Morocco and the European Union (EU) will start, Friday in Rabat, negotiations for the renewal of the fisheries partnership protocol, said minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, Rural Development, Waters and Forests, Aziz Akhannouch. The announcement was made at a meeting held Thursday in Rabat between Morocco and the EU. It took place in the presence of minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Nasser Bourita, secretary of State for Fisheries, Mbarka Bouaida, and head of the EU delegation in Morocco, ambassador Claudia Wiedey. In a statement to the press at the end of the meeting, Akhannouch stated that «Morocco and the EU will start a new phase and I hope that the negotiations will culminate in a mutually beneficial agreement that respects the commitments of both parties». For his part, Bourita noted that «the opening of negotiations for the renewal of the fisheries agreement reflects the full commitment of the EU and its member States to the preservation and strengthening of the overall Morocco-EU partnership». He also stressed that this time the negotiations are taking place in a very particular context marked by «external attacks against this partnership and judicial maneuvers by certain parties to divert it from its path and objectives». The new protocol will determine the conditions for this partnership, the objectives of which are to develop sustainable fisheries in the interests of both parties and strengthen ocean governance, in particular by enhancing scientific monitoring, control and surveillance of fisheries in the region. The current fisheries protocol between Morocco and the EU expires on July 14.
