The agreement, inked in the presence of the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Italy, Mr. Youssef Balla, aims at fostering the long-standing cultural ties and friendship linking the Moroccan and Italian peoples, given their common volition to strengthen the historical relations between the two countries and to promote the rule of law, as well as ensure the compliance of the general principles on which the judicial organization of the Kingdom of Morocco and that of the Italian Republic is based.

The MoU seeks to create a framework to regulate judicial cooperation between the two countries and promote cooperation in areas of common interest, namely, organizational and procedural matters, the organization of conferences and workshops, as well as the exchange of official visits, expert delegations, study visits and sharing of documents.

The MoU also aims to establish an organizational framework to promote cooperation in a more flexible and experienced manner in the Mediterranean region and put in place new communication channels dedicated to judicial and legal areas of common interest.

Mr. M Hammed Abdenabaoui gave on the occasion a general overview of the major shifts and reforms that the Moroccan justice system is undergoing and the peculiarities of the Moroccan experience in the field of judicial independence as well as the mechanisms of cooperation between the institutions in charge of judicial affairs in the Kingdom.

For his part, Mr. Franco Frattini commended the Moroccan experience in the field of judicial reform, stating that the purpose of this memorandum is to strengthen judicial relations and develop mechanisms for sharing expertise and experiences in various areas pertaining to the justice system between the two countries and between the shores of the Mediterranean.

The First President of the Court of Cassation also held talks with his Italian counterpart, Mr. Pietro Curzio, regarding the promotion and development of judicial cooperation between the two institutions.

The two parties have partially agreed to draw up a conventional framework to organize cooperation between the two courts.