Portugal and Morocco have displayed this year a political will to establish a strategic win-win partnership. This historically solid relationship, based on mutual respect, is reflected in the dynamism of bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
These Atlantic neighbours aim to strengthen their sustained political dialogue, boost exchanges, explore new areas of cooperation and explore the horizons of a multifaceted and strategic partnership.
Morocco is a strategic ally of Portugal. This was expressed last January during talks between the Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita and the Portuguese Minister of State and Foreign Affairs, Augusto Santos Silva. During these talks, the two ministers highlighted the key role that Morocco plays as an actor of stability, growth and development in Africa while stressing the need to strengthen partnership relations and raise them to a strategic level.
The signing by the two countries of an agreement on the residence and employment of Moroccan workers is the fruit of this exchange. This agreement aims to respond effectively to the growing demand for Moroccan workers.
To implement this agreement, the Minister of Economic Integration, Small Business, Employment and Skills, Younes Skouri, and the Portuguese Secretary of State for Labour, Miguel Fontes, agreed, in a joint statement issued after their talks on the sidelines of the fifth Union for the Mediterranean (UfM) ministerial meeting on employment and labour, held in May in Marrakech, to set up a multisectoral working group, which will meet regularly until the mobility agreement is ratified.