The ministry said that Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov will hold talks with Nasser Bourita in Moscow on Thursday, during which it is planned to discuss in depth the promising areas for the future development of traditionally friendly Russian-Moroccan relations.

The published statement also specified that Bourita will co-chair with the Russian Deputy Prime Minister, Dmitry Patrushev, the 8th session of the Russian-Moroccan Intergovernmental Joint Commission for Economic, Scientific and Technical Cooperation.

In this statement, Russian diplomacy stressed that the leaders of the two countries, His Majesty King Mohammed VI and President Vladimir Putin, are linked by long-standing relations, based on friendship and mutual respect.

In this regard, she recalled that the Sovereign had made two visits to Russia, in October 2002 and March 2016, during which a Declaration on Strategic Partnership was signed, as well as a Declaration on Deep Strategic Partnership, which became essential programmatic documents defining the priorities for the future development of bilateral relations for the coming decades.

For his part, President Vladimir Putin made an official visit to Morocco in September 2006, the same source added.

High-level Moroccan delegations, led by the head of government, also participated in the Russia-Africa summits in 2019 and 2023, it was specified.

During their talks, Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Bourita will also discuss current regional and international issues, including the resolution of conflicts and crisis situations in the Middle East, North Africa and the Sahel-Saharan region exclusively through political and diplomatic methods.

Particular attention should be paid to practical issues of expanding trade and economic cooperation, as well as ways to more fully exploit existing potential, it was explained.

Recalling that close coordination has been established between officials of the Russian and Moroccan foreign ministries, the Russian ministry highlighted the regular meetings between Mr. Lavrov and Mr. Bourita, particularly on the sidelines of the events of the UN General Assembly, as well as their telephone conversations.

The Russian side hopes that Nasser Bourita's visit to Russia will contribute to further strengthening the multidimensional partnership with Morocco and will promote the intensification of joint efforts in the interest of ensuring lasting peace and stability in the Middle East and North Africa region, as well as in the Sahel, the Russian Foreign Ministry stressed in its statement.