Morocco may serve as Hungary's gateway to the Arab world and Africa, and Hungary can do the same for Morocco in Central Europe, the Foreign Ministry's Deputy State Secretary declared following his official visit to the North African country.

Zsolt Németh said that he had discussed Hungarian-Moroccan relations with his Moroccan counterpart in Rabat, and they had agreed that bilateral political, business and cultural relations were "very promising." He added that the internal stability of Morocco also made it an important partner in the region.

The Deputy State Secretary claimed it was crucial that the EU should bolster its cooperation with Morocco within the framework of its Southern Neighbourhood Policy, particularly with respect to economic cooperation and visa liberalisation.

Zsolt Németh stated that the EU Eastern Partnership initiative and the EU Southern Neighbourhood Policy complement each other because they both promote stability in the immediate neighbourhood of the European Union. During the course of Mr. Németh’s visit, the Budapest Museum of Applied Arts signed a cooperation agreement with the National Museum Foundation of Morocco.

(Ministry of Foreign Affairs)