Morocco and the European Union signed the exchange of letters amending the agricultural agreement binding both parties on Friday at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels, reflecting their strong partnership grounded in extended multidimensional cooperation.
Signed on Morocco’s side by Ambassador to His Majesty the King to the EU Ahmed Réda Chami, the agreement immediately enters into force provisionally, pending the completion of internal procedures of both parties.
Under this agreement, whose terms have been negotiated in a spirit of partnership and compromise, agricultural products of Morocco’s Southern provinces benefit from the same European market preferential access conditions that apply to products from the rest of the country, in accordance with the EU-Morocco Association Agreement.
The agreement introduces technical adjustments designed to facilitate product access and upgrading, particularly with regard to consumer information through labeling that indicates the production regions in Southern Morocco – “Laayoune-Sakiat el Hamra” and “Dakhla-Oued Eddahab”.
Inked in the same spirit of the exchange of letters signed in 2018 between the two parties, the agreement fosters strong trade relations and strengthens a solid and extensive partnership, as the Kingdom is the leading economic partner of the EU in Africa and the Arab world.
This agreement reflects Morocco and the EU’s shared will to deepen their long-standing partnership, given that its implementation is likely to contribute significantly to the national agricultural GDP, all while boosting employment and investment, especially in the Kingdom’s Southern provinces.
Furthermore, it paves the way to a more ambitious and structured cooperation with Brussels, by reinforcing existing political mechanisms and laying the foundations of a deepened strategic partnership.