The Moroccan top diplomat's visit is part of the ongoing consultations aimed at consolidating the strategic partnership between Morocco and the United States and to consult on various regional and international issues.

During this visit, Bourita will have a series of talks at the White House and the State Department, including with the head of American diplomacy, Antony Blinken. Under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, and U.S. President Joe Biden, the partnership between Rabat and Washington D.C. has grown significantly in recent years in all areas.

The Minister’s visit will be an opportunity to consolidate this strong and longstanding bilateral strategic partnership between the two countries in a variety of areas and to discuss international and regional issues of mutual interest, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.

This special visit confirms the dynamic of regular exchanges between Morocco and the United States, which has intensified considerably over the past two years, with the visit to the Kingdom of many senior American officials.

At the political dialogue level, last year was notably marked by the visit of Secretary of State Antony Blinken to Rabat in March 2022. "We support His Majesty the King’s ambitious reform agenda to strengthen Moroccan institutions," the US Secretary of State said on the occasion.

Last year also saw the visit of Blinken’s assistant, Wendy Sherman, during the same month, then of the Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs, Victoria Nuland, in May 2022, and more recently, in January, Michèle Sisson, Assistant Under-Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs.

In addition, the CEO of the Millenium Challenge Corporation made two visits to Morocco last week and previously, in July 2022, headed a major US economic delegation. In December 2022, the MENA Coordinator at the White House National Security Council, Brett McGurk, also visited Rabat for high-level consultations.

The security consultations were part of the same dynamic of significant reinforcement, especially through the very first visit to Morocco by a Chief of Staff of the American Armies, General Mark Milley, last February.

Visits in 2022 by the Director of National Intelligence, Avril Haines, and the Head of the FBI, Christopher Wray, served to diversify and deepen the ever-growing multi-dimensional security partnership between the two countries.

Exchanges with the US Congress have also been intense, especially over the past three months, with the January visit of the Parliamentary Group on the Abraham Accords to the US Senate, then in February, a delegation of influential senators led by the president of the Foreign Affairs Committee and during March, of the Hispanic Parliamentary Group in the House of Representatives of the American Congress.

The latter visited Dakhla, marking the first visit of American elected officials to the Southern Provinces since the recognition by the United States of Morocco’s sovereignty over its Sahara in December 2020.

In exercising its right of reply, the Moroccan delegation recalled that the Kingdom contributed to the struggle for independence of the South African people, as part of its efforts to decolonize the continent, among others, by hosting and supporting its historic leader, the late Nelson Mandela.

As part of the work of the 52nd session of the Human Rights Council (HRC), Morocco has invited the South African delegation to more restraint on issues which it does not master the ins and outs, and for which it blindly follows a predefined thesis, which serves its political interests.

Instead of continuing to venture into politicizing the human rights issue, the Kingdom recommended that the South African delegation take the interest desired by the mandate holders in order to provide adequate responses to put an end to the numerous human rights violations committed on its territory.

The MASI.20, an index of the 20 most liquid stocks, increased by 0.37% to 836.05 points (pts).

Organized by the Ministry of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation, in collaboration with the Conference of Hungarian Rectors and with the support of the Embassy of Hungary in Rabat and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Budapest, this academic forum was marked by the presence of university presidents, academic leaders and representatives of institutions in charge of higher education, scientific research and innovation in both countries.

The Forum's opening ceremony was marked by the presence of the Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Innovation Abdellatif Miraoui, the Ambassador of Hungary to Morocco Miklos Tromler, as well as the President of the Conference of Hungarian Rectors and Rector of the University Eötvös Loránd, László Borhy.

In a speech on this occasion, Miraoui stressed that the organization of this meeting reflects the particular importance that the two friendly countries give to the fields of higher education, scientific research, innovation and academic cooperation, considering that this forum provides a platform for discussion and debate on the opportunities offered by bilateral cooperation between the two countries.

