Doha – Morocco and Kazakhstan have announced the upcoming implementation of their visa exemption contract, which will be effective on March 19.
The agreement, signed Through foreign ministers of both countries during the 79th meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on September 26, 2024, the owners enable normal passports without visas between the two nations.
During a historical first official visit Kazakhstan’s deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Murat Attenu, met with the Morocco Minister Nasser Bourita, Nasser Bourita.
Both ministers claimed that the agreement is a remarkable progress in bilateral relationships.
“Kazakhstan sees Morocco as a decisive and respected partner in the Middle East and North Africa region,” said the Kazakh Foreign Ministry in an official statement.
Morocco will be the first African country that wanes such an agreement with Kazakhstan.
The visa exemption policy aims to promote the cooperation between tourism and to strengthen interpersonal and intercultural relationships between the two countries and at the same time stimulate commercial exchange.
The agreement comes when bilateral trade recorded a remarkable increase of 70% last year and reached 274 million US dollars.
Murat used Kazakhstan’s potential to expand his exports to Morocco, especially in important sectors such as finished petrochemical and metallurgical products, as well as in various foods worth 130 million US dollars.
The ministers declared their intention to conclude an air communication contract by 2025, which might lead to direct flights between the two countries.
In addition, both countries announced their commitment to use their strategic geographical positions in Africa and Central Asia to increase regional trade.
For this purpose, they agreed to create a common commission between the two governments, to promote the implementation of a Morocco-Kasachstan economic council and to improve logistical connectivity.
In view of the status of Kazakhstan as an important global wheat producer and exporter, both countries discussed the opportunity to build a logistics center in Morocco to facilitate the export of Kazakh wheat in the African markets.
The officials confirmed the importance of expanding cooperation around other areas of mutual interest, including technological innovation, energy transition, transport and logistics.
Digitization became another crucial topic in which Kazakhstan was interested in working with Morocco under the digital Morocco 2030 program.
Kazakh IT companies stated their willingness to initiate pilot projects in e-government, innovative IT solutions and cyber security.
On the security front Morocco and Kazakhstan agreed To strengthen cooperation in the areas of security and defense.
The Kazakh Deputy Prime Minister congratulated Morocco on the upcoming Hosting The 93rd Interpol General Assembly in Marrakech from November 24th to 27th.
The ministers are also committed to strengthening the cooperation between their respective Islamic institutions because they are both members of the organization of Islamic cooperation and emphasized how important it is to promote cultural and civilizational connections between Morocco and Kasakhstan.
This visa exemption agreement is made according to a similar decision between Morocco and Azerbaijan, which entered On August 28, 2024 when the North African country tries to strengthen relationships with Central Asian countries.
