Minister says King's visit to Burkina Faso, 'historic'

Moroccan Minister delegate for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Taib Fassi Fihri, has described the current visit of King Mohammed VI to Burkina Faso as "historic."

This is the first time the Moroccan sovereign pays a visit to the west African country since he ascended the throne in 1999. Burkina Faso is the second leg of a three-nation African tour that already took the king to Gabon, and will end in Senegal.

The tour aims at developing bilateral relations with partners in the region in various realms, Fihri told the press on Monday.

King Mohammed's visit to Burkina Faso, he went on, confirms that Morocco cooperates with countries of the Sahel, notably in social development.

"The king hopes to establish relations in the service of African populations," he said, explaining that in addition to economic ties, Morocco wants to expand cooperation to health, vocational training and agriculture.

He added that Morocco is ready to share its experience in some fields where it has accumulated a significant knowledge, such as health and education.

The Moroccan monarch's visit to Ouagadougou offers promising prospects for Morocco-Bukina Faso cooperation, ruled by a package of economic, technical, cultural and scientific agreements signed by the two African countries and included in the general agreement of Ougadougou of 28 December 1989.