Mohamed bin Zayed, King Mohammed VI of Morocco attend signing of agreements

His Majesty King Mohammed VI of Morocco and His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, on Tuesday witnessed the signing of 21 agreements and memoranda of understanding between the UAE and the Kingdom of Morocco, at the Royal Palace, in Casablanca.
The signing of these agreements underpins the growing, distinguished fraternal ties between the UAE, led by President His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and the Kingdom of Morocco, led by HM King Mohammed VI.
These agreements and MoUs covered diverse areas of joint cooperation including security, politics, energy, education, sports, culture, customs, Islamic affairs, health, communications, tourism, and infrastructure.
At the end of the ceremony, King Mohammed presented the Order of the Mohammedi of first class to Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in recognition of his contributions and efforts to support the UAE-Moroccan ties and his keenness to solidify them in the service of mutual interests of the two fellow countries and people.
H.H. said the signing of these agreements constitutes a qualitative addition and a new driving force that will further strengthen the ties between the two countries and their leaderships.
He affirmed that the agreements demonstrate the advanced level of progress in these relations and even further evolution to come.
Sheikh Mohamed stressed the importance of enhancing these historic ties on the ground through implementation of joint projects in economic, industrial, cultural, and humanitarian fields and other joint frameworks that fulfil the ambitions of the two countries' people and consolidate holistic partnership.
Attending the signing ceremony were H.H. Sheikh Hamdan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Ruler's Representative in the Western Region, Prince Moulay Rachid, H.H. Sheikh Nahyan bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan Charitable and Humanitarian Foundation, H.H. Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, and H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister.
Lt. General Sheikh Saif bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior, and his Moroccan counterpart Mohamed Hassad signed a security cooperation agreement.
An MoU to establish a multidisciplinary nursing and education centre was signed by H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Mohamed Hassad.
H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Salaheddine Mezouar, Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, inked an MoU between the Emirates Diplomatic Academy and the Moroccan Academy of Diplomatic Studies. The two ministers also sealed another MoU to set up a joint committee on consular cooperation.
An MoU on agricultural quarantine, plant protection and trade in agricultural products was signed by HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Minister of Agriculture and Marine Fisheries Aziz Akhannouch. They also inked an MoU on the field of veterinary health and safety of animal and sea products and another one on agricultural investment and livestock.
HH Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Minister of Economy and Finance Mohamed Boussaid inked an agreement that covers the mutual technical and administrative assistance in customs matters.
A framework agreement for cooperation in the field of renewable energy was signed by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Masdar, and the Minister of Energy, Mines, Water and Environment, Abdelkader Amara. Under the agreement, Masdar will study, identify and evaluate commercial investment opportunities in renewable energy in Morocco. On its part, the Moroccan ministry will present a list of potential locations for development of renewable energy projects.
An agreement between the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines and the UAE's Mubadala Petroleum for the exploration and evaluation of oil reserves in the Western Mediterranean region was signed by Dr. Sultan bin Ahmed Al Jaber, Minister of State, and CEO of Energy Sector at Mubadala Development Co., and Amina Belkhadra, Director General of the National Office of Hydrocarbons and Mines. Under the agreement, Mubadala will also provide training services to its partner.
Dr. Sultan Al Jaber and Ali Fassi Fihri, Director General of the National Authority of Water and Electricity sealed a cooperative agreement on the implementation of projects to provide solar energy to homes in the regions not connected to the electricity grid. Masdar will install solar power systems in 17,670 homes across 940 villages.
The Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy and "Masdar" will join forces to develop renewable energy solutions, notably solar power. It was signed by Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, Minister of State and Chairman of Masdar, and Mustapha Bakkoury, Director General of the Moroccan Agency for Solar Energy.
An MoU higher education and scientific research was signed by Saeed Al Hassani, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research, and Lahcen Daoudi, Minister of Higher Education, Scientific Research and Executive Training.
Khoula Al Mualla, Assistant Undersecretary at the Ministry of Education, and Rachid Benmokhtar, Minister of Education and Vocational Training, sealed an MoU on joint cooperation in the field of education.
The two countries also signed an MoU on youth and sports. It was signed by Ibrahim Abdulmalik, Secretary-General of the General Authority of Youth and Sports Welfare, Ibrahim Abdulmalik Mohand Laenser, Minister of Urban Development and Planning.
An MoU on Islamic Cooperation was signed by Mohamed Mattar Al Kaabi, Chairman of the General Authority of Islamic Affairs and Endowments, and the Minister of Endowments and Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Toufiq.
An MoU on tourism and real estate cooperation was signed by Khalifa Al Khouri, Deputy President of UAE's Al Qudra Holding, and Mohamed Hassad, Morocco's Minister of Interior, Mohamed Boussaid, Minister of Economy and Finance, Lahcen Haddad, Minister of Tourism, and Abdelouafi Laftite, the Wali of the Rabat region.
The UAE and Morocco will also cooperate to fight the Ebola virus in West Africa under an MoU signed yesterday by Maha Barakat, Director-General of the Health Authority Abu Dhabi (HAAD), and Moroccan Minister of Health Lhoucine El Ouardi.
Mohamed Al Abbar, Managing Director of Eagle Hills, and Lamghari Sqal, Director of the Agency for the development of the Bouregreg valley, signed an agreement for the development of Rabat project.
An MoU on the development of the Tangier port was inked by Mohamed Al Abbar, Managing Director of Eagle Hills, and Mohamed Ouanya, CEO of the Agency for the development of Tangier-City port.
An agreement for the acquisition by Maroc Telcom of all the shares held by the UAE Etisalat in African companies. It was signed by Mr Ahmed Abdulkrim Julfar, CEO of Etisalat, and Abdeslam Ahizoun, CEO of Maroc Telecom.
Present also at the signing ceremony were a number of ministers and senior officials from both countries.