Parliamentary State Secretary Levente Magyar from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade held talks on the launching of another new air passenger service on Friday in Morocco.
The State Secretary who was attending the third session of the Hungarian-Moroccan Joint Committee on Economic Cooperation in Rabat, told Hungarian new agency MTI that Hungarian-Moroccan partnership is a cooperation that is destined for success. “One of the main topics of the meeting was tourism, and two new air passenger services directly linking Budapest with Marrakech and Agadir were launched this year”, he said.
“This is not enough from the perspective of transport relations, however, and for this reason the launching of an as yet missing route connecting Budapest and Casablanca was discussed. If the negotiations are successful then direct links between the two countries will be at a sufficient level, in view of the fact that it is currently a 12-hour trip to travel from Budapest to Casablanca”, Mr. Magyar said.
“In the interests of boosting tourism, preparations will also be made for two new advertising campaigns promoting each other’s countries”, he added.
The State Secretary said the other key area of cooperation is agriculture, in view of the fact that in the winter period there are several fruits and vegetables that cannot be cultivated in Hungary, but do grow in morocco thanks to the country’s warm climate. “Concrete projects will also soon be realised within the fields of water management and aquaculture, and half a dozen projects are currently in preparation”, he added.
Mr. Magyar told the press that a Hungarian-Moroccan business forum will also be held in Casablanca in the interests of boosting economic relations.
He also spoke about the fact that Morocco plays an important role in containing illegal immigration, in which it has decades of experience. “The two countries are also cooperating within this field through the exchange of experiences between security technology companies, and the digitalisation and technological development of border protection. The two countries have also found themselves on the same platform amidst the hail of attacks and criticism that regard the fight against illegal immigration as an activity that falls outside the democratic value system”, he said, adding that “Hungary is taking a firm stance to protect its citizens”.
“100 Moroccan students are currently participating in Hungary’s state scholarship programme, there is demand for the expansion of this intake, and the Government is open to increasing the number of scholarship places open to Moroccan students by a further 50”, he said.