Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot signs an agreement to strengthen cooperation between Belgium and Morocco

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Development Cooperation, Maxime Prévot, and Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, Nasser Bourita, met in Brussels to sign an agreement aimed at strengthening cooperation between Belgium and Morocco in a wide range of areas.

This agreement marks a new stage in a strategic and trust-based partnership, built on deep human, cultural and economic ties, notably thanks to the presence of a large Belgian-Moroccan community that contributes every day to bringing both societies closer together.

It is also an opportunity to reaffirm the principles on which our cooperation is based: peace, democracy, solidarity, respect for sovereignty, the right to self-determination, and, more broadly, international law.

Both ministers reaffirmed their shared determination to deepen bilateral cooperation through concrete and measurable results. The agreement provides, among other things, for the establishment of a comprehensive security dialogue, the modernization of judicial cooperation through the revision of the bilateral treaty on mutual legal assistance in criminal matters, and the strengthening of migration cooperation to streamline readmission procedures.

“This agreement reflects the trust and maturity of our relationship with Morocco. Together, we are choosing a responsible and respectful approach to better address our common challenges in the fields of security, justice and migration. It is an important step toward more effective cooperation,” declared Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot.

The meeting also highlighted the significant economic potential of the Belgian-Moroccan partnership. Both ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation in strategic sectors such as energy, infrastructure, construction, and port logistics. Belgium welcomed Morocco’s commitment to facilitating the integration of Belgian businesses into its economic ecosystem, while both countries underlined their shared ambition to create new opportunities for investment and innovation.

Fully aware of the existential importance of the question of Western Sahara for Morocco, Belgium considers the Moroccan Initiative for Negotiating an Autonomy Statute for the Sahara Region, presented in 2007 – which foresees that the region would fall within the framework of the Kingdom’s sovereignty and national unity – as the most appropriate, serious, credible and realistic basis for achieving a just, lasting and mutually acceptable political solution, in line with the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council. From now on, Belgium will act diplomatically and economically in accordance with this position, always in respect of international law.

Belgium welcomes Morocco’s willingness to engage in good faith with all concerned parties to clarify how this autonomy plan could be implemented in practice and to specify what autonomy within Moroccan sovereignty would mean for the region. Belgium in particular invites Morocco to elaborate further on what autonomy within the Moroccan state could entail for the affected populations, in compliance with international law, with a view to relaunching negotiations on terms acceptable to all parties, in line with the United Nations Security Council resolutions.

Both countries reaffirm their support for the Personal Envoy of the UN Secretary-General for Western Sahara and for his efforts to advance a political process aimed at reaching a definitive political solution to this regional dispute.

Finally, the two ministers reiterated their willingness to intensify multilateral cooperation and to continue their joint work within the United Nations and other international bodies. The recent joint facilitation by Belgium and Morocco of the draft declaration ahead of the World Summit for Social Development illustrates this convergence of views and their shared commitment to an effective, united and human-centered multilateralism.

“This agreement confirms the strength of a modern partnership based on trust, action, and a shared vision of a safer, fairer and more humane world. It opens a new chapter in our cooperation, focused on concrete results and shared prosperity,” concluded Deputy Prime Minister Maxime Prévot.