The two ministers welcomed the commemoration, last December, of the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The two officials also hailed the excellence of bilateral relations, based on strong ties of friendship, solidarity and cooperation which was reinforced by the visit of His Majesty King Mohammed VI to the Dominican Republic in 2004.

Mr. Bourita and Mr. Álvarez welcomed the agreement, reached in June 2019, on the reciprocal exemption from tourist and business visas for citizens of both countries, which entered into force in July 2021.

The Dominican minister praised the success of the regional and local elections held in Morocco in September 2021, which took place under democratic conditions and were marked by a strong participation, particularly in the southern provinces of the kingdom.

Regarding the Sahara, the Joint Declaration confirms the Moroccan character of the Sahara and reiterates the firm and unwavering support of the Dominican Republic for the territorial integrity of the kingdom and its efforts in the search for a political solution aimed at putting an end to this regional dispute.

He also stressed that the Dominican Republic considers that the Autonomy Plan presented by the Kingdom of Morocco in 2007, constitutes a realistic, credible and serious solution to achieve a negotiated solution between the two parties.

During this meeting which was crowned by the signature of a joint declaration, Mr. Bourita commended the fruitful work accomplished by the Dominican Republic at the UN as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the period 2019-2020, having made a significant contribution to the promotion of dialogue, understanding and peace.

As part of developing South-South cooperation, the two sides expressed their determination to further strengthen their collaboration and decided to meet again for political consultations in the first half of 2022.