He also commended the quality of bilateral relations in the field of higher education and scientific research, noting in this regard the increase in the number of scholarships allocated to Moroccan students to pursue their studies in Hungarian universities which have increased from 100 to 165 scholarships under the STIPENDIUM HUNGARICUM Program.

These scholarships cover several disciplines including medicine and health sciences, engineering, agriculture, humanities and social sciences for bachelor, master and doctoral levels.

For his part, Tromler highlighted the dynamism that characterizes the relations between Morocco and Hungary and both countries’ common desire to continue to expand the areas of their bilateral cooperation.

He emphasized the importance of this academic forum, which works to consolidate cooperation between Morocco and Hungary in the fields of scientific research and innovation.

On the sidelines of this 2nd Forum, Moroccan and Hungarian universities have signed six agreements to give new impetus to Moroccan-Hungarian cooperation in the field of higher education, scientific research and innovation.

At the beginning of its proceedings, the Council will follow a presentation by the Minister of Justice on "the content of the 2023-2030 National Plan to fight and prevent human trafficking and the information scheme for victims of human trafficking crimes," said Monday a statement from the Head of Government's department.

Subsequently, the Council will consider a draft law amending and supplementing the dahir on measures to be taken to preserve domestic animals against contagious diseases, before moving to study two draft decrees, the first amending and supplementing the draft decree on the creation of an ad hoc directorate within the Ministry of Equipment, Transport, Logistics and Water, in charge of overseeing the development work of the national road N.1, between Tiznit and Dakhla, added the statement, noting that the second amends the decree implementing the law on the exercise of the profession of architect and the institution of the National Order of Architects.

The Council will complete its proceedings by considering proposals for appointment to high office in accordance with the provisions of Article 92 of the Constitution, said the same source.

"The time has come to move towards full respect for the sovereignty and recognition of a great nation like Morocco," said Castellà at a meeting held this weekend by the Consulate General of Morocco in Tarragona, on the occasion of International Women's Day.

The official and former vice-rector of foreign and international relations of the University Rovira i Virgili pointed out that "Morocco is an economic and entrepreneurial power, which helps us so that the Mediterranean is not a border, but an area of stronger relations".

“We must deconstruct a certain erroneous, arrogant and prejudiced vision, and recognize Morocco’s progress'' in all areas, including the promotion of women’s situation, he said.

''The progress made by women in Morocco is the progress made in a democracy and is therefore very important'', said Castellà, welcoming the integration of the Moroccan community in Spain.

“More and more Moroccans live among us and bring prosperity and progress to our society," he added.

This meeting, which paid tribute to several Moroccan women in Tarragona, Lleida and Aragon, was marked by the presence of the Attorney General of Tarragona, Maria Jose Osuna Cerezo, the sub-delegate in charge of defense in Lleida, Fernando Rodriguez de Ravena, the sub-delegate in charge of defense in Tarragona, Antonio Bergonos Gonzalez, as well as officials representing the local authorities.

Speaking at the opening of a seminar to present the implementation assessment of "Industrial Land" activity, Mezzour said that this successful project represents a boost for the implementation and realization of new initiatives in this direction, supported by the new law on industrial zones that provides concrete answers to the industrial land problem.

The goal, he said, is to promote the attractiveness of industrial investment in the context of public-private partnership (PPP), which will allow, initially, the establishment of three new industrial zones, in addition to nine new areas, equipped with all the norms and standards of sustainability, including the wastewater purification.

Regarding the new law on industrial zones, the Minister noted that among the intervention fields of this law, is to recover industrial land not valued with a more fluid and rapid approach without going through the judicial process, considered quite long.

The national industrial land has now 150 industrial zones with an area of 12,000 hectares throughout the country, he said, reiterating, in this regard, his department’s commitment to improve land supply and upgrade existing one.

For her part, the Director General of the Agency Millennium Challenge Account-Morocco (MCA-Morocco), Malika Laasri, said that this seminar is an opportunity to share the successes of this project, the lessons learned, but also the points to improve for future projects.

