Morocco eager to boost partnership on transport with Portugal, official

Morocco is keen on promoting cooperation and partnership with Portugal mainly in the sector of air, rail and sea transport Minister Karim Ghellab said on Tuesday

Lisbon - Morocco is keen on promoting cooperation and partnership with Portugal mainly in the sector of air, rail and sea transport, Morocco''s Transport Minister Karim Ghellab said on Tuesday

    "Morocco is eager to further promote economic ties with Portugal, especially with its companies looking for business opportunities in the Moroccan sectors of air and rail transport and road infrastructure," Ghellab told MAP following a meeting with Portuguese Public Works, Transports and Communication Minister, Antonio Mendonça.

    The meeting, which comes following the high-level meeting in June in Marrakech, was an occasion to go over the means to further boost cooperation and build partnerships between Moroccan and Portuguese businesses, added Ghellab who is on a two-day visit to the European country.

    He voiced satisfaction with the 29 air routes linking the two countries, in addition to flights operated by low-cost companies.

    Ghellab recalled that, over the past five years, the volume of business managed by Portuguese enterprises reached over 500 million euros.

    On sea transportation, he said the meeting examined the project of a shipping line between Morocco and Portugal, adding that the two countries'' port authorities will meet early 2011 in Rabat on this subject matter.

MAP