THE MAJOR AGREEMENTS BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA AND
THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO.
Bilateral relations between the Republic of Ghana and the
Kingdom of Morocco were renewed following the election of His Excellency John
Agyekum Kuffour into office as President of the Republic. It is only under his
administration as President of the republic, that bilateral relations between
the Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of Morocco have seen massive improvement
and has since continued.
Since 2002 an Embassy of the Republic of Ghana has been
established in the Kingdom of Morocco (at Rabat) and has since been headed and
directed by His Excellency the Ambassador, Kobina Annan, who has played very
important and strategic roles towards enhancing cooperation between the two
countries. This report includes details of what he and his Hard working Staff
at the embassy have done over the past years towards the promotion of bilateral
cooperation between the two countries, (economic and political)
a) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON THE CONSULTATIONS
BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA AND THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO.
The first memorandum of understanding on consultations between
the Republic of Ghana and the Kingdom of Morocco was signed on Thursday,
19th April 2001 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the Republic
of Ghana and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation for the Kingdom of
Morocco. Both parties signed this MOU being mindful of the traditional friendly
relations between their countries and are most willing to develop and
strengthen this relation. They also considered their cooperation and the
mutuality of their agreements as a contribution to the promotion and protection
of international peace and security.
The two Ministers, being very mindful of the importance of
regular consultations and exchanges between the two countries at various levels
of bilateral relations and international issues of common interest, reaffirmed
their adherence to the purposes and principles of the United Nations
Charter.
This MOU, signed on 19 April 2001, between the Republic of
Ghana and the Kingdom of Morocco, led to the signing of five other agreements (
some of which are provisional) in various fields namely, Marine fisheries
co-operation, Tourism, Air service agreements, Investment promotion agreements
and co-operation in the fields of mining and geology.
b) THE AGREEMENT ON RECIPROCAL PROMOTION AND
PROTECTION OF INVESTMENTS.
The agreement on the promotion and protection of investment
was the second agreement to be signed between Ghana and Morocco, after the MOU
on consultations between the two countries
The delegations of the Kingdom
of Morocco and the Republic of Ghana met in Accra on 23rd February,
2003 for the second round of negotiations on the signing of the agreement for
the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments.
Mr. Najib Mohammed Bouhlal, head of the Division of funding
and Bilateral relations at the Treasury Department and External Finance,
Ministry of Finance and Privatization, was at the head of the delegation of the
Kingdom of Morocco while Ms. Ruth Nyakotey (Investment Promotion Centre,
Ghana), was the head of the delegation of the Republic of Ghana, and signed the
agreement on behalf of the Republic of Ghana.
The negotiations were conducted in a constructive and friendly
atmosphere and both delegations reached complete agreement on the provisions of
the agreement. The delegations agreed that they would proceed with due
diligence in order to complete the formalities for early signing of the
agreements.
c) THE COOPERATION AGREEMENT ON MARINE FISHERIES
BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF GHANA AND THE KINGDOM OF MOROCCO.
This agreement, signed in Rabat on 10th October
2003, was the third of its kind to be signed between the two countries.
It
was signed by Mr. Edward Martey AKITA Minister of State for Fisheries
Maritimes, and representing the Government of the Republic of Ghana and Mr.
Tayeb RHAFES, Minister of Maritime Fisheries and representing the Government of
the Kingdom of Morocco.
This agreement not only aims at strengthening the good and
friendly relations between the two countries but also to serve as a channel
through which the two countries could further develop mutually their Maritime
fishery industry as well as the preservation and management of living resources
in their waters, knowing the important role that this sector plays in the
socio-economic development of both countries.
It also aims at boosting
cooperation between the two countries in the fields of technical and scientific
training in marine fisheries as well as the processing of marine products.
d) AGREEMENT OF COOPERATION IN THE FIELDS OF TOURISM
AND AIR SERVICE.
The Cooperation Agreement between the Republic of Ghana and
the Kingdom of Morocco in the fields of tourism was signed on 20th
January, 2004 in Rabat. It is the fourth among the five agreements signed so
far. However, the agreement on cooperation in air transport and aviation are
still provisional pending a final signature. This section will be divided into
2 parts.
The first will involve the agreement on co-operation in
tourism and the second will be devoted to the air service agreement.
With regards to the agreement on cooperation in tourism, it is
an agreement that has actually been signed and under implementation. Several
steps have been taken during the last few years all in an attempt to achieve
the objectives of this agreement.
Concerning the agreement on Air service, it is an agreement
that is supposed to come into force provisionally, pending final signature.
Upon entry into force, it shall supersede the air transport agreement of
28th January, 1963 between the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco
and the Government of the Republic of Ghana.
However, the agreement of 1963 had not been effective, and for
a good number of years there was virtually no direct air transport service
between the two countries. However the air transport agreement, even though
provisional, has yet been functional since January 2007.
e) AGREEMENT ON COOPERATION IN MINING AND GEOLOGICAL
FIELDS (MOU).
This agreement was the fifth to be signed between the Republic
of Ghana and the Kingdom of Morocco. Still regarded as a memorandum of
understanding between the two countries, much remains to be done in order that,
this agreement reaches its objectives (entry into force and implementation).
This MOU was done on 22nd July, 2004 at Rabat after
consultations between Mr. Mohammed BOUTALEB, Minister of Energy and Mines for
the Kingdom of Morocco and Mrs. Cecilia BANNERMAN, Minister of Mine for the
Republic of Ghana.
The Two ministers representing respectively the Kingdom of
Morocco and the republic Of Ghana, Made this MOU, while taking into account
discussions held between them and recognizing that, their countries will
mutually benefit from collaborations regarding the development of mining and
geological fields.
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