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The Colombian embassy in Rabat will provide consular services throughout the entire Moroccan territory, including the Sahara, underlined Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Colombia, Marta Lucia Ramirez.

“I reiterate that the consular services provided by the Colombian embassy in Morocco will be carried out in coordination with the Moroccan authorities and will cover the entire Moroccan territory, including the Sahara,” said Lucia Ramirez, on the sidelines of her visit to Morocco.

The Colombian official, who recently returned from an official visit to the Kingdom, stated that the “extension of consular assistance has no impact on Moroccan and Colombian diplomatic or consular relations with third countries,” adding that consular assistance in the Sahara will facilitate services to Colombians.

“As Colombia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, my responsibility is to ensure that every Colombian abroad knows that they can go to the nearest Colombian embassy or consulate in case of need,” she said.

Lucia Ramirez noted that, as a result of her visit to Morocco, which represents the outstanding level of relations between Colombia and the Kingdom, the agreement on mutual exemption of visas for holders of ordinary passports would enter into force on November 28 for short-term travel.

“We are sure that this agreement will exponentially increase the flow of travel between the two countries, both for tourism and for investment and bilateral trade,” she stressed, noting that this flow of travelers will include those who travel to North Africa, as well as those in the Sahara.”

“All of the above will serve the economic recovery, investment, tourism and employment in our two countries,” she said.

On the Sahara issue, Lucia Ramirez reaffirmed her country’s position, recognizing the importance of the Moroccan autonomy initiative, all of the UN Secretary General’s efforts, the appointment of his new Personal Envoy Staffan de Mistura, and the relevant Security Council resolutions to achieve a realistic and lasting political solution, based on the compromise of all parties, to end an issue that Morocco considers vital in the context of its territorial integrity.

With these statements, Colombia’s Vice-President confirms unequivocally the content of the joint statement issued on October 28, 2021, following her meeting with Minister of Foreign Affairs Nasser Bourita, particularly paragraphs 8 and 9 of this document, which include the recognition of the importance of the autonomy plan and the decision to extend Colombia’s consular services in the Moroccan Sahara.

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Morocco has emerged as an “emerging economic power” that serves as a gateway to African markets for both Colombia and many other South American countries, said Marta Lucia Ramirez, Colombia’s Vice President and Minister of Foreign Relations, on Thursday in Rabat, praising the Kingdom’s development and prosperity under HM King Mohammed VI’s wise leadership.

Morocco has made significant progress in strengthening democracy, development, and the economy, Ramirez said in a press statement following her meeting with Rachid Talbi Alami, Speaker of the House of Representatives, noting that the two countries face similar challenges and have similar perspectives on many issues.

“We will work to strengthen and improve our ties in the near future,” she stressed.

In response to the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on both countries, the Colombian official stated that these challenges are “an opportunity for economic takeoff” for her country, as well as for Morocco, which has made significant progress in terms of health coverage and mass vaccination, allowing it to overcome this stage of the crisis.

Talbi Alami, for one, said the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss ways to deepen bilateral cooperation and solve concerns and challenges that the two countries face.

The discussions also covered the Kingdom’s territorial integrity and the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, he added, noting that the Colombian official praised Morocco’s experience in containing the virus and welcomed the Kingdom’s vaccination operation, which was closely followed by South American countries, particularly Colombia.

Talbi Alami also remarked on both countries’ willingness to work toward economic recovery and to address the economic and social difficulties caused by the health crisis.

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Colombia and Moroccounderlined the similarities in their visions of a migration strategy that protects migrants’ fundamental rights and ensures their dignity on Thursday in Rabat.

“Colombia and Morocco converge in their vision of a migration policy that safeguards the legitimate rights of migrants and guarantees their dignity,” said the joint statement following talks between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, and the Vice-President and Minister of External Relations of Colombia, Marta Lucia Ramirez.

According to the joint statement, Bourita and Ramirez agreed, given the impact of the migration phenomenon that “it represents a real challenge for the international community.”

In this context and concerning the crisis in Venezuela, Bourita “welcomed the extensive work carried out by Colombia to address the humanitarian situation resulting from the large number of Venezuelan migrants arriving in the country,” emphasizing the significance of Colombia giving Temporary Protection Status to Venezuelan migrants and issuing the Temporary Protection Card.

