Morocco, U.S. sign open skies agreement
Morocco-USA, Politics, 10/11/2001

Morocco and the United States signed on Wednesday an open skies agreement, regulating future trade relations in civil aviation between the two countries and aimed at promoting U.S. tourism to Morocco.

U.S. ambassador to Morocco Margaret Tutwiler and Moroccan minister of transportation and merchant navy Abdeslam Zenined signed the agreement that comes to replace an older one signed in 1970.

Since the agreement was initialed by Minister Znined and U.S. Secretary of Transportation Rodney Slater on October 11, 2000, in Washington, DC, Delta Air Lines and Royal Air Maroc have entered into codeshare agreements to serve a number of points in the United States, including New York, Boston, Miami, and San Francisco. Delta also provides service to both Casablanca and Rabat through codeshares with Air France. Northwest Airlines has also started codeshare service into Casablanca with KLM.

The agreement establishes a new air transport relationship between the United States and Morocco, replacing the existing 1970 U.S.-Morocco bilateral aviation agreement. Open Skies agreements permit unrestricted air service by the airlines of both countries between and beyond the other's territory, eliminating restrictions on how often the carriers can fly, the kind of aircraft they use and the prices they charge. It also provides for full liberalization of scheduled and charter combination and all-cargo services over a five-year transition period.

The United States has now reached Open Skies agreements with over fifty partners in Africa, Asia and the pacific, Europe, Latin American and the Caribbean, and the Middle East. Morocco is the first Maghreb country to sign an Open Skies agreement with the Unites States.

The US ambassador said the accord would enable U.S. airlines Northwest and Delta to make reservations for passengers to Moroccan destinations and encourage their frequent flyer programs. She also underlined Royal Air Maroc's strong record on security, and recalled that RAM meets all safety and security requirements imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

She also highlighted the importance this agreement will play in fulfilling the U.S.-North Africa Economic Partnership (Eizenstat Initiative) goal of increasing trade and investment between the United States and Morocco, stating "The agreement creates opportunities for strengthening the economic partnership between the United States and Morocco through closer links in transport, trade and tourism."

The Moroccan transport and merchant navy minister said the agreement is part of Morocco's air liberalization policy initiated in 1997. He added this policy has adopted as a cornerstone the upgrading of civil aviation capacities and competitiveness enabling it to develop its infrastructure and human resources. He cited, in this regard, the creation of top training centers in Morocco.

Previous Stories:
  Morocco welcomes US president's statement on Palestinian state   (10/4/2001)
  US ambassador: Morocco has evidenced resolve to fight terrorism   (10/3/2001)
  War is no means to settle problems, Moroccan press   (9/25/2001)

Please add a link on your webiste pointing to ArabicNews.com and bookmark ArabicNews.com & subscribe to our daily email news bulletin.

Search