Morocco and Spain Called to Establish a New “Human Network”
Rabat – Morocco and Spain, which share a unique cultural and human heritage, are called upon to develop a new “human network” with the aim of achieving an inclusive partnership that is at the service of all, especially through twinning cities, partnerships between universities, student mobility, joint actions of civil society actors and the creation of study committees and research institutes, said the joint statement issued at the end of the 12th session of the Moroccan-Spanish High Level Meeting, which ended Thursday in Rabat.
The Statement emphasized that the communities of nationals residing in both countries contribute to the mutual understanding of societies.
Given the importance of education, culture, and sports in bringing nations together, Spain and Morocco have agreed to prioritize exchanges in these areas in their cooperation relations.
The parties agree to promote the exchange of documentation relating to current school curricula in order to facilitate the accreditation and recognition of education and diplomas issued to students, according to the joint Statement, noting that both parties will strengthen their collaboration to promote student mobility.
In this regard, the Spanish side will investigate measures to simplify administrative procedures for Moroccan students in Spain, while both sides will take the necessary steps to encourage Spanish public and private universities to open branches in Morocco, whose university offer is now strongly oriented toward internationalization, and whose universities host more than 20,000 African students, with over 11,000 scholarships.
In this regard, both parties welcome the signing of the MoU on university cooperation, as well as the ongoing discussions between each of the signatory parties to facilitate mutual access of new university students.
They also commit to promoting their collaboration in sports, particularly in the areas of community sports, integration through sports, and high performance sports.
Furthermore, both parties express gratitude for their excellent collaboration in the implementation of the Program of Teaching Arabic Language and Moroccan Culture in Spain and pledge to strengthen it by providing the necessary human and material resources.
In this regard, both parties agree on the need to adopt an Agreement solely on this program, which will serve as a foundation for its improvement and ensure its sustainability, according to the joint Statement.
Satisfied with the exchanges which took place since the last High-Level Meeting in the field of cultural cooperation, the two parties called for holding the 7th session of the Joint Cultural and Educational Commission, established under the Cultural Agreement between the governments of the two countries, signed in Rabat on October 14, 1980 and which has not met since 2003.
The two countries, which also note the dynamism of the Spanish language in Morocco, are committed to strengthening the learning of this language in Moroccan schools, junior and high schools, and call for the development of a joint action plan to actively support the establishment of bilingual sections within the Moroccan education system at all levels, in accordance with the MoU signed for this purpose, as well as a training program in Spanish.
The two parties also agreed to expand their collaboration in media and institutional communication, including the creation of a memorandum of understanding.
They also agreed to begin updating the 1998 film co-production agreement and to create an audiovisual co-production agreement that would reflect both parties’ expectations.
According to the joint Statement, both parties express their interest in cooperating to ensure the protection of copyright and related rights in all areas by putting their respective competent bodies in contact and exchanging experiences and information, particularly on the impact of new technologies. The Moroccan side also expressed interest in concluding a reciprocal representation agreement between the Moroccan Copyright Office and its Spanish counterpart.
The two countries also welcomed the organization by the Kingdom of Morocco, in November 2022 in Fez, of the 9th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations, which was a strong moment to highlight the universality of its values.