Herefore, Bourita reaffirmed Morocco’s support for Colombia’s “Peace with Legality” policy, as directed by President Ivan Duque Márquez, and the numerous stabilization initiatives undertaken by Colombia in the fulfillment of peace treaties.

He praised President lván Duque Márquez and his government’s efforts in the areas of peace and legality, as well as the development of conditions in the country’s regions and the impact of these actions on stability and perception, according to the joint statement.

Bourita also praised the decision announced by the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor General to close the preliminary file on Colombia.

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Morocco and Colombia reiterated, Thursday in Rabat, their commitment to continue to promote and strengthen political, trade, energy, economic, cultural and academic relations.

In a joint statement, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, and Colombia’s Vice President and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Marta Lucia Ramirez, reaffirmed their commitment to continue to promote these relations, by exploring opportunities to strengthen bilateral trade and taking into account the complementarity and respective potential of the two countries.

In terms of economic and trade relations, they committed to seeking new mechanisms to expand and diversify trade and explore investment opportunities through the establishment of productive platforms that facilitate access to markets with their respective regions, urging Moroccan and Colombian experts to hold sectoral meetings, establishing a roadmap with priorities to that end, according to the Joint statement.

They also welcomed the convergence of views on many issues, both regional and international, and promised to increase cooperation and coordination in international and regional organizations, agreeing to collaborate in this regard to strengthen multilateral diplomacy and global forums in which both countries are active.

In the areas of cultural and educational cooperation, both sides agreed on the relevance of continuing to promote and expand them to various sectors of common interest, through academic activities and exchanges between academic institutions of both countries.

In addition, the two ministers agreed to expand their cultural collaboration by hosting exchanges between the Mohammed VI Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art and the Bank of the Republic of Colombia’s Gold Museum.

They also decided to establish two integrated agriculture programs (irrigation systems, soil mapping, fertilizers, and so on) in two Colombian locations to be located on the Atlantic and Pacific coastlines as soon as possible.

The two ministers decided to create programs for the exchange of experiences and best practices in the sphere of social economy, with a focus on the participation of rural women.

Following the signing of the acts at the working meeting on April 6, 2021, the two parties exchanged notes on the entry into force of the Agreement on Visa Waiver for Holders of Ordinary Passports, which will result in a significant increase in human, tourism, economic, social, commercial, and academic exchanges between the two friendly countries.

Regarding Nasser Bourita’s request to undertake a professional and friendship visit to Colombia, the Minister stated that he intends to do so in 2022.

According to the joint statement, Marta Lucia Ramirez, Colombia’s Vice President and Minister of Foreign Relations, expressed delight with the progress made and mutual understanding, and appreciated the warm welcome and hospitality she received during her visit to the Kingdom of Morocco.

Marta Lucia Ramrez is visiting Morocco from October 28 to November 1, 2021, at the invitation of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita.

This visit gave the chance to praise the excellent level of bilateral relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Colombia, as well as to reaffirm the shared willingness of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Excellency President Iván Duque Márquez to continue to consolidate the fruitful multidimensional association that fortunately exists between the two countries, both bilaterally and multilaterally, and especially as part of South-South cooperation.

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Marta Lucia Ramirez Blanco, Colombia’s Vice-President, Minister of Foreign Affairs, will visit Morocco next week for four days, meeting with Prime Minister Mr. Aziz Akhannouch and Foreign Minister Mr. Nasser Bourita.

Colombia’s support for a practical self autonomy proposal is likely to be reaffirmed, and the country might become the first Latin American country to open a diplomatic mission in Moroccan Sahara.

Morocco and Colombia’s already strong ties were bolstered by the signing of a number of bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding.

Furthermore, Farida Loudaya, the Moroccan ambassador to Colombia met yesterday César Ortiz Zorro, a Colombian congressman and parliamentarian, and Eduardo Chiliquinga Mazón, the secretary general of the Andean Parliament.

