Speaker of the House of Advisors (upper house), Hakim Benchamach, held talks on Thursday in Santo Domingo with the Dominican Foreign Affairs Minister, Miguel Octavio Vargas Maldonado.

 The talks focused on the means to strengthen bilateral relations and topics of common interest.

On this occasion, Benchamach highlighted the quality of the relations of friendship between the two countries, noting that the visit paid by HM King Mohammed VI to the Dominican Republic in 2004 helped develop these relations.

He also shed light on the important reforms undertaken by Morocco in the areas of democracy and socio-economic development, saying that the Kingdom has become a model of development and political stability in the region, thanks to the enlightened vision of HM the King.

Morocco is eager to develop its relations with the Dominican Republic and the countries of Central America and the Caribbean in general, he pointed out.

The Kingdom of Morocco and the countries of Central America and the Caribbean have significant opportunities to establish a genuine win-win partnership and promote South-South cooperation, Benchamach added.

He also seized this opportunity to welcome the Dominican Republic's consistent position on Morocco’s territorial integrity and to congratulate Vargas Maldonado on the election of the Dominican Republic as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.

For his part, the Dominican FM expressed his country's gratitude for Morocco's support to its membership to the UN Security Council, reiterating the Dominican Republic's support for the efforts aimed at reaching a consensual solution to the regional conflict over the Moroccan Sahara.

Vargas Maldonado also expressed his country's determination to give new impetus to bilateral cooperation relations in various areas of common interest, underlining the importance of opening a direct air route between the two countries to facilitate exchanges.

This meeting took place on the sidelines of Benchamach's participation at the regional annual forum of the Central American Parliament (Parlacen) at the head of a parliamentary delegation.