The Honourable François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today concluded a successful visit to Morocco, which focused on expanding the strategic relationship between the two countries.
During the visit, Minister Champagne met with Saad Eddine El Othmani, Prime Minister of Morocco, and Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, to discuss shared priorities, such as peace, stability, gender equality and commercial ties.
Minister Champagne also announced a collaboration between Global Affairs Canada and the Moroccan Academy of Diplomatic Studies to provide diplomatic training in Morocco to young diplomats from African countries including Morocco.
The Minister also participated in a town hall event with students at the HEM Institute for Advanced Studies in Management in Rabat.
Quotes
"For almost 60 years, Canada and Morocco have built a solid relationship based on deep people-to-people ties and our relationship through multilateral forums, such as La Francophonie. I would like to express my sincere thanks to my Moroccan counterparts for the warm welcome I received during my visit to Rabat. Together, we can develop our strategic relationship to advance peace, stability and gender equality and the commercial ties between our 2 countries."
- François-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs
Quick facts
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This was the Minister's second trip to Africa in as many months, after having attended the inaugural Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development in Africa, in Aswan, Egypt, on December 11 and 12, 2019.
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Canada and Morocco established formal diplomatic relations in 1962, with 2020 marking the 57th year of official bilateral relations.
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In 2018, Morocco was Canada's 53rd-largest bilateral merchandise trading partner and fourth-largest in Africa.
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Canada and Morocco were elected as co-chairs of the Global Counterterrorism Forum in September 2019, with the term ending in 2021.
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Canada's development assistance to Morocco began in 1963, and $80 million has been disbursed over the past 10 years.
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Canada's current programming supports Morocco's efforts to achieve gender equality and to promote women's and girls' rights.
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With a community of 104,000, Canadian-Moroccans make up the largest North African diaspora in Canada. Nearly 3,400 Moroccans studied in Canada in 2018.