#Hoy – El congresista y parlamentario andino por Colombia, César Ortiz Zorro (@CesarOrtiZorro) y el secretario general del Parlamento Andino, doctor Eduardo Chiliquinga Mazón, se reunieron con la embajadora de #Marruecos, @FaridaLoudaya. ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/qcGycoSYNy

— Parlamento Andino (@Parlandino) October 22, 2021

During the meeting, inter-institutional cooperation issues were discussed, as well as the reactivation of joint activities with the Moroccan Parliament, given its importance as one of the Andean Parliament’s observer countries (along with Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru), according to the Moroccan Embassy.

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The Minister of External Relations of the Republic of Colombia, Claudia Blum, stressed on Tuesday the importance of the Moroccan autonomy initiative, with a view to reaching a political, realistic and lasting solution based on the compromise of all parties in order to put an end to the Sahara issue, which is vital for Morocco, within the framework of its sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Blum highlighted the serious efforts made by the Kingdom of Morocco in the search for a political, pragmatic, realistic and lasting solution to this dispute, within the framework of the political process carried out under the exclusive auspices of the United Nations which has been recognized in various resolutions of the UN Security Council, indicates a joint statement released after a videoconference between Blum and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Residing Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita.

During this videoconference, the two officials exchanged views on the strategic and exemplary relations uniting the two countries and examined the new perspectives linked to the bilateral partnership.

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The Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Colombia signed two bilateral agreements and two memoranda of understanding (MoU) on Tuesday during a videoconference held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans residing abroad, Nasser Bourita, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Colombia, Claudia Blum.

The first air services agreement aims to gradually organize the reciprocal opening of the air markets of the two countries and includes provisions relating to the granting of traffic rights, operating authorizations for air transport companies, fees and customs duties, commercial representation of companies, tariffs and revenue transfers.

The second agreement, corresponding to the mutual visa exemption for holders of ordinary passports, aims to exempt nationals of a country holding an ordinary passport and holders of a diplomatic passport from the visa requirement for short term residence (90 days) in the other country.

In addition to that, two memoranda of understanding were signed on this occasion, including the first by the two foreign ministers relating to cooperation in the fight against world drug problems with the aim of promoting cooperation in the field of drug abuse. Fight against drug trafficking as well as coordination between the competent authorities of the two countries.

Associating the Moroccan International Cooperation Agency (AMCI) and the Presidential Agency for International Cooperation of Colombia (APC-COLOMBIA), the second memorandum of understanding, signed by the respective directors of the two cooperation agencies, Mohamed Methqal and Ángela Ospina of Nicholls, aims to establish a cooperative relationship between the Cooperation Agencies of the two countries within the framework of South-South cooperation by implementing initiatives of academic, cultural, scientific and technical cooperation, and to encourage the exchange of experiences, management and exchange of expertise and know-how in the priority areas identified by the two parties.

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Morocco’s ambassador to Colombia and Ecuador, Farida Loudaya, stated that Morocco has adopted a proactive, bold and pioneering strategy to combat Covid-19, noting that the Kingdom is the first country in Africa to launch a vaccination campaign against the pandemic.

In an interview with the Colombian daily “Primícia Diario”, Loudaya said that the measures taken by Morocco to confront the pandemic have enabled the control of increasing numbers of infections and the mitigation of economic and social impacts of this health crisis.

She added that the vaccination campaign, which was launched a few weeks ago, is progressing at a steady pace to vaccinate 80% of the population in accordance with the high directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, who stressed the need for good preparation and proper performance of this major national operation at all levels, with special emphasis on ensuring access to vaccines in a social and solidarity framework and their availability free of charge and in adequate quantities.

Regarding the Kingdom’s solidarity with African countries, the Moroccan diplomat pointed out that His Majesty, King Mohammed VI, who called for a pragmatic approach directed towards work and exchange of experiences, gave directives to provide medical aid to many African countries to keep pace with their efforts in combating the pandemic.

The Ambassador also stated that Morocco provided, through this generous initiative, medical equipment and batches of medicines to treat Covid-19 patients, noting that this initiative was praised by the international community.

On the other hand, Loudaya affirmed that university exchange has always been on the agenda between Morocco and Colombia in order to enhance cooperation in the educational field, and explore the culture of the two countries, evaluate it and understand it, and improve students’ linguistic capabilities.

In this regard, she mentioned the academic cooperation agreements signed, such as those between the International University of Rabat, the University of Rosario in Bogotá and the University of Medellin in order to promote exchange between future generations.

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