Russia and Morocco have recently reiterated the importance of boosting bilateral ties, including trade.

Rabat: Russia plans to establish a free trade zone with several African countries, including Morocco.

Sputnik News reported the news earlier this week, citing President Vladimir Putin's ambitions to develop cooperation with North African nations.

We are preparing agreements on a free trade area with Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia and Algeria. It's all of North Africa. There are many more development points on the continent and there are very interesting countries,” Sputnik quoted Putin during a meeting with the Russian government.

Russia's goal is to use bilateral ties with African countries to deepen economic exchanges with the continent.

“We have all seen that [African countries] consider Russia as a friend, and we treat African countries as friends,” the president said. "We need to convert that level of political trust into economic cooperation."

The statement came after the Africa-Russia summit, which brought together heads of state and senior officials from across the continent, including Morocco.

The Head of Government of Morocco, Aziz Akhannouch, attended the event, where he reiterated Moroccan determination to boost bilateral ties and trade with Russia.

During the event, Akhannouch emphasized that the summit reflects Russia's determination to "strengthen friendly ties and constructive cooperation with African countries."

During the summit, the Russian government also stressed the importance of cooperation with Morocco. At the event, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova highlighted the notable cooperation between the two countries in different sectors, such as the economy, finance, tourism, business, among others.

He explained that the prosperous partnership between Moscow and Rabat has been based on the Strategic Partnership Agreement between Russia and Morocco, in force since 2002 and which was further strengthened in 2016 through the signing of the “Declaration on Deep Strategic Partnership

Article source: Morocco world news