Moroccan-Turkish cooperation discussed in Rabat
Means to upgrade Moroccan-Turkish cooperation were reviewed at the meetings held in Rabat Tuesday between visiting Turkish Minister of State Hasan Gemici and several Moroccan officials.
Both sides voiced determination to bring bilateral cooperation in the economic, commercial, social and cultural realms to the level of the longstanding excellent political relations existing between Morocco and Turkey.
The two sides decided to convene the joint commission next year after the projected visit by the Turkish foreign minister. This visit will be marked by the signing of a memorandum of understanding.
The Turkish official who conferred with the minister of industry, trade and handicraft, Alami Tazi, the minister of territory development, environment, town planning and housing, Mohamed Yazghi, and secretary of state for cooperation, Aicha Belarbi, is to dedicate this Wednesday in Casablanca an exhibition of Turkish products. The event is meant to enhance economic and trade relations between Morocco and Turkey, foster contacts between the two countries' economic operators and promote a mutually-beneficial partnership.
The Turkish minister of state, who started Monday a four-day visit to Morocco, will also meet executives of the chamber of commerce, industry and services and members of the employers' association "Confederation Generale des Entreprises du Maroc" (CGEM).
Last week, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohamed Benaissa-- who attended in Turkey the summit of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe-- surveyed Moroccan-Turkish cooperation during talks with Turkish President Suleymen Demirel and Foreign Minister Ismail Cem.
The two sides discussed the possibility of setting up an appropriate framework for continued political consultations and expressed the wish that the joint commission, whose latest session was held in November 1996, will convene at the latest by next February.
The private sector can be associated to the debates of the commission that will provide an opportunity to further talks on the setting up of a free trade area, the two sides said, calling for the signing of association accords, the setting up of joint ventures and the organizing of joint economic and cultural events.
