Portugal and Morocco discuss greater cooperation

The Minister of Internal Administration, Eduardo Cabrita, and the Minister of the Interior of Morocco, Abdelouafi Laftit, met today, by videoconference, within the scope of cooperation between the two countries in their areas of competence.

Ministers addressed the situation verified in recent months, with the arrival of migrants from Morocco to the Algarve, stressing the need to maintain and intensify cooperation in the field of preventing and combating irregular migration and human trafficking, both bilaterally – through a reinforced articulation between the Foreigners and Borders Service and its Moroccan counterpart – as in the framework of relations between Morocco and the European Union.

In this sense, the importance and mutual interest in the conclusion of the negotiations that are taking place for a legal migration agreement between Portugal and Morocco were also discussed.

Other topics discussed at the meeting was the ongoing update of the Civil Protection agreement between the two countries, an instrument that has proved to be of the utmost importance, particularly in the field of mutual assistance in emergency situations, including the fight against rural fires and training of operational staff.

The two ministers also shared their experiences in the scope of measures to combat Covid-19 and expressed their desire to resume, as soon as possible, direct air connections between Portugal and Morocco