According to her, the Compact program is itself a modeling project, in which several approaches have been tested. Those that are successful will now be made available to partners to continue replication in the rest of the industrial zones.

For her part, the resident director of Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Morocco, Carrie Monahan, said she was proud of the completion of the work of this project estimated one hundred percent successful and will allow to create some 80,000 jobs in Morocco but also to stimulate private investment of about 500 million dollars.

"Morocco is a key player in the fight against terrorism, not only because the Moroccan security forces regularly carry out successful operations, but also because, since 2003, the Kingdom has developed a multidimensional approach to counter terrorism,'' he told MAP, in the wake of the arrest in recent days by the Moroccan security services of several terrorists linked to Daesh for their involvement in acts already committed or which were likely to be committed.

The Moroccan approach is based on five key pillars, two of which are directly effective in the field of prevention, said Chauprade, adding that the first is religious, because by promoting a moderate, tolerant and open Sunni Islam, backed by the institution of the Commandery of the Faithful, "the Moroccan state pulling the rug out from underneath the feet of those who advocate an aggressive approach turned to violence."

The second preventive pillar is the work undertaken on the socio-economic field, noted the French expert in geopolitics, underlining that sensitizing young people from disadvantaged backgrounds is a "real success in Morocco".

Regarding the security and legal component, Chauprade, author in 2019 of the book ''Geopolitics of a King, Essay on a modern and multipolar Morocco'', emphasizes that the Kingdom has "understood very early that the dispersion between compartmentalized skills and the 'chapel quarrels ' constituted a danger for the fight against terrorism.

The Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ) established in March 2015 has brought together the actions of different departments and stakeholders, he added.

The criminal code was also tightened in 2015 with regard to terrorist offenses, he noted, arguing that the 2011 Constitution has significantly increased the rule of law and the defense of human rights in Morocco, with the creation of "several institutions and tools", including the National Council for Human Rights, the Ombudsman and the Interministerial Delegation for Human Rights.

Finally, the fifth and not least pillar is international cooperation, said the geopolitologist, adding that with the United States, but also with several countries of the European Union, Morocco has increased its cooperation in the fight against terrorism, with more intelligence sharing, but also more joint reflection to act together.

Co-Chair of the Global Counter-Terrorism Forum (GCTF), Morocco has developed with the Netherlands the Hague-Marrakech Memorandum on Foreign Terrorist Fighters (FTF), he said, recalling that the Kingdom and the European Union have agreed to establish an initiative under the GCTF on "education to prevent and combat violent extremism leading to terrorism.”

With a budget of about 128.6 million dollars, the "Industrial Land" activity aims to support the government in the design, deployment and promotion of a new model for planning, development, revitalization and management of industrial zones, meeting market needs and emphasizing the public private partnership (PPP) and the promotion of environmental and social sustainability.

This seminar was an opportunity for the various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Industry and Trade, to welcome the significant results achieved under the three components of the activity "Industrial Land", to discuss lessons learned and best practices identified, to promote the sustainability of achievements and duplication of approaches tested in the pilot projects.

Thus, the "Technical Assistance" component, implemented in partnership with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), was marked mainly by the support provided to the Ministry in preparing the draft law No. 102.21 on the development, management and valorization of industrial zones and the deployment of a capacity building program for stakeholders concerned with the industrial land.

A total of 12 thematic modules related to the different stages of creating and exploiting industrial zones have been developed, digitized in interactive tutorials and put online in a public way, in addition to six didactic tools and knowledge products have also been produced to promote learning.

This component has also focused on developing and launching the new electronic platform dedicated to the industrial land in Morocco (https://www.industrial-estate.gov.ma/) and the realization of the diagnosis of 114 industrial zones in Morocco totaling more than 10,400 Ha and the recommendation of action plans to improve their overall performance.

In addition, the implementation of the "Pilot Sites" component will strengthen the supply of industrial land in the Casablanca-Settat Region through the rehabilitation, extension or construction of 3 industrial parks in a PPP model, totaling an area of 136 ha and should eventually house 500 companies for a total estimated investment of $ 486 million and generate 27,000 direct jobs.

