By Demion McTair
Prime Minister Dr. Ralph Gonsalves made an official visit to Morocco from July 20 – 21, 2023.
The prime minister was accompanied by Her Excellency Inga Rhonda King – St. Vincent and the Grenadines’ Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister – Mrs. Angie Williams-Jackson, Information Officer at the Agency for Public Information – Mr. Shevrell McMillan, and a member of the Prime Minister’s security detail – Mr. Godwin Charles.
While there, Dr. Gonsalves met with a number of officials including Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates – Nasser Bourita.
Among the major outcomes of the trip was a joint communique detailing a Roadmap of Cooperation between both countries for the period 2023-2025.
The areas of focus in the Roadmap include continued cooperation in higher education and training, technical cooperation, fertilizers and soil fertility, security cooperation, financial assistance, and exchange of official visits.
Here are the top five (5) takeaways from the visit:
1. Higher education
According to the Roadmap, a number of education and training initiatives are to be explored. These include, from the Moroccan side, the provision, annually, of an official quota of ten (10) full scholarships in Public Higher Schools or Public Universities.
The Moroccan side will furthermore offer annually, a maximum of ten (10) full scholarships, pending University application approval, for excellent students from Saint Vincent and the Grenadines who are willing to pursue their higher education at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrane (AU) (the American Taught University in Morocco).
Additionally, the OFFPT (Morocco’s Office of Vocational Training and Employment Promotion) is committed to providing annually, an official quota of (10) seats to young trainees in different Moroccan Vocational Training Centers. Those 10 trainees will furthermore benefit from a scholarship paid by the Moroccan Agency for International cooperation (AMCI).
The OFPPT will also organize annually, in partnership with AMCI, Training Programs for ten (10) trainers during a period of three weeks (3) aimed at developing some particular technical skills of these trainers.
The OFPPT has furthermore expressed its willingness to provide the Government of SVG with a Financial Grant of 200 000 US Dollars (two hundred thousand US Dollars) aimed at modernizing the equipment of St Vincent and The Grenadines Community College. This grant will be provided by AMCI upon receiving the list of the equipment needed.
2. Fertilizers and soil fertility
Since the war in Ukraine, the availability and price of fertilizers have been major issues for food-producing nations.
For St. Vincent and the Grenadines which produces and supplies food to neighboring countries and has to ramp up food production in light of increasing room stock due to an expanding hotel and tourism industry, a steady supply of fertilizer is important.
In the Roadmap, the Morocco Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), On behalf of the Kingdom of Morocco, will buy annually 500 tons of fertilizers and grant them to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. The fertilizer’s formulas are those fixed in accordance with the authorities of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
Additionally, the Kingdom of Morocco will offer, through Morocco Agency for International Cooperation (AMCI), an annual grant of 500 000 US dollars (five hundred thousand US dollars), which will be transferred to an official Government Bank account of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to support funding projects in sustainable development that will be identified by the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and agreed by the Kingdom of Morocco.
3. Fisheries
Fisheries in another area on which there was agreed technical cooperation.
St. Vincent and the Grenadines has been expanding its fisheries sector through foreign direct investment, a fleet expansion program, and increased technical assistance to the country’s fisherfolk.
In the Roadmap, these efforts are to be bolstered by technical assistance from the Kingdom of Morocco.
According to the roadmap, the Moroccan side will organize learning visits, to Morocco, for High-Level Officials from the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, to learn from the Moroccan fisheries experience.
The Kingdom of Morocco will provide a Training Program of experts in the following fields:
- Development and organization of artisanal fishing,
- Processing and enhancement of fishery products;
- Hygiene and quality assurance of seafood products;
Management of port structures;
- Marketing of fishery products;
- Monitoring and control in the fight against illegal, unreported, and unregulated
fishing.
The Moroccan side will also send Moroccan experts to Saint Vincent and The Grenadines for technical missions in this sector.
4. Agriculture
Green House techniques will be one of the main focuses of technical cooperation in agriculture between St. Vincent and the Grenadines and the Kingdom of Morocco.
According to the Roadmap, the Moroccan side has committed itself to organizing Learning Visits to Morocco, for High-Level Officials of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to share the Moroccan Agriculture experience.
The Kingdom of Morocco will organize different training Programs for experts in the following areas:
- Product and Food quality;
- Local Products;
- Green House techniques;
- Forestry;
- Plants Treatments and Diseases.
The Kingdom of Morocco will also provide experts in agriculture to Saint Vincent and The Grenadines to share the Moroccan expertise.
5. Exchange of visits
As part of its foreign policy mandate, St. Vincent and the Grenadines has affirmed that it is a friend of all and an enemy of none.
This principle, undoubtedly, has helped the tiny Caribbean nation to establish itself as a global diplomatic powerhouse, having achieved incredible achievements such as holding a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council and holding the Pro Tempore Presidency of the Community of Caribbean and Latin American States – CELAC.
The country was only able to do so through the trust of individual states gained largely through the forging of key bilateral relationships.
To this end, visits between countries are necessary.
According to the Roadmap, the two parties encourage exchange of visits between officials of the Govemment of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines in all agreed upon fields of cooperation identified above. Moreover, the two sides agreed to pursue regular consultation in order to exchange views on common international and regional issues, including through high-level meetings between the Foreign Ministers and senior Government officials of both countries.
According to the jointly signed document, the implementation of the Roadmap will be achieved through the Moroccan Agency for International Cooperation (AMC) on the Moroccan side and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as the Focal Point Ministry in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines.
END
Feature photo: Agency for Public Information
