Mexico–Morocco relations

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Mexico-Morocco relations
Map indicating locations of Mexico and Morocco

Mexico
Morocco

Mexican-Moroccan relations refers to the diplomatic relations between the United Mexican States and the Kingdom of Morocco. Both nations are members of the Group of 24 and the United Nations.

History[]

Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto receiving the credentials of Moroccan Ambassador to Mexico, Mohamed Chafiki; 2017.

In April 1956, Morocco obtained its independence from France. In 1961, Mexican President Adolfo López Mateos sent a presidential delegation of goodwill, led by Special Envoy Alejandro Carrillo Marcor and Delegate José Ezequiel Iturriaga, to visit Morocco and to pave the way for the establishment of diplomatic relations between both nations.[1] On 31 October 1962, Mexico and Morocco established diplomatic relations.

Relations between the two nations in the beginning remained cordial without any major significant bilateral agreements taking place, however, relations between the two nations did become rather frosty after Mexico recognized the right to self-determination and established diplomatic relations with the government of Western Sahara in 1979.[2] In 1990, Mexico established an embassy in Rabat which had originally been accredited from its embassy in Lisbon. In 1991, Morocco reciprocated the gesture by opening an embassy in Mexico City where it had originally been accredited from Washington, D.C.[3]

In March 2002, Moroccan Prime Minister Abderrahmane Youssoufi attended the Monterrey Consensus in the northern Mexican city of Monterrey. In October 2003, King Mohammed VI of Morocco paid an official visit to Mexico. In November 2004, King Mohammed VI paid a second visit to Mexico. In February 2005, Mexican President Vicente Fox paid an official visit to Morocco, thereby strengthening relations between the two nations.[2] In January 2009, Moroccan Foreign Minister Taieb Fassi Fihri paid a visit to Mexico. Later, in December of the same year, Mexican Foreign Minister, Patricia Espinosa Cantellano paid a visit to Morocco. Both visits enhanced bilateral relations between both nations and allowed for the exchanging views on various issues at the regional, international and multilateral levels.[2]

In 2012, both nations celebrated 50 years of diplomatic relations. In 2016, an inter-institutional cooperation agreement was signed between Mexico's Centro de Enseñanza Técnica y Superior and Morocco's Al Akhawayn University for the exchange of teachers and students between both universities.[2] In December 2018, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard paid a visit to Morocco to attend the Intergovernmental Conference on the Global Compact for Migration in Marrakesh.[4]

High-level visits[]

High-level visits from Mexico to Morocco

  • Special Envoy Alejandro Carrillo Marcor (1961)
  • Delegate José Ezequiel Iturriaga (1961)
  • President Vicente Fox (2005)
  • Foreign Minister Patricia Espinosa Cantellano (2009)
  • Director General for Africa and the Middle East Jorge Álvarez Fuentes (2018)
  • Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard (2018)

High-level visits from Morocco to Mexico

Bilateral agreements[]

Both nations have signed several bilateral agreements such as an Agreement on Business Cooperation (1991); Agreement on Educational and Cultural Cooperation (2004); Memorandum of Understanding for the Establishment of a Mechanism of Consultation in Matters of Mutual Interest (2004); Agreement of Diplomatic and Academic Cooperation (2005); Agreement on Hydraulic Resource Cooperation (2005) and an Agreement to Promote Cooperation in the Modernization of Public Administration, Open Government, Transparency and to Combat Corruption (2008).[2]

Trade[]

In 2018, two-way trade between both nations amounted to US$508 million.[5] Mexico's main exports to Morocco include: sugar, tobacco, alcohol (beer), building materials and airplane parts. Morocco's main exports to Mexico include: electrical circuits, textiles and cotton.[2] Mexican multinational companies such as Cemex, Gruma and Grupo Bimbo; operate in Morocco.[6]

Embassy of Morocco in Mexico City

Resident diplomatic missions[]

  • Mexico has an embassy in Rabat[7]
  • Morocco has an embassy in Mexico City.

References[]

  1. ^ José Ezequiel Iturriaga: Rastros y Rostros (in Spanish)
  2. ^ a b c d e f Bilateral relations between Mexico and Morocco (in Spanish)
  3. ^ History of diplomatic relations between Mexico and Morocco (in Spanish)
  4. ^ Ebrard llega a Marruecos, participará en conferencia sobre migración (in Spanish)
  5. ^ "Mexican Ministry of Economy: Morocco (in Spanish)". Archived from the original on 2019-07-28. Retrieved 2018-03-14.
  6. ^ Estas son las Empresas Mexicanas Pioneras en África (in Spanish)
  7. ^ Embassy of Mexico in Morocco
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