"The opening by the Republic of Guatemala of a Consulate General in Dakhla is a symbol of our friendship," said Búcaro Flores in a statement to the press after the opening ceremony of this consulate, the first of a Latin American country in the southern provinces.

"This consulate provides an opportunity to further strengthen relations between Guatemala and Morocco, particularly in terms of development of trade and infrastructure, but also in education," said the head of Guatemalan diplomacy.

The inauguration ceremony took place in the presence of the Wali of the region Dakhla-Oued Eddahab, governor of the province of Oued Eddahab, Lamine Benomar and the president of the region, El Khattat Yanja, as well as consuls accredited to Dakhla, officials and local elected officials.

This consulate is in addition to the 27 consulates opened in the southern provinces, including 15 in Dakhla and 12 in Laayoune, the objective being to take advantage of the growth and economic development of the region and its openness to the rest of the African continent.

Indeed, Morocco, especially the southern provinces, is a natural bridge for cooperation with West Africa and the African continent in general.

As part of the excellent relations between Morocco and Guatemala, the visit to the Kingdom of Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores aims to give a renewed content to the solid partnership between the two countries in accordance with the High Directions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Excellency President Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla.

In a statement to the press on the occasion of the organization in Abuja of the 5th Symposium of the African Union on Special Economic Zones and Green Industrialization and the 7th edition of the annual meeting of the African Economic Zones Organization (AEZO), Okon Umana also wished to congratulate the initiators of this event, namely the Kingdom of Morocco and particularly Tanger Med Group which has provided the necessary conditions and cooperation.

He also welcomed the holding of the 7th edition of the annual meeting of AEZO in Nigeria, adding that AEZO is an institution that provides a platform for exchange and sharing to have an increase in intra-African trade and also attract more foreign direct investment (FDI).

On the process of activating the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), the minister said that "Nigeria has signed the agreement and it is certainly something new that will take time to be realized.

"This is an ongoing process, we are looking for a free trade agreement that will develop trade, in general, and intra-African trade, in particular," he stressed.

Organized by the African Union Commission (AUC) and AEZO, the dual event is being held from December 1 to 2 under the theme "African Special Economic Zones: Engine of Resilience and Accelerator of Sustainable Development of Industrial Value Chains".

AEZO is a continental association representing the main public and private institutions in charge of the development, management and promotion of economic zones in Africa.

Founded in November 2015 by Tanger Med Group-Morocco, AEZO works to support African economic zone projects and strengthen relationships within its ecosystem. It has 82 members representing 42 countries.

In detail, men will watch the World Cup more (76%). At the level of age categories, there are no significant differences, according to the survey.

The authors of the survey also believe that this edition greatly arouses the interest of Moroccans, especially since the national team is a stakeholder in this World Cup. An element that has probably had an impact on this interest.

The survey shows that 30% of Moroccans say they will watch all the matches of the World Cup, while 13% will watch only some matches. In addition, 52% of respondents will only watch the national team's matches, while 25% do not know.

In detail, the rate of those who will watch all the games is higher among men (37%), while those who will watch only the national team games are more women (71%).

Hakim Ziyech (4th) opened the score for the Atlas Lions, before Youssef En-Nesyri doubled the score (23rd).

The Canadians reduced the score on an own goal by Nayef Aguerd (40th).

With this victory, the Atlas Lions, who match the performance of 1986, increase their assets to seven points, topping Group F, and punch their ticket to the round of 16, without waiting for the other result of this group.

A total of 24,915,915 people have received the first dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, while the number of fully vaccinated people (1st and 2nd doses) has reached 23,416,032, the ministry pointed out in its daily COVID-19 bulletin, noting that 6,859,759 people have received the third dose of the vaccine, while 56,540 people have received the fourth dose.

According to the same source, the number of COVID-19 cases reported since the start of the outbreak of the virus rose to 1,269,002, while recoveries increased to 1,251,428, i.e. a recovery rate of 98.6%.

