Irish parliamentarians meet Moroccan officials

Means to upgrade cooperation with Ireland was at the focus of separate talks a visiting Irish parliamentary delegation had here Tuesday with Moroccan officials.

The delegation, representing the foreign affairs committee, met speaker of the chamber of representatives (lower house) Abdelouahed Radi, minister of social development, solidarity, employment and vocational training, Kalid Alioua, minister in charge of relations with parliament, Mohamed Bouzouba, secretary of State for foreign affairs, Taib Fassi Fihri and secretary of State for housing, Mohamed Mbarki.

The Irish delegation and Moroccan officials underlined the need to establish deeper relations to bring closer their viewpoints on questions of common interest.

Morocco-EU relations and Morocco's efforts to boost its economic and trade bonds with EU were also probed at the meetings.

Talks also covered Morocco-EU partnership accord and Morocco's drives to encourage European investments.

The talks were also an opportunity to brief the Irish delegation on the Sahara issue and Morocco's commitment to the UN settlement plan.

This is the first time ever that an Irish Parliamentary delegation is visiting Morocco.