COP28: Morocco, Oman Ink Cooperation Agreement in Sustainable Development Field

Dubai – Morocco and the Sultanate of Oman signed, on Sunday in Dubai, an agreement aimed at consolidating their cooperation in the field of the environment and sustainable development.

The agreement was signed at the Morocco Pavilion of COP28 by Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development, Leila Benali, and president of the Omani Environment Authority, Abdallah bin Ali bin Abdallah Al-Amri.

The agreement is in line with the resolutions and recommendations of the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20), the 2030 Sustainable Development Plan (SDP) and the Paris Agreement on Climate Change.

It also embodies both parties’ awareness of the challenges posed by the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic, and of the need for an economic revival that takes account of environmental and sustainable development aspects.

The agreement aims to define a framework for bilateral cooperation in the field of the environment and sustainable development, based on a win-win approach.

The agreement covers bilateral cooperation in the fields of climate change, implementation of Nationally Determined Contributions, energy transition, environmental governance, monitoring and assessment, waste and chemicals management, circular economy and protection of biodiversity and natural resources.

It also concerns desertification control, ecotourism, air quality monitoring, marine and coastal environment protection, environmental information exchange, industrial pollution control and environmental and sustainable development awareness.

The agreement provides for the exchange of experience, information and knowledge in the field of the environment and sustainable development, technical assistance and capacity building in the implementation of multilateral international environmental agreements.

In a statement to the press on this occasion, Benali said that the agreement is a cornerstone in strengthening the distinguished bilateral relations between Morocco and the Sultanate of Oman, which are based on the bonds of fraternity and solidarity uniting the two countries, in the service of their common interests.

This agreement, she stressed, reflects the commitment of both countries to environmental protection and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.

The Minister also noted that Morocco, under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI, has focused on establishing an integrated and open economic development model by adopting a number of ambitious strategies, including the National Sustainable Development Strategy, which provides a unified framework for promoting the integration of sustainability into sectoral and regional development programs.

She recalled the National Energy Strategy, which aims to increase the contribution of renewable energies to electricity production to 52% by 2030.