The new COVID-19 cases were recorded in the regions of Rabat-Salé-Kenitra (68), Casablanca-Settat (50), Marrakech-Safi (21), Souss-Massa (17), Fez-Meknes (17), Laayoune-Sakia El Hamra (02), the Eastern region (02), Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima (01) and Draa-Tafilalet (01).

As for coronavirus-related fatalities, their number remained at 16,284, with no case recorded in the last 24 hours.

The number of active cases stands at 1,290, with one severe or critical case reported in the past 24 hours.

These consultations were co-chaired on the Moroccan side by Abdelkader El Ansari, Ambassador, Director of Asian Affairs and Oceania, and on the Indian side by Ausaf Sayeed, Secretary General at the Indian Ministry of External Affairs, who was accompanied by Indian Ambassador in Rabat.

During these consultations, which also took place in the presence of Director of Consular and Social Affairs at the Ministry, Fouad Kadmiri, the heads of both delegations welcomed the great momentum instilled in bilateral relations since HM King Mohammed VI's historic visit to India in October 2015, during which the Sovereign agreed with the Indian Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, on the establishment of a multidimensional strategic partnership between the two countries, adapted to geostrategic realities and major challenges of the globalized economy, said a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccan Expatriates.

The new dimension taken by Moroccan-Indian relations illustrates the enlightened policy of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, aimed at diversifying and expanding the Kingdom's strategic partnerships, which now include major countries such as India, the statement said, adding that in this context, the Indian official welcomed the visionary leadership of HM the King to engage Morocco on the path of progress and prosperity.

According to the same source, the relations of strategic partnership between the two countries include a political dialogue marked by friendship, mutual solidarity and support for national sovereignty and territorial integrity of the two respective countries, as well as the implementation and consolidation of cooperation with the realization in recent years of a score of bilateral ministerial visits and the signing of forty agreements and MoUs covering a wide range of sectors.

In order to give a more consistent content to these ties, added the statement, the two delegations have exchanged on ways to further strengthen cooperation in the diplomatic, parliamentary, economic, security, consular, health, food security fields, and agreed to examine the possibilities of expanding it to the green energy, electronics, biotechnology, automotive and aerospace sectors, among others.

The two parties also discussed opportunities for cooperation in the cultural, academic and university, tourism and film industry fields.

They also discussed cooperation in the consular field as well as the possibilities of cooperation and exchange of expertise and best practices concerning the supervision and protection of the respective national communities established abroad.

The discussions also focused on the possibilities of establishing a triangular cooperation for the benefit of African partner countries, in accordance with the High Directions of HM the King, which gives Africa and South-South cooperation a priority place in the foreign policy of the Kingdom, as well as the policy of India towards the African continent, particularly in the framework of the India-Africa Forum.

The two delegations also discussed cooperation between the two countries at the multilateral level, including within the United Nations and the role that India can play for the bringing together of Morocco with Asian regional organizations, the statement concluded.

The inauguration ceremony was presided over by Guatemalan Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores, and wali of the Dakhla-Oued Eddahab region, governor of the province of Oued Eddahab, Lamine Benomar, in the presence of many elected officials and consuls accredited to Dakhla.

It is the first consulate of a Latin American country in the southern provinces.

This consulate is in addition to the 27 ones opened in the southern provinces, including 15 in Dakhla and 12 in Laayoune, the objective being to take advantage of the growth and economic development of the region and its openness to the rest of the African continent. Indeed, Morocco, especially the southern provinces, is a natural bridge for cooperation with West Africa and the African continent in general.

As part of the excellent relations between Morocco and Guatemala, the visit to the Kingdom of Mario Adolfo Búcaro Flores aims to give a renewed content to the solid partnership between the two countries in accordance with the High Directions of His Majesty King Mohammed VI and His Excellency president Alejandro Eduardo Giammattei Falla.

