![Foreign Minister of Morocco Nasser Bourita (L) and Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry (R) attend the Arab League foreign ministers emergency meeting in the Egyptian capital Cairo on 9 December 2017, [Stringer - Anadolu Agency]](https://i0.wp.com/www.middleeastmonitor.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/20171210_Arab-League-on-Jerusalem-14.jpg?fit=1200%2C642&ssl=1)
Morocco and Egypt yesterday announced that they reached an agreement to convene a bilateral political consultation committee, enhance economic cooperation and activate the businessmen’s council.
This came during a joint press conference held in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, that brought Moroccan Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Abroad, Nasser Bourita, and his Egyptian counterpart Sameh Shoukry together.
“During the talks, there was an agreement to strengthen relations and give them a new incentive, by activating institutional mechanisms and implementing reached agreements,” Bourita said.
Bourita said Morocco is keen to preserve Egypt’s regional and national interests.
For his part, Shoukry said that the two countries are determined to activate cooperation mechanisms, such as the political consultation mechanism, the economic mechanism and the businessmen’s forum.
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“We agreed to strengthen the cultural field through a specific institutional programme that strengthens the ties between the two countries,” he added.
Shoukry praised the meeting with his Moroccan counterpart, saying: “It was an opportunity to deliberate between the two countries on a number of files, such as the situation in Libya and Palestine and the fight against terrorism.”
“We greatly appreciate the relationship with Morocco, and although my [previous] visit was 7 years ago, there has been communication and consultation between the two countries,” he added.
Shoukry was in Morocco on an unannounced visit, his first visit in seven years.