Morocco

23 March 2022; MEMO: The Moroccan armed forces are conducting joint manoeuvres with their French counterparts in the east of the country near the border with Algeria, the General Staff of the Royal Moroccan Armed Forces said in a statement on Monday.

The Moroccan-French joint air-land exercise dubbed "Chergui 2022" has been taking place from 1-25 March in the Errachidia region in the east of the country.

11 March 2022; MEMO: Moroccan teachers yesterday announced an extension to their strike until the end of the week, in protest against prison terms issued against their peers.

The statement was made by the Coordination of Contractual Teachers, after a Moroccan court yesterday sentenced 44 teachers to up to three months in jail and fined some 1,000 dirhams ($110) as a result of protests held last year.

RABAT, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Morocco and the United States on Tuesday held a session of strategic dialogue on bilateral ties and regional issues in the Moroccan capital of Rabat.

The dialogue was held by Moroccan Foreign Minister Nasser Bourita and U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman, according to a joint statement.

Sherman emphasized the "crucial role" of the North African country in "maintaining regional security and stability as well as its contribution to peace and prosperity in the Middle East," it said.

RABAT, Feb 21 (NNN-AGENCIES) – An Israeli minister arrived in Morocco on Sunday for a visit aimed at developing economic and trade ties, in the latest sign of expanding cooperation after the countries normalised relations in 2020.
 
   Economy Minister Orna Barbivai is due to sign “a historic cooperation agreement” aiming to establish “the economic foundations of trade relations between Morocco and Israel”, her ministry said in a statement.
 

IGHRAN, Morocco (AP) — A 5-year-old boy who was trapped for four days in a deep well in Morocco has died, the royal palace said Saturday.

Moroccan King Mohammed VI expressed his condolences to the boy’s parents in a statement released by the palace.

The boy, Rayan, was pulled out Saturday night by rescuers after a lengthy operation that captivated global attention.

An Associated Press reporter at the scene saw the boy wrapped in a yellow blanket after he emerged from a tunnel dug specifically for the rescue.

IGHRAN, Morocco (AP) — Attempts to rescue a 5-year-old boy trapped in a Moroccan well stretched into a fourth day Saturday, with unstable soil threatening the painstaking work of trying to dig him out safely. Fears grew that that it may be too late.

Online messages of support and concern for the boy, Rayan, poured in from around the world as the rescue efforts dragged through the night.

29 Jan 2022; MEMO: Morocco has filed a lawsuit before the Criminal Court in Paris against Amnesty International and the Forbidden Stories NGO for defamation. However, the Judiciary of France has refused to examine the complaint filed by Morocco against the French organisations, who accused the kingdom of spying on them via Israeli Pegasus software. Morocco has not yet issued a formal response.

07 Jan 2022; MEMO: The Moroccan Front in Support of Palestine and Against Normalisation has reiterated its rejection of all forms of normalisation with Israel, calling to immediately revoke the agreements signed with the Israeli government, despite the passage of a year since their announcement.

The group, which includes a number of civil society organisations, noted the great response by Moroccans to the protest movements called for to mark the one-year anniversary of this "ominous deal".

06 Jan 2022; MEMO: Morocco and China signed, on Wednesday, an agreement on joint implementation of "Belt and Road Initiative" reached in 2017, which stipulated establishing a trade and infrastructure bridge linking Asia to Europe and Africa, news agencies reported.

Nasser Bourita, Moroccan Foreign Affairs Minister, and Ning Jizhe, Vice Chairman of China's National Development and Reform Commission signed the deal virtually.

23 Dec 2021; MEMO: Morocco's Foreign Ministry said yesterday that the kingdom is considering resuming bilateral cooperation and normal diplomatic representation with Germany after positive statements and constructive stances recently expressed by the new German government, Reuters reports.

It added on Twitter that "Morocco hopes that these statements will be backed up by actions to reflect a new state of mind and mark a new beginning in the relationship based on clarity and mutual respect".