Signed by director of the Archives of Morocco, Jamaâ Baida, and head of the National Archives of Türkiye, Uğur Ünal, in the presence of ambassador of the Republic of Türkiye to Morocco, Ömer Faruk Doğan, and secretary general of the Ministry of Youth, Culture and Communication, Department of Culture, Abdelilah Afifi, this agreement aims to strengthen bilateral cooperation, to frame future projects and to exchange archives in common fields.

Speaking on this occasion, Mr. Baida said that the institution "Archives of Morocco" intends, through this convention, to take advantage of the experience of Turkey in the field of management and preservation of national archives, stressing the importance and progress of the Turkish experience in the field of maintenance and management of archives.

Speaking on this occasion, Baida said that the "Archives of Morocco" intends, through this agreement, to take advantage of the experience of Türkiye in the field of management and preservation of national archives, stressing the importance and progress of the Turkish experience in the field of maintenance and management of archives.

He added that the agreement also provides a general framework to accompany future projects between Moroccan and Turkish institutions in the field of archival preservation, pointing out that Morocco had already contributed to the Turkish archives in 2014 with documents, on the occasion of the centenary of the First World War.

For his part, Ünal welcomed the signing of this agreement, which is "a first step to strengthen relations in the future in the field of archives," adding that the agreement will be followed by an exchange of visits and sharing of experiences and cooperation in various areas related to archives.

Faruk Doğan said that the signing of this agreement is an opportunity to confirm the solidarity between the Kingdom of Morocco and the Republic of Türkiye in the field of archives, noting that both parties will continue to work for the preservation of historical documents in order to transmit them to future generations.

An exhibition devoted to archival documents on relations between Morocco and Turkey will be organized next year, he announced, noting that work is also underway on a technical cooperation project between the two countries to classify the archives and manuscripts in Morocco.

According to statement released by the lower house on Tuesday, the two sides discussed the importance of strengthening cooperation and friendship ties between the Moroccan and European parliaments to face all challenges, while exchanging views on various issues of common interest.

Talbi El Alami presented, on this occasion, the Kingdom's progress in the fields of democracy, human rights, digital transition, renewable energies, management of the COVID-19 pandemic and its repercussions.

The lower house speaker further highlighted Morocco's consolidation of security and stability at regional and international levels, in line with HM King Mohammed VI's high orientations, said the same source.

El Alami also briefed Kovachev on the history and developments of the issue of the Kingdom's territorial integrity, stressing the international community's support and backing for the autonomy plan presented by Morocco, as a unique and realistic solution to resolve the artificial dispute over the Moroccan Sahara.

For his part, Kovatchev, currently visiting Morocco from November 29 to December 1, called Morocco a fundamental partner for the EU, praising the Kingdom's efforts to establish peace and stability in the Sahel and Sahara region.

Arrouchi, who was speaking during a video-conference meeting of the AU Peace and Security Council (PSC) on the political and security situation in South Sudan, reiterated the Kingdom's support to the government and people of South Sudan in their aspirations and commitment to restore peace, stability and development in their country.

The Moroccan diplomat underscored the imperative for the signatory parties to the "2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement" to work together to fully implement the remaining key benchmarks, with a view to achieving a constitutional and electoral process by December 2024 and democratic governance by February 2025.

He further stressed the imperative of taking urgent steps to create conditions conducive to the return of displaced civilians and the provision of humanitarian assistance to affected populations.

Arrouchi, who heads the Moroccan delegation at this meeting, also stressed the importance of developing, within the framework of the multidimensional approach (Nexus-Project), peace-building, development and post-conflict reconstruction programs to achieve lasting peace and stability in South Sudan, as well as the need to foster inter-community dialogue to restore confidence and promote reconciliation between communities.

In this context, the Moroccan delegation commended the efforts deployed by the AU in collaboration with IGAD to support the implementation of the 2018 Revitalized Peace Agreement, and the United Nations through its Mission in South Sudan, for its tireless commitment to pursue efforts aimed at restoring peace and stability in this brotherly country, as well as other bilateral and multilateral partners, for their continued support to the AU-led efforts.