Jamale Chouaibi, Ambassador of His Majesty The King of Morocco to the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam, writes to Việt Nam News to mark the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Việt Nam

March 27, 2021, marks the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Socialist Republic of Việt Nam.

The foundations of the historical relations between Morocco and Việt Nam are laid on the shared historical memory. This dates back to 1940s and 1950s, before the independence of Morocco when many Moroccan soldiers sent by France to Southeast Asia to help reassert the country’s colonial dominance in the region got disillusioned and defected from French forces to join the Việt Minh fight for independence under the leadership of Hồ Chí Minh.

President of Morocco’s House of Representatives Habib El Malki welcomes National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyên Thi Kim Ngân at Rabat-Salé Airport, Salé city, Morocco VNA/VNS File Photo

The Morocco Gate in Ba Vì District, Hà Nội, built between 1956 and 1960 by those Moroccan soldiers who left the French army stands out today as a testimony of this shared memory and solidarity. The gate was built with Vietnamese materials, inspired by the Moorish architectural style of Moroccan imperial cities.

Morocco and Việt Nam do share many fundamental principles in conducting their foreign policy mainly respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, non-interference in domestic affairs of states and the settlement of disputes through dialogue, negotiation and mediation.

Morocco, under the wise leadership of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, has always been committed to the consolidation of South-South co-operation as an important means to address economic, political, social and environmental global challenges through sharing experience and lessons learned and by promoting knowledge and expertise among developing countries.

The political relations between Morocco and Việt Nam have witnessed important development, thanks to the ascending pace of high-level delegation exchanges at the governmental and parliamentary levels.

Trade between Morocco and Việt Nam increased by nearly 50 per cent between 2015 and 2019

Việt Nam stands out today as Morocco’s second-biggest trade partner in the ASEAN region.

Morocco and Việt Nam share a lot of similarities favouring further co-operation in the future, namely geostrategic position respectively as entry gates to Africa and Europe and to Southeast Asia; political stability; dynamic emerging economies; sustained economic growth; policies of diversification of trade partners, and human resources capacity.

The ambitious plans and visions that both countries have launched pertaining to renewable energies, digital transformations, tourism, agriculture, infrastructure and logistics, industrial and technological acceleration to become leading emergent economies in their respective regions should constitute another opportunity for Morocco and Việt Nam to share their experience, expertise and knowledge by setting up joint sectorial committees.

At the regional level, Morocco, under the enlightened guidance of His Majesty the King, has placed its home continent, Africa, at the top of its development priorities. Morocco is today the first investor in West Africa and the second investor at the continental level.

Việt Nam has always attached special importance to its relations with African countries and is seeking to promote comprehensive co-operation, especially in potential areas such as trade, investment, energy, environment, information and communication technology, agriculture, labour and tourism. To this end, Morocco can serve as a facilitator for Việt Nam to consolidate its presence in this promising continent, to the benefit of the populations of both regions.

Likewise, Việt Nam is an ideal gateway to ASEAN markets given its leading regional economic recovery considered by all as a success story.

The celebration of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our two countries should be taken as an opportunity to open a new era where our bilateral relations will be brought to new heights and become even closer and more comprehensive. VNS

Box:

On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Morocco and Việt Nam, the Vietnam News Agency (VNA) and the Embassy of the Kingdom of Morocco in Việt Nam will hold a photo exhibition.

The photos, which showcase Việt Nam-Morocco relations in various fields, will be displayed on both virtual and real platforms.

The virtual exhibition will be held for a week, from March 27 to April 3 at the official website of the Embassy of Morocco, moroccoembassy.vn and at VNA’s portal vnanet.vn. Twenty photos on display have been selected from the VNA's photo archive, featuring bilateral visits by senior leaders of the two countries.

The photo exhibition will also be held in-person on a larger scale, scheduled to take place in July 2021 on the occasion of the National Day of Morocco.