Following his visit to Morocco this week, British Minister for the Middle East and North Africa Hugh Robertson has answered the questions asked by UKinMorocco Facebook fans. Mr Robertson said: “Thanks very much for all the questions we received from UKinMorocco Facebook fans. I will try to answer as many as possible. Glenda Maria Drinkwater asked about why Moroccans who want to visit the UK need to get a visa first. The visa system is part of our efforts to ensure UK borders are secure and to manage migration into the UK. We work hard to make sure the process is as clear and efficient as possible – and we approve the vast majority of Moroccan applications for visit visas within our 15-day target. Badr Assila, Angel Brison, Noureddine Temsamani and Abdellah Mehdi Bht all asked questions about the Western Sahara dispute. The UK’s position is strongly to support the UN efforts to encourage agreement on a lasting and mutually acceptable political solution that provides for the self-determination of the people of Western Sahara. This means we support the UN Envoy Christopher Ross’s work, including his regional visits, to try to find common ground between the parties. So, to answer Abdellah Mehdi Bht’s question, efforts are being made to resolve the dispute but this will require flexibility on both sides. Aziz Rami asked about the prospects for UK-Morocco relations. As I was reminded many times during my visit, ties between our countries are already 800 years old. So we have a very solid historical foundation to build on. The relationship is excellent today, but I want to see this broadened and deepened as we move forward. One obvious area is the economic field. There is much scope for win-win partnerships between British and Moroccan companies, particularly in areas like financial and professional services, renewable energy and education. So I think both countries need to think more about economic partnership – and of course that means a big role for businesses in building the relationship, not just our two governments.
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 20:30:05 +0000
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