Morocco, Niger pledge to upgrade relations

Morocco and Niger have pledged to upgrade their relations and to consolidate their cooperation, mainly in the sectors of health and agriculture.

This came in a joint statement issued in Rabat Saturday at the end of a friendship and work visit President Mamadou Tanja paid to Morocco May 2-5 at the invitation of King Mohammed VI.

At the talks they held --in Agadir Thursday--, King Mohammed VI and President Tanja surveyed bilateral relations and exchanged viewpoints on international and regional issues of mutual concern, and especially African questions, the statement said.

A Morocco-Niger ministerial meeting explored means of consolidating bilateral cooperation and the Niger side expounded its socio-economic development program, mainly in the sectors of health, water harnessing, agriculture, vocational training and struggle against illiteracy, and expressed the wish to benefit from Morocco's experience in these sectors.

The two sides stressed the need to convene the 3rd session of the joint commission the soonest possible and regarding cooperation in the field of agriculture, Morocco pledged to put, in advance, at Niger's disposal its annual financial assistance to help the African country promote the sector.

The two countries will also cooperate in struggle against locust invasion, artificial rains, and water harnessing through hill dams construction and wells drilling.

In the sector of health, the two sides reached an agreement of principle under which Morocco will extend Niger an emergency assistance, consisting in vaccines against meningitis, measles, cholera and others. The two countries will also coordinate efforts in struggle against AIDS.

President Tanja was accompanied by his ministers of foreign affairs, of rural development, and of water resources.