Finland and Morocco Discuss Green Transition
Morocco expressed its appreciation for Finland’s Africa Strategy and the willingness to contribute to the implementation of this strategy at the bilateral level.
Ministers exchange views on bilateral and international issues
The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Finland, Ms. Elina Valtonen, welcomed the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates, Mr. Nasser Bourita, in Helsinki for a working visit on August, 6th 2024.
The two ministers exchanged views on many topical international and bilateral issues and agreed that the relations between Finland and Morocco are excellent and beneficial for both countries.
Ministers also reaffirmed their shared willingness to further strengthen and expand the bilateral relations, on this 65th anniversary of the Finnish-Moroccan diplomatic relations.
Finland highlighted Morocco’s political stability and welcomed the reforms carried out by Morocco under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, for a more open and dynamic Moroccan society and economy, notably through the new development model and advanced regionalisation.
Ministers reaffirmed their strong resolve to strengthen economic and trade relations between the two countries to reach their full potential and recognised Morocco’s key position as a gateway between Africa and Europe.
In this context, the parties agreed to expand their annual political consultations to include economic and business interests Ministers agreed also to plan to hold a business seminar in 2025 to encourage cooperation between the economic actors of both countries.
The Ministers identified several key sectors, which would offer mutual benefits for both countries. Digitalisation, particularly with regard to cybersecurity and the deployment of secure 5G networks, among other ICT infrastructure and services, was identified as a priority area.
Both countries underlined the importance of secure networks for the national security, and as a factor for investment decisions for developing trust based digital economy.
The Ministers recalled the important agreed framework of their bilateral relations including the two Memorandums of Understanding signed between Finland and Morocco in the fields of renewable energy and integrated water resources and welcomed concrete steps for their continued implementation.
In the water sector, Finland is well positioned to offer expertise in water related technologies and smart solutions in line with Morocco’s priorities. The two Ministers agreed to encourage experts to look for new potential areas of common interest.
Collaboration on the green transition
Ministers took note of both countries ambitious renewable energy targets and identified solutions to support the green transition, including through green hydrogen, as a key area for future collaboration.
The Ministers also noted healthcare and wellbeing technologies as prominent areas of partnership especially in light of the current health sector reforms in Morocco.
Morocco expressed its appreciation for Finland’s Africa Strategy and the willingness to contribute to the implementation of this strategy at the bilateral level as well as through tripartite cooperation with African countries.
Finland welcomed Morocco’s efforts through various initiatives launched under the leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, to further peace, stability and socio-economic development in Africa, in particular, the “Royal initiative to facilitate access for Sahel countries to the Atlantic Ocean”, as well as the “Atlantic African States Process”.
Both ministers underlined that the EU and Morocco are longstanding strategic partners and that their cooperation is important in jointly addressing global and regional threats and challenges, affecting the security and prosperity of both regions.
They also recognised the important role of Morocco in the EU-Africa partnership at large, as well as Morocco’s key role in enhancing regional cooperation and stability in the region, fight against terrorism and cooperation on cross-border migration management.
