New Delhi, 30 May, 05 (WAM) - India has discussed steps to boost its bilateral relations with Morocco and Libya during visits to the two countries by Indian Minister of State for External Affairs, E Ahamed, last week.

Mr Ahmed visited the Kingdom of Morocco from 23 to 26 May and Libya from 26 to 29 May, according to a statement issued by the Indian Ministry for External Affairs here today.

He was accorded the privilege of having an exclusive audience with King Mohammed VI, the King of Morocco. Although King Mohammed was awayon tour to Agadir, situated about 600 kms. south of Rabat, he received theIndian Minister despite his numerous pressing engagements. In a rare andspecial gesture, the King placed his personal aircraft at the Minister'sdisposal to enable him to travel to Agadir and return to Rabat.

The Indian Minister handed over a letter addressed to King Mohammed VI from the Prime Minister of India Dr. Manmohan Singh. He alsoconveyed to the Moroccan monarch the good wishes of the Government and thepeople of India. In reply, the Moroccan King echoed the sentiments ofgoodwill. The King had visited India in 2001 and again on a private visit in2003.

King Mohammed was briefed by the minister on various aspects of India'sforeign policy as also the steps being taken by the Indian Government touplift the poorer sections of Indian society. Bilateral relations betweenIndia and Morocco were reviewed during the meeting and the ministerexpressed the hope that the excellent bilateral relations would betransformed into even closer and better relations.

The economic relationship between the two countries is mainly centered around the export of phosphates and phosphoric acid from Morocco to India, but New Delhi feels there is considerable scope for diversifying the bilateral trade and economic relationship.

During the meeting, the Moroccan King expressed the hope that India'sPresident and Prime Minister would be able to visit Morocco in the very nearfuture. Morocco's Prime Minister Driss Jettou had paid an official visit toIndia recently in December 2004.

Indian Minister, Ahmed also called on the Moroccan Prime Minister DrissJettou and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Taieb Fassi Fihri.

Minister Ahmed then visited Libya from 26-29 May. He was met by the LibyanMinister for Cooperation, Taher Siala with whom he had substantivediscussions. He also met various other Libyan ministers and officialsincluding Mr. Treiki, Minister of State for African Affairs in the LibyanForeign Office, Mr. Ahmed Gaddafi Dam, Mr. Badri, Chairman, National OilCorporation, Mr. Shahoumi, Chairman, Foreign Affairs Committee of theGeneral Peoples Congress (Libyan Parliament). On the last day of his visit,the Indian minister met Prime Minister Shukri Ghanem, Energy Minister Dr.

Fathi Omar Ben Shatwan and Chairman, General Electrical Company of Libya, Omran Abu Kra'a.

The Indian minister discussed steps for strengthening cooperation inpolitical and economic fields. He underlined India's commitment tostrengthening relations with African and Arab countries. This is part ofIndia's long standing policy. The Libyan leadership appreciated India'scontribution to African and Arab causes in international fora.

The Minister briefed the Libyan side about the recent visit of PalestinianPresident Mahmood Abbas to India, as well as his earlier visits toPalestine. He also briefed them about India's initiative in improvingrelations with its immediate neighbours.

The visit has imparted momentum to Indo-Libyan trade and economiccooperation. The Minister, who was also accompanied by a business delegation, highlighted interests and capabilities of Indian companies in diversefields, including oil and gas, power, software, automobiles. The two sidesalso discussed possibilities of stepping up cooperation in service sectors,including education and healthcare. Indian educational system isconsiderably cheaper than equivalent courses available in developedcountries. Libyan side evinced keen interest in exploring thesepossibilities.

Both sides discussed the attractive Libyan market for Indian exports, aswell as opportunities for investment and joint ventures. They also discussedthe massive Libyan programme for expansion of its oil production and itsconvergence with India's quest for oil security.

Indian oil companies are also interested in the refinery sector,construction of oil pipeline and LNG production. There is also goodresponse to Indian companies which had participated in Tripoli InternationalTrade Fair recently, the statement added.

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