Director general of the Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes (ADII), Nabyl Lakhdar and the EU ambassador in Rabat, Claudia Wiedey expressed, on this occasion, their sympathy and solidarity with the people struggling with Covid-19, recalling the economic challenges caused by the pandemic, as well as the role that customs administrations around the world are called upon to play in this particular context, said Tuesday a statement by the ADII.

During this meeting, held last Wednesday, Lakhdar stressed that "Morocco is willing to give a new impetus to bilateral customs cooperation", notably by taking advantage of the opportunities of the digital transformation both at the operational level and at the level of strategic projects on the agenda of discussions.

The meeting allowed an exchange of views on the latest developments in European and Moroccan customs legislation, the statement said, adding that the two sides also discussed the Pan Euro Med regional convention on rules of origin.

 In this context, Morocco "recommends in particular a total dematerialization of certificates of origin," said the ADII, noting that discussions between Moroccan and European officials then focused on the exchange of data, mutual recognition of authorized economic operators, the fight against counterfeit or pirated products, mutual administrative assistance and cooperation in the provision of training, particularly for African countries, cooperation which can now rely on the possibilities offered by the new Customs Training Institute, recently inaugurated in Benslimane.

With regard to the fight against counterfeiting, Morocco recalled the significant progress made in this area in recent years, both at the level of the legislative and regulatory arsenal and at the operational level, the statement concluded.