Morocco, Belgium sign agreement on investments promotion
Morocco-Belgium, Politics, 4/14/1999

Morocco and Belgium signed on Tuesday in Rabat an agreement on the promotion and protection of investments in both countries.

The agreement was initialed by Belgian Prime Minister Jean-Luc Dehaene and Moroccan Premier Abderrahmane Youssoufi who underlined during the signing ceremony that the accord will undoubtedly increase the flow of investments between the two countries.

Youssoufi lauded Belgium's cooperation with Morocco, mainly in matters of water supply and sanitation pointing out that this cooperation matches perfectly Morocco's social programs, especially the rural world oriented programs.

The Moroccan premier also hailed the tolerance and respect shown by Belgian authorities to the Muslim creed lauding the recent decision to set up a representative body of Muslims in Belgium.

This body that was democratically elected will supervise the organization and financing of courses on the Islamic religion in the educational system, and will ensure the management of worship places.

The Belgian prime minister -- who arrived in Morocco on Tuesday and left on Wednesday-- was received in Marrakesh by King Hassan II and discussed with Moroccan officials in Rabat means of upgrading bilateral cooperation in the financial, cultural and technical fields, as well as relations between Morocco and the European Union.

Regarding the need to reach a formula to alleviate Morocco's debts, as stressed by Moroccan officials, the Belgian side pointed out that the issue is handled in a multilateral frame, particularly within the Paris club.

Jean-Luc Dehaene said in this respect at a news conference Tuesday afternoon that Belgium backs Morocco's request to alleviate the burden of its external debt, but that the decision must be made collectively at the level of the Paris club.

The Belgian premier added that Moroccan-Belgian relations in the frame of the European Union's relations with Mediterranean countries are by no means threatened by the Union's enlargement towards Eastern Europe.

He asserted that this enlargement towards Eastern Europe cannot be operated to the detriment of the Euro-Mediterranean process which is, he said, one of the Union's priority goals.

The Belgian premier called for the ratification of some conventions that were signed few years ago, such as the 1994 convention on trade and technical cooperation, and for the consolidation of juridical cooperation.

A Juridical accord on the transfer of prisoners had already been ratified by Belgium which hopes that it will be ratified by the Moroccan side shortly so that it can be enforced the soonest possible.

Juridical accords between the two countries are of paramount importance, he said, as they are likely to enable the two communities to enjoy the freedom of movement and an adapted juridical situation despite cultural differences.

According to the latest available figures, the Moroccan community settled in Belgium is 200,000 strong and its remittances amounted in 1998 to 1.286 billion dirhams ($ 132.5 million).

Morocco's imports from Belgium are made up of chemical products, machinery, medical products and plastic items while exports to the European country consist of phosphates, citrus fruits and textile.

Previous Stories:
  Moroccan and Belgians economic operators called to upgrade partnership   (4/14/1999)
  Belgian premier in Morocco Tuesday   (4/12/1999)
  Morocco's textile exports post 6.7% growth since 1994   (4/10/1999)

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