The King Mohammed VI, accompanied by Prince Moulay Ismail, and the President of the Republic of Madagascar, Hery Rajaonarimampianina, co-chaired, on Monday at the Presidential Palace in Antananarivo, the signing ceremony of twenty-two bilateral cooperation agreements.
In line with the royal vision aimed at fostering south-south partnership, these agreements involve the different sectors and seek to reinforce partnership between the employers’ associations of both countries, as well as the legal framework governing bilateral cooperation.
These agreements concern upgrading and preserving the Canal of Pangalanes, in addition to the fields of agriculture, banking, civil service, youth and sports, taxes, renewable energy, education and vocational training.
On this occasion, Said Zarrou, chairman of the board of Marshica Med Ltd, who signed a memorandum of understanding with the Malagasy party on the project of upgrading and preserving the Canal of Pangalanes, underlined that Morocco, thanks to the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, has developed over the past years an expertize in the fields of developing large-scale environment-friendly territorial projects.
The Canal of Pangalanes, whose upgrading and preservation will be ensured under a partnership between the two countries, is a 700- km waterway which is four times longer than the Suez Canal and eight times longer than the Panama Canal, he noted.
He said that this project concerns the setting up of tools for safeguarding ecosystems of sites adjacent to the said canal, mainly in relations with the ecological, agricultural, industrial, mining, port, urban, cultural and tourist aspects.
The chairman of Marshica MED board also highlighted the successful experience of his body, noting that the Lagoon of Marshica was a laboratory to develop the necessary technical and institutional tools to manage this site on a long term basis.
He added that this expertize, which covers the fields of urban management, transportation, liquid purification and water, is currently shared with the Ivorian friends as part of the Cocody Bay project.
The signing ceremony was attended by the official delegation accompanying HM the King during this visit, including notably the sovereign’s advisors Fouad Ali El Himma and Yassir Zenagui, as well as the Malagasy head of government, speakers of the senate and the national assembly, government members and economic operators.
