São Paulo – The Moroccan minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation, Saad Eddine El Othmani, has invited Brazil’s vice president, Michel Temer, to pay an official visit to morocco this year. The two convened at Temer’s office this Wednesday (18th), in Brasília, on the first day of the Moroccan’s two-day visit to Brazil.
According to information from the Brazilian Vice-Presidency, Othmani told Temer that the main purpose of his visit is to boost trade relations between the two countries. In November this year, the Moroccan airline Royal Air Maroc will start flying to Brazil three times a week. On September 24th, the Moroccan Investment Development Agency (Invest in Marroco) will host a dinner in São Paulo to promote opportunities in the country.
Year-to-date through August, Brazil amassed US$ 408.56 million in revenues from exports to Morocco. The main type of product shipped was processed foodstuffs, which accounted for 66.7% of total exports by August. The trade balance between the two countries, however, runs a deficit on the Brazilian side. During that same period, Morocco shipped US$ 890.24 million worth of products to Brazil, 97.8% of which consisted of fertilizers.
Othmani also met with the Brazilian minister of Foreign Relations, Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado. The agenda for the meeting included enhancing cooperation between the two countries in sectors like agriculture, tourism, and social development.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry (aka Itamaraty) has informed Othmani and Machado signed an agreement for legal cooperation in civil matters. They also scheduled, for quarter one 2014, the meeting of the Brazil-Morocco joint commission to discuss the furthering of relations between the two countries. according to the Itamaraty, the two ministers also discussed “international diplomacy issues,” and the Moroccan minister said he supports Brazil’s aspiration to a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (SC). Morocco is a temporary member of the SC up until the end of this year. Othmani’s appointments in Brasília also included a visit to the National Congress.
More meetings
This Thursday (19th), the Moroccan foreign minister will be in São Paulo. He will attend luncheon with the boards of directors of the Arab Brazilian Chamber of Commerce and the Federation of Industries of the State of São Paulo (Fiesp) will pay a visit to the former’s headquarters, where he will attend a press meeting. Othmani’s schedule also includes a visit to the Memorial of Morocco.
*Translated by Gabriel Pomerancblum
