Israelis topped the list of e-visa or electronic visa beneficiaries issued by Morocco since its launch in July 2022, new statistics from Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs show.
The data released on Friday shows that Morocco issued over 150,000 electronic visas out of 160,000 processed applications.
Israelis topped the list of beneficiaries who received the e-visa, making up 55% of applicants.
This comes as part of the Moroccan-Israeli determination to continue deepening bilateral cooperation in all fields – including tourism.
The two countries’ determination has been growing since Tel Aviv and Rabat decided to re-establish ties in December 2020.
Cooperation has been growing since then covering all sectors – including diplomacy.
The latest move reflecting the growth of cooperation was Israel’s decision to recognize Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara on Monday.
Israel also announced that it is considering opening a consulate in Morocco’s Dakhla.
In terms of tourism, the re-establishment of ties between the two countries and opening of direct flights between them has also encouraged Israeli tourists to explore Morocco for the first time.
Data from Israel’s representation in Morocco last year said that over 15,000 Israeli tourists visited the North African country during the Passover, a major Jewish holiday celebrated across the world in the month of April.
Israel is also seeking to boost trade cooperation with Morocco, with the goal being to increase the volume of bilateral trade with the North African country to $500 million.
As for other nationalities benefiting from the e-visa initiative, Indians came in second with 10%, followed by Nigerians with 4.44%, Egyptians with 4.41%, Pakistanis with 3.5%, and Jordanians with 2.7%.
“Several foreign nationals subject to this formality benefit from electronic visas on the basis of their nationalities, in particular nations from Thailand, Jordan, Israel, India, Azerbaijan, and Guatemala,” the ministry said.
