Morocco

25 Oct 2020; MEMO: The hashtag #BoycottFrenchProducts trended on Twitter accounts in Morocco on Friday, following the publication of offensive caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad on the walls of buildings in France.

RABAT, Oct. 2 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and the United States on Friday signed a 10-year defense cooperation road map, said diplomatic sources.

The agreement was signed in the capital Rabat by Morocco's Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita and visiting U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper.

According to diplomatic sources, the agreement will improve defense cooperation, partnerships and interoperability between the two countries.

Esper's visit to Morocco, which will conclude on Saturday, is the final stop on his North African tour including Tunisia and Algeria. 

28 Sep 2020; MEMO: Moroccan Prime Minister Saadeddine Othmani told the UN General Assembly on Saturday that there can be no peace without giving Palestinians their rights.

RABAT, Morocco (AP) — With air and sea borders closed for months and eight cities barring people from entering or leaving, Morocco has been pulling out the stops to stanch the spread of coronavirus.

Still, the kingdom on the Atlantic coast, a magnet for tourists in better times, has registered more than 110,000 positive cases since March and has a death toll of 2,041 — the highest among its North African neighbors.

RABAT, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Military leaders from Morocco on Thursday discussed with visiting French Chief of Defense Staff General Francois Lecointre about military cooperation.

The talks focused on strengthening military cooperation between the Armed Forces of the two countries, said a statement by the General Staff of Moroccan Armed Forces (FAR).

Francois Lecointre was received by Inspector General of FAR Abdelfattah Louarak, Minister-Delegate for National Defense Abdellatif Loudiyi, and the Foreign Affairs Minister Nasser Bourita.

10 Sep 2020; MEMO: Talks between Libya’s two rival administrations being held in the Moroccan capital Rabat, were suspended and due to restart today, official sources reported yesterday.

“The Libyan Dialogue, which has been proceeding in a positive and constructive manner, has achieved important understandings,” Maghreb Arabe Presse quoted the Libyan representative of the High Council of State, Mohamed Khalifa Najm, as saying.

09 Sep 2020; MEMO: The Moroccan government closed Casablanca yesterday as part of its measures to contain the spread of Covid-19, the official Moroccan News Agency has reported.

“All labour ports of Casablanca will be closed and movement to and from the city will be subject to an exceptional travel permit issued by the local authorities,” said the government on Sunday evening.

07 Sep 2020; MEMO: Morocco is reportedly hosting delegations representing the Libyan political rivals to discuss the country’s political deadlock and prepare for potential meetings in Geneva, Arabi21 reported yesterday.

Quoting an AFP report, Arabi21 said diplomatic sources revealed that a consultation meeting between representatives of the internationally-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) and the parliament in Tobruk met yesterday.

24 Aug 2020; MEMO: Moroccan Prime Minister Saad Dine El Otmani on Sunday rejected any normalisation of relations with Israel, Reuters reports.

“We refuse any normalisation with the Zionist entity because this emboldens it to go further in breaching the rights of the Palestinian people,” El Otmani told his Islamist PJD party.

12 Aug 2020; MEMO: The Arab League requires “profound reforms”, the Speaker of the Moroccan Parliament, Habib Al-Malki, said yesterday.

“The Arab world’s current conditions are not well,” Al-Malki told Palestine Today, stressing that the Arab League needed “deep reforms in order to meet the requirements of the current situation.”