Moroccan FM visits Russia
Morocco-Russia, Politics, 1/30/2002

Moroccan minister of foreign affairs and cooperation, Mohamed Benaissa, arrived in Moscow Tuesday on a short visit for talks with his Russian peer Igor Ivanov. Benaissa told reporters at the airport he would convey President Vladimir Poutine a message from King Mohammed VI.

His visit, he said, is meant to give a new momentum to bilateral relations in the political and economic realms.

Talks with Russian interlocutors will also focus on the situation in the Middle East, given the keen interest King Mohammed VI grants to this part of the world and given the fact that Russia is co-sponsor of the peace process, Benaissa said.

To a question on eventual strikes against Iraq in the frame of the anti-terrorism struggle, Benaissa said Russia and Morocco share identical stands on the issue and deem necessary to avoid any amalgam about the extension of military operations to any country before making sure that this country is actually a sponsor of terrorism.

On the eve of Benaissa's trip to Moscow, the Russian foreign department released a statement saying that Morocco is for Russia a reliable and useful partner on the international scene, in view of its prominent place in the Arab-Islamic world.

Moscow also voiced satisfaction over its "excellent" political relations with Rabat saying the two countries have similar standpoints on outstanding international issues, mainly struggle against terrorism, setting up of a multi-polar world, consolidating the UN's role on the international arena, strengthening stability and security in the Mediterranean, in Africa and the Middle East.

The statement also hailed the entry into force of the Moroccan-Russian agreements on investment protection and non-double taxation and the level of economic and commercial cooperation that make of Morocco one of Russia's major partners in Africa.

Moroccan-Russian trade exchanges were worth US$ 360 million in 2001.

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