Morocco, Egypt to foster maritime transport cooperation

Morocco and Egypt pledged to foster their cooperation in maritime transport, coordinate their activities in the sector of merchant navy and to endeavor to materialize a genuine partnership.

This came in the minutes of the meeting of the Moroccan-Egyptian joint commission on maritime transport cooperation convened in Cairo over the weekend.

The two sides also decided to exchange experience and data and to coordinate stands within international organizations.

The document was initialed by Moroccan and Egyptian ministers of transport and merchant navy, Mustapha Mansouri and Brahim Dmiri.

Morocco and Egypt which are bound by an accord on maritime transport cooperation that came into force in 1997 called on ship owners to explore new prospects to consolidate bilateral cooperation and keep pace with the changes in maritime transport.

Maritime transport plays a key role in Moroccan economy and caters for nearly 98% of Morocco's external exchanges.

Mansouri who wound up his visit to Cairo this Monday had equally met Egyptian premier Atef Ebeid to survey various aspects of bilateral cooperation.

The Moroccan official attended in Alexandria on Sunday the opening session of an international meeting on the new role of the Middle East in the flow of goods in the 21st century.