In addition to the mobilization by the public party of a land rehabilitated and connected to the infrastructure off-site achieved, (drinking water, electricity and sanitation networks, wastewater treatment plants, hydraulic works, access roads ... ), the revitalization of existing areas, the progress of work in-site extension of the industrial area of Bouznika and the entry into force of PPP agreements on the development, marketing and management of industrial parks Had Soualem and Sahel Lakhyayta were the main highlights of this component.

On the other hand, the assessment of the implementation of the third component of the "Industrial Land" activity reports the support by the Fund for Sustainable Industrial Zones (FONZID), under its first edition, 9 projects aimed at improving governance, sustainability and social inclusion of industrial zones, totaling an investment of 80 million dollars, including a contribution of project holders of about 46 million dollars and should generate eventually 57,000 job opportunities.

The investment made it possible to set up a land offer of 100 ha serviced and equipped, 71 industrial buildings with a total area of 47,000 m2 and buildings covering a total area of 20,000 m2 dedicated to services offered to companies and employees (one-stop shops, business centers, catering, health services, transport, training and job search areas, nurseries).

The seminar was attended by the Director General of the Millennium Challenge Account-Morocco (MCA-Morocco), Malika Laasri, and the Resident Director of the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC) in Morocco, Carrie Monahan.

Placed under the High Patronage of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, this event, which brought together several thousand people in one week, "embodied, in sharing, a precious and unique moment because it is that of an unprecedented momentum that we Moroccans, Muslims and Jews, are living in a context marked by the seal of exception, a context that is that of the renaissance, recognition and refoundation of this part of Morocco's inclusive history," said the Advisor to HM the King in a video message from Bayt Dakira in Essaouira.

This week rich in lights and emotions has highlighted "the depth of the Moroccan-Jewish civilization that tells all others, with pride and determination what our Nation and our People, strong of the committed and pioneering leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, that of his late father HM Hassan II and the exemplary legacy of the late HM Mohammed V, have embodied for us Moroccans of the Jewish faith," said Azoulay.

He stressed that Morocco today is the "result of the addition of all civilizations that have succeeded: Arab-Muslim, Amazigh, Jewish, Mediterranean and African."

"We have a software that makes us add all that these civilizations have taught us and bequeathed. Today, all around us and very widely in the world, this Moroccan software of the addition of the richness of all our diversities and their convergence has unfortunately been replaced by another software, that of subtraction, or denial and sometimes confrontation," said Azoulay, noting that "in Morocco, we Moroccans of the Jewish faith, we live something else, we live another dynamic where diversity is at the heart of the reactor of our social modernity.”

"Thank you again for inviting this evening Morocco to this social modernity, the one of all possibilities, the one of our collective responsibility, so that this Path of Reason and Peace will be taken tomorrow by the Israeli and Palestinian children, in the hope to see them living with each other, each one respecting the other, each one assuring the security of the other,” concluded André Azoulay.

This musical evening was animated by the artists Abderrahim Souiri, Charly and Lior Elmaliah, the latter coming especially from Israel to participate in this show, rich in colors, and which transported a room of nearly a thousand participants, in a dream journey between the Moroccan and Jewish melodies.

The show took place in the presence of leaders of the Jewish community, Morocco's Permanent Delegate to UNESCO, Ambassador Samir Addahre, several consuls general of the Kingdom in France and members of the Jewish and Moroccan communities, among others.

The Jewish-Moroccan cultural week, organized at the initiative of the Israelite cultural association of Creteil (ACIC), in collaboration with several institutions in Morocco and France and Franco-Moroccan associations, has highlighted the Jewish-Moroccan heritage and underlined the secular living together between Jews and Muslims in the Kingdom.

The public was present for a week with a rich and varied cultural program, including round tables, debates, exhibitions, film screenings and concerts.