The Foreign Minster, Prince Saud Al-Faisal, and the Moroccan Minister of Foreign and Economic Cooperation, Mohammed bin Isa, signed minutes of the 9th session of the Saudi-Moroccan Joint Commission for Economic and Technical Cooperation, which concluded its meetings in Rabat on Friday evening.
The Committee approved a number of recommendations to enhance cooperation in economic, commercial, investment, and tourism fields.
The Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry and the General Federation of Morocco Contractors have decided to encourage businessmen to export products required in both countries, and to hold discussions with relevant authorities to conclude an agreement on tax exemption for air transportation between the two countries.
The Saudi side reiterated its desire for the Saudi national carrier to have the right of transportation from Casablanca to Dakar, and asked the Moroccan side to reconsider prices of air cargo between the two countries. The Moroccan side suggested convening a meeting of technical specialists to study commercial cooperation between the two national carriers within six months.
The two sides agreed to hold symposiums on investment, and to call upon the Board of Directors of the Saudi-Moroccan Company for Investment and Development to study the possibility of establishing an office for commercial services.
The Moroccan side expressed its appreciation of the continuous efforts of the Saudi Fund for Development in financing various development projects in Morocco. The two sides stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation in the tourism sector.
The two sides decided to initiate procedures for the establishment and administration of two offices to represent and serve business groups in both countries, and for the offices to begin work by the end of this year. They also decided to hold the 10th session of the Joint Committee in Riyadh.
Prince Saud Al-Faisal expressed his appreciation of the work of the 9th session, which he described as the most successful session held, and of the resulting boost of Arab cooperation and solidarity. He suggested holding the forthcoming session in the autumn of 2004.
Mohammed Bin Isa lauded the results of the 9th session, which considerably developed the activities of the Joint Committee. He expressed appreciation for the efforts of Prince Saud Al-Faisal to enhance relations between the two countries.
The two sides confirmed their commitment to support Arab solidarity and cooperation. They expressed support for efforts to find a just, peaceful settlement of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, in accordance with resolutions of internationally legitimacy, the principle of land for peace, and the Arab initiative adopted at the Beirut Summit. The two sides appealed to the international Quartet Committee to apply pressure for effective implementation of the ‘road map’ for peace. They expressed their appreciation of the role of the Al-Quds (Jerusalem) Committee, operating under the chairmanship of King Mohammed VI of Morocco.
The two sides condemned the bombing attack on the UN headquarters in Baghdad, and expressed hope that the Iraqi people could achieve stability, security, unity and sovereignty, and that the formation of the Iraqi Governing Council would constitute the first step towards that end.
They reiterated their denunciation of all forms of terrorism, and called for international efforts to combat terrorist networks, and promote the true image of Islam as a religion of tolerance and peaceful coexistence between civilizations. They denounced all attempts to link terrorism with the religion of Islam.
Source: SPA
