"The Stipendium Hungaricum scholarship program is beneficial for our two countries, because it will allow us to internationalize our education and share our innovative capacities", she affirmed during a speech via videoconference during a ceremony held in Rabat to mark the launch of the said program, for the 2020-2021 academic year.

As part of Hungary's policy of openness, which aims to invest in education and the future of partner countries, "this program will further strengthen our bilateral ties and consolidate our friendship," said Pacsay-Tomassich, noting that Morocco and Hungary will continue to develop "very strong" relations in various fields, notably at the economic and cultural levels.

She also highlighted the efforts made for the success of Moroccan-Hungarian cooperation, thanks mainly to the signing, in November 2019, of a new memorandum of understanding on the continuation of the said program which will be guaranteed until the end of 2022.

For his part, Minister Delegate in charge of Higher Education and Scientific Research Driss Ouaouicha lauded the excellent Moroccan-Hungarian relations which have experienced, over the past years, remarkable progress in fields related to higher education and scientific research, as shows the many academic events that were organized.

"The holding of the 1st edition of the Morocco-Hungary Academic Forum in Budapest, on November 22 and 23, 2019, in which more than 60 presidents, rectors, deans and directors of universities from both countries took part, is indeed a perfect illustration of this exceptional bilateral relationship," he said.

The Minister Delegate noted that in addition to the work of this forum, a memorandum of understanding was signed with a view to promoting academic cooperation between Morocco and Hungary, in particular through inter-university agreements and joint calls for projects in areas of common interest, notably in artificial intelligence, agriculture, water and renewable energy.

Ouaouicha welcomed the large number of Moroccan students enrolled in the Hungarian universities, noting that the beneficiaries of this program (150 students in total) will be selected for the 2020-2021 academic year in Hungarian universities.