Morocco and Mexico plan to bolster university cooperation

Morocco’s Ambassador to Mexico, Abdelfattah Lebbar, and the President of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, Enrique Graue Wiechers, discussed ways to improve bilateral cooperation in the fields of science and education on Tuesday in Mexico City.

During the event, Mr. Graue Wiechers commended the excellent cooperation between the universities of the two nations, in particular between Mohammed V University of Rabat and the Autonomous University of Mexico, exemplified by several agreements and partnerships involving mainly student and professor exchanges and joint academic conferences, according to state media MAP.

Wiechers noted that this partnership also resulted in 42 publications between 2016 and 2021, as well as an increase in academic output, including renewable energy, agriculture, biology, life sciences, and earth sciences.

As part of its plan to establish a partnership in the coming years, the Autonomous University of Mexico is currently working with over 16 higher education institutions in Morocco as well as about 14 other academic institutions.

M. Lebbar stressed the importance of bolstering Moroccan-Mexican relations by multiplying initiatives, especially by reviving academic cooperation.
“The development of our cooperation with this prestigious university is likely to promote distinguished relations between the two countries to raise them to the expected level,” he said.

The Moroccan ambassador indicated that, in support of these efforts, the president of the Mexican University has proposed the signing of a number of agreements between Mexican institutes and universities and their Moroccan counterparts.

During this meeting, the two parties also discussed possibilities of establishing a partnership between the Mexican National Autonomous University, one of the largest and most prestigious universities in Latin America, and the first university in the world, the University of Al-Qarawiyyin in Morocco.

Both parties also mentioned that the president of Mexico’s National Autonomous University will visit Morocco soon in order to strengthen existing partnerships and establish new collaborations with Moroccan universities.