Morocco, Burkina Faso Sign Various Agreements at 4th Joint Commission in Dakhla
Dakhla – Friday saw the signing of a number of bilateral agreements during the fourth session of the Morocco-Burkina Faso Joint Commission, which was co-chaired by Nasser Bourita, the Moroccan minister of foreign affairs, African cooperation, and Moroccan expatriates, and Olivia Ragnaghnewendé Rouamba, her Burkina Faso counterpart.
An agreement on mutual administrative assistance in customs matters was signed by the two parties. Its goals include applying both nations’ customs laws, preventing, investigating, and prosecuting customs offenses, and guaranteeing the security of global supply chains.
The pact also aims to increase cooperation between the two nations through the sharing of technological expertise, risk analysis and management techniques, and technology for auto valuation.
The General Conditions for the Transfer of a Person Sentenced in the Territory of One Party to the Territory of Another Party are established by the Convention on the Transfer of Sentenced Persons.
These requirements are based, among other things, on the actions or inactions that resulted in the conviction, the length of the sentence, the parties’ agreement to the transfer, etc.
Additionally, the two nations agreed to an action plan in the area of justice for the years 2024–2025. This plan aims to foster judicial cooperation between the justice ministries of the two nations by exchanging knowledge, providing training, hosting workshops, and exchanging legislation.
They also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Integrated Water Resources Management, in which they commit to strengthen and develop cooperation in the field of integrated water resources management through the exchange of visits of experts and executives to learn about the experiences of both parties, the exchange of information and documents, and the organization of meetings and seminars between the parties on topics of common interest.
The two ministers also signed a decentralized cooperation agreement aimed at creating a favourable framework for promoting decentralized cooperation between the local authorities of Burkina Faso and Morocco, on the one hand, and establishing partnerships between the public structures in charge of supporting local authorities and decentralization in the two countries, on the other.
They also signed a decentralized cooperation roadmap for 2023-2025, with the aim of creating a framework conducive to the establishment of cooperative relations (twinning and partnership) between the local authorities of the two countries, in accordance with the terms set out in the attached table.
In order to boost both countries’ economies and mutual knowledge of their different national cultures, the agreement also aims to strengthen cooperation between the two parties in the tourism industry through the development and expansion of their current tourism partnerships.
A Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation in the Field of Sports was also signed by the two parties. This document outlines the framework for programs of cooperation in the fields of sports and leisure that are based on reciprocity and aims to foster and facilitate communication and cooperation between the sports organizations of the two nations.
A Memorandum of Understanding covering several areas of cooperation between the two parties (educational and pedagogical innovation, system reform, management of educational projects and programs, and enhancing retention in educational systems) was signed in the field of education and training at the same time.
A cooperation agreement in the field of higher education, scientific research and innovation was also signed, in which the parties undertake to intensify their technical and scientific cooperation with a view to increasing the mobility of actors in the field of higher education, scientific research and innovation, through the mobility of teachers, specialists and researchers, the exchange of information on national procedures and regulations concerning the equivalence and recognition of diplomas, scientific titles and university degrees awarded by higher education and scientific research institutions, etc.
In addition, the two parties have signed a framework cooperation agreement on academic scholarships, internships and exchange of expertise, through which they undertake to further promote their cooperation in the cultural, scientific, technical and socio-economic fields through the exchange of students, experience and information, and the granting of scholarships.
For the academic years 2023–2024, 2024–2025, and 2025–2026, the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation will make a total of 130 scholarships available to Burkina Faso, with 100 scholarships falling under the official quota and 30 additional scholarships for the southern region of the Kingdom of Morocco.
A partnership cooperation agreement between the Moroccan Academy of Diplomatic Studies (AMED) and the Institut des Hautes Études Internationales (INHEI) of Burkina Faso was also signed by the two ministers. This agreement aims to develop and strengthen a strategic partnership between INHEI and AMED in areas of shared interest relating to international law, diplomacy, international relations, and all other topics related to diplomacy and international relations.