The House of Representatives unanimously approved on Monday, November 16th, 2020, nine Government bills ratifying nine international agreements, two of which are multilateral agreements (a treaty and a convention) on medicines and taxes, while the other seven are bilateral agreements concluded with Hungary, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, Turkmenistan, Japan, and the United Kingdom. The approval took place in a plenary sitting chaired by the Speaker of House of Representatives Habib El Malki, with the participation of Minister Delegate to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates, in charge of Moroccan Expatriates Nezha El Ouafi.
The approved Government bills are:
1. Government Bill 09.20 ratifying the Treaty for the Establishment of the African Medicines Agency, adopted in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) on February 11th, 2019;
2. Government Bill 75.19 ratifying the Multilateral Convention to Implement Tax Treaty Related Measures to Prevent Base Erosion and Profit Shifting, signed by the Kingdom of Morocco on June 25th, 2019;
3. Government Bill 65.19 ratifying the agreement on cooperation in the military and technical fields between the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan;
4. Government Bill 11.20 ratifying the agreement on commercial, economic, technical, scientific and cultural cooperation between the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of Turkmenistan;
5. Government Bill 33.20 ratifying the agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco and Japan on avoiding double taxation on income taxes and preventing tax evasion and fraud;
6. Government Bill 34.20 ratifying the agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco and Japan on the promotion and protection of investments;
7. Government Bill 15.20 ratifying the agreement on the transfer of sentenced persons between the Government of the Kingdom of Morocco and the Government of Hungary;
8. Government Bill 37.20 ratifying the association agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco, the United Kingdom of Great Britain, and Northern Ireland, concluded in London on October 26th, 2019;
9. Government Bill 14.20 ratifying the extradition agreement between the Kingdom of Morocco and Hungary.
In her presentation of the Bills, the Minister Delegate noted that the texts are part of the continuous dynamism of Moroccan diplomacy with a vision to diversify partnerships in various sectors to consolidate the diplomatic, political, and economic positioning of the Kingdom of Morocco on the regional, African, and international levels, following the high directives of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, may God glorify him.
Ms. El Ouafi highlighted that Morocco has recently become a major player in the Asia-Africa strategic partnership process and is perceived as a communication and liaison platform between the two continents considering its leading role in this area.
The bilateral agreements with several friendly states aim to consolidate the Moroccan partnership with the Arab, European, and Asian space. Meanwhile, the two multilateral agreements are part of entrenching the Kingdom’s presence in its African depth and strengthening tax governance in line with the principles of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.
