The Moscow Department of External Economic and International Relations (DEEIR) held a number of events in Morocco on 16–18 December 2019 to build interregional cooperation, strengthen partnerships with Morocco, and organize joint projects in urban development, economy, culture, and tourism. The Roscongress Foundation served as a partner in the content-related part of the events.
Minister of the Moscow Government and Director of the DEEIR Sergey Cheryomin and Rabat Mayor Mohamed Sadiki signed a Declaration of Intent on 17 December on the development of cooperation between the cities that calls for collaboration in such areas as the exchange of experience in digital technologies and their use in urban administration and planning, environmental protection, and improvements to the efficiency of transport infrastructure, among other areas.
«This is the first time that Moscow is signing a document with one of the capitals of the African continent. This is an historic event and a crucial stage in the development of relations between our countries. I hope that our fruitful cooperation will benefit the residents of our two capitals and countries and that we will exchange more achievements in our culture, history, science and technology in the coming years», Cheryomin said.
The plenary session ‘Bilateral Cooperation between Moscow and the Kingdom of Morocco’ was held in Casablanca on 18 December. It was moderated by Roman Chukov, an aide to the Roscongress Foundation CEO. The session was attended by Cheryomin, General Consul of Russia in Casablanca Andrey Tsybenko, deputy mayors of Rabat and Casablanca as well as representatives of the DEEIR, the Moscow Export Centre and Moroccan businesses. The programme of the plenary session centred around such themes as prospects for cooperation in investment, urban studies, smart cities, trade, culture, and tourism.
The Moscow Government’s visit to Casablanca also included a roundtable ‘Digital Transformation and the Formation of a Global Digital Space. Priorities, Prospects, and Key Projects’. The roundtable was moderated by Director of the Business Competences Development Centre Oleg Gurov and attended by DEEIR Deputy Director Alexey Bondaruk, deputy mayors of Rabat and Casablanca as well as Russian and Moroccan public figures.
«In October 2019, the first Russia—Africa Summit and Economic Forum were held in Sochi in an effort to bolster and expand cooperation between Russia and African countries in priority areas of economic cooperation. Today, Morocco is one of Russia’s main partners in Africa, and the events that are being held will undoubtedly contribute to both the further development of bilateral relations and the overall expansion of Russian cooperation with African states», Roscongress Foundation CEO and Chairman of the Board Alexander Stuglev said.
