The Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Serbia believe in a set of principles and values, in particular respect for the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of United Nations member states
The creation of a success story will inspire entrepreneurs from both countries to invest and create win-win partnerships ~ H.E. Mohammed Amine Belhaj.
It was in March this year that Rabat and Belgrade formally commemorated the 65th anniversary of the establishing of their diplomatic relations. How did your embassy celebrate this jubilee?
Indeed, 2022 was a special year in the history of our bilateral relations, as we celebrated our long-lasting friendship, and the historical bonds uniting our peoples, in both Serbia and Morocco.
In this regard, the Embassy organised numerous activities of an artistic, cultural and economic nature to celebrate this joyous episode in our history, with the aim of introducing to our Serbian friends the aforementioned aspects of the Moroccan identity.
The culmination of this commemoration will take place on 9th December, through a “TRIPLE CONCERTO” concert performed by talented Moroccan pianist Dina Bensaid, accompanied by two gifted young Musicians playing Violin and Cello, at Madlenianum Opera & Theatre.
I want to seize this opportunity to thank all our Moroccan and Serbian partners, for without their support and engagement we couldn’t have made this celebration the remarkable success that it has been.
At the political level, how would you evaluate relations between Morocco and Serbia?
Relations between our countries are witnessing exceptional momentum at the political level, given that both the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Serbia believe in a set of principles and values, in particular respect for the territorial integrity and national sovereignty of United Nations member states.
Based on this common understanding, our friendly nations mutually support each other on the international scene. The position of the Kingdom of Morocco towards the Kosovo issue is a principled stance. My country does not support separatism and stands against all attempts to threaten the national unity and integrity of states. Hence, Morocco considers Kosovo a part of Serbia. At the same time, Morocco supports and encourages the political dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina led by Brussels, in order to find a permanent peaceful settlement to this issue.
On the other hand, the Republic of Serbia considers the Moroccan initiative of advanced autonomy for its southern provinces as a good solution to this artificial conflict, considering that it meets all the criteria set by the United Nations Security Council resolutions since 2007.
Thus, to summarise, I believe there is a clear will from our respective leaderships to further develop our bilateral relations and transform them into a strategic partnership based on mutual respect and deep-rooted friendship.
You have been representing your country in Serbia for more than five years. In your opinion, what areas of cooperation still need to be developed?
Speaking frankly, I believe that we still have a long way to go when it comes to economic cooperation. I think that both our countries offer huge potential and benefits that are yet to be explored.
I always say that the Moroccan and Serbian economies are complementary rather than competitive, and the commercial exchange between our countries should grow substantially if it is to truly reflect our excellent bilateral relations at the political level.
I was very happy to see that the commercial exchange between our countries quadrupled in 2020, reaching an all-time record of 743,31 Million Dirhams (approx. €70 million). Regardless of how much this number is below the aspirations of both our leaders, I believe that the dynamic is positive and that we must build on it by further encouraging initiatives and actions aimed at stimulating networking between our business communities and, more importantly, through the creation of a success story that will inspire entrepreneurs from both countries to invest and create win-win partnerships.
I am therefore looking forward to the holding of the 3rd session of the Joint Economic Commission in Belgrade, and the 1st session of the Moroccan-Serbian Business Council, in order to start progressing on this matter, and to present a powerful indication of the strong will of our respective governments to boost economic cooperation between our countries.