During this meeting, chaired by the Wali Director of Migration and Border Surveillance at the Ministry of the Interior, Mr. Khalid Zerouali, and the Director General of Migration at the Federal Ministry of the Interior of Austria, Mr. Peter Webinger, Morocco and Austria reiterated their firm determination to deepen their cooperation on migration, serving the mutual interests of the two countries.
On this occasion, the positive results of the National Immigration and Asylum Strategy, launched by His Majesty King Mohammed VI, were highlighted. This unique strategy, on the southern shore of the Mediterranean, has made it possible to regularize the situation of a large number of immigrants and facilitate their socio-economic integration.
The Moroccan delegation, which includes managers and executives from different sectors concerned, recalled that Morocco considers migration as a factor of enrichment and diversity. In this respect, she underlined the need to reconcile the security approach and that of development, in order to win the challenge of human flows which serve the interests of the host countries as well as those of the countries of origin, and put advance the tireless efforts of the Kingdom in the fight against illegal immigration and the dismantling of human trafficking networks.
For his part, the Austrian official, who was accompanied by a large delegation of experts and executives from the sectors concerned, underlined the central role played by Morocco, thanks to its geographical location, in the management of migratory flows, highlighting forward the positive steps taken by the two countries since their meetings in Vienna in May 2023 and in Marrakech in November 2023.
The two parties agreed on a roadmap for the implementation of concrete actions and initiatives dealing with the different areas of migration following a humanist, global and integrated approach.
This meeting, which took place in the presence of the Ambassador of His Majesty the King to Austria, Mr. Azzeddine Farhane, is part of the dynamic of relations between Morocco and Austria, after the visit of Austrian Chancellor, Karl Nehammer, in Morocco in February 2023, during the celebration of 240 years of bilateral diplomatic relations.