Morocco and Finland have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen their bilateral cooperation in the field of meteorology, on the sidelines of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) Congress, held from October 20 to 23 in Geneva. The agreement was signed by Mohamed Dkhissi, Director General of Meteorology (DGM), and Petteri Taalas, Director General of the Finnish Meteorological Institute. The MoU reflects the two institutions' shared commitment to fostering collaboration in areas of common interest such as meteorology, climate, and environmental monitoring. Speaking at the signing ceremony, Petteri Taalas, who also previously served as Secretary-General of the WMO, praised King Mohammed VI's efforts to protect the environment and expressed his satisfaction at deepening cooperation with Morocco in the field of meteorology, similar to other European countries. The Finnish official also highlighted Morocco's significant achievements in meteorology and climatology, noting the country's dynamic engagement illustrated by its hosting of COP22 in Marrakech in 2016. For his part, Mohamed Dkhissi stated that the signing of this MoU marks «a new phase in scientific cooperation between the two countries». He explained that the initiative aims to modernize tools for meteorological observation and assessment. A total of 133 member states, including Morocco, are taking part in the extraordinary WMO Congress, which seeks to accelerate and expand the United Nations «Early Warnings for All» initiative, launched by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in 2022, with the goal of achieving universal coverage by the end of 2027.
