RABAT, March 29 (Xinhua) -- Singapore's Senior Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Defence, Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, discussed on Thursday in Morocco's capital Rabat with top Moroccan officials means to step up bilateral cooperation.
In a meeting with Abdeltif Loudyi, the Moroccan minister delegate in charge of national defence administration, the two sides focused on ways to initiate cooperation in the area of defence.
According to a statement by the national defence administration following the meeting, the exchange of technical expertise in the field of cybersecurity, and cooperation in the areas of maritime safety and defence industry could be in the common interest for the two countries.
On this occasion, the Singaporean minister commended the considerable progress made by Morocco in recent years, praising the kingdom's active commitment to peace and stability at the regional and international levels.
Mohamad Maliki Bin Osman, who is on a working visit to Morocco with a large delegation, met also with Morocco's foreign minister Nasser Bourita.
During their talks, the two parties hailed the friendship and cooperation between the two countries in several fields, which were given an important impetus after the official visit paid by Morocco's King Mohammed VI to Singapore in 2005.
Discussions touched also upon Morocco's candidacy for the status of "Sectoral Dialogue Partner" with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Singapore assumes the rotating chairmanship.
In addition to Osman's visit, a Singaporean economic delegation, composed of leaders of major businesses, is expected to meet with representatives of ministerial departments and the private sector to explore investment and partnership opportunities in various areas, including engineering, infrastructure, food-processing industry and aeronautics and electronics.
