to celebrate the International Holocaust Day, Azoulay emphasized ''the importance of the Holocaust in the history of humanity. Azoulay highlighted "the exceptional political, social and spiritual consensus embodied by this ceremony which brought together, in the same emotion and the same contemplation, the members of the Andalusian government, the President of the Andalusian Parliament, the leaders of the Jewish, Muslim and Christian communities and, for the first time, more than fifty students, sentinels, committed and attentive to ensure, over the generations, and without concession or compromise, the relay of the Memory of the Holocaust".

Welcoming the presence and the testimony of one of the last survivors of the Holocaust, Mr. Robert Wolfberg, HM the King's Advisor invited the audience to take the right measure of the words of HM King Mohammed VI in His historic message of March 18, 2009 to tell the Community of Nations that ''His reading of the Holocaust is not that of amnesia but that of a memorial wound that We have inscribed in one of the most painful chapters in the Pantheon of Universal Heritage''.

Pronounced in the land of Islam, these words of the Commander of the Faithful, of all the Believers, echo here and today in Seville to the Lights of Andalusia of all possibilities and they tell everyone the ethical, moral and political contours to which Morocco has chosen to identify its Word'', emphasized, in conclusion, André Azoulay.

Antonio Sanz, Minister of the Presidency of the Andalusian Autonomous Government, recalled that "the Holocaust was the result of thousands of years of hatred and discrimination against the Jews, what we call today anti-Semitism".

"History continues to move forward, but anti-Semitism keeps coming back. We must remain vigilant,'' Sanz continued, saying that ''society urgently needs institutions like ours, the Three Cultures Foundation, to continue to work with determination in the areas of awareness and youth.''

"We need to strengthen social cohesion so that people feel that diversity is an asset and not a threat,'' the Andalusian leader noted.

A people that forgets its history is condemned to repeat it, so practicing memory is the best way to honor all those who died victims of Nazi cruelty during the Second World War, said, on this occasion, Jesús Aguirre, President of the Andalusian Parliament.

''We all have the duty to denounce any form of violence for reasons of belief, ethnicity, ideologies or sexual condition. Let us never forget, let us not turn our backs on those who have had the strength to survive such cruel moments in history as the one suffered by the Jewish people," added Aguirre.

"Today, we must work from education to prevent this situation from happening again in any corner of the world," he concluded.

Among the personalities present at the ceremony, the delegate of the Andalusian government, Ricardo Sánchez Antúnez, the Consul General of Morocco in Seville, Sidi Sidi Abbah, the spokeswoman of the Embassy of Israel in Madrid, Noa Hakim, the Deputy Minister of the Presidency of the Andalusian government, Tomás Burgos, the president of the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain, Isaac Benzaquén, the director of the Centro Sefarad-Israel, Jaime Moreno, the president of the Foundation of the Mosque of Seville, Khalid Nieto, as well as Gabriel Sánchez, ecumenical delegate of the archdiocese of Seville.

"The association Maroc Cultures is pleased to announce to the public of Mawazine that the festival will resume its activities in 2024 to meet the expectations of festival-goers who are longing for the return of this unique and unmissable event at the crossroads of all cultures," said the association in a statement.

Created in 2001 and placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Mawazine-Rythmes du Monde is the must-attend event for music lovers and enthusiasts in Morocco and considered among the greatest cultural events around the world.

Organized every year for nine days, Mawazine offers a rich and demanding program that combines the biggest stars of the world and Arab repertoire, making the cities of Rabat and Salé the scene of exceptional encounters between the public and renowned artists.

With nearly 3 million festival-goers at its last edition in 2018, the festival broke all records, confirming its place as an international music event offering a strong display of the values of openness and tolerance dear to the country.

Mawazine also devotes more than half of its programming to talents from the national scene, setting itself up as a bearer of the values of peace, openness, tolerance and respect, the festival offers free access to 90% of its festival-goers, making accessibility to audiences an essential mission.

Its support to the regional and national tourist economy and its continuous action in favor of the democratization of access to culture make Mawazine a happy and beneficial event, much awaited, underlines the release.

Fully autonomous, Mawazine remains open to all contributions that respect the values of Maroc Cultures. Its economic model is based on income from ticket sales and sponsorship from private companies, with the support and benevolence of the public authorities and security services who spare no effort to ensure that Mawazine takes place in the best conditions of safety, calm and serenity for the population.

Created in 2001, Maroc Cultures is a non-profit association whose main mission is to guarantee the public in the Rabat-Salé-Kénitra region a professional level of cultural and artistic entertainment worthy of the Moroccan capital. 

Echoing the fundamental values of the development policy of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, Maroc Cultures carries out this noble mission through Mawazine Festival as well as various events, multidisciplinary conferences, art exhibitions and concerts.

Imports increased by 39.6% to 737.73 billion dirhams and exports improved by 29.4% to 426.1 billion dirhams, said the Office, which has published its monthly indicators of foreign trade for the year 2022, noting that the coverage rate has lost 4.5 points to 57.8%.

The increase in imports of goods follows the increase in purchases of all product groups.

Indeed, the energy bill has more than doubled to 153.52 billion dirhams in 2022. This development is mainly due to the increase in purchases of gas-oil and fuel-oil (+ MAD 40.34 billion) driven by the increase in prices that have almost doubled (10,283 TD / T against 5,195 TD / T), and to a lesser extent by that of quantities (+7.2%).

Concerning imports of semi-processed products, they increased by 46.4%, following the growth of purchases of ammonia (21.39 MMDH against 6.91 MMDH). Imports of food products, for their part, show an increase of 44.9%.

This development is due to the increase in supplies of wheat, which have almost doubled under the price effect up 40.8%. In parallel, the quantities imported increase by 28.7%.

Purchases of barley also recorded an increase to MAD 3.2 billion in 2022.

Regarding imports of raw products, they increase by 49.9%. This development follows the increase in purchases of crude and unrefined sulfur (+8.03 billion dirhams).

At the end of 2022, exports of goods increased by 29.4% to 426.1 billion dirhams against 329.405 a year earlier.

This increase concerns exports of all sectors, led by phosphates and derivatives, the automotive sector and the agriculture and agri-food sector.