Speaking at a joint news conference with Moroccan Foreign Minister Taib Fassi Fihri, Burns insisted that Morocco constitutes a "model" of reforms and democratisation in the region.
   
    The partnership with Morocco and the Moroccan people is a priority for the administration of president Barack Obama and “this partnership has never been more important than it is” now, Burns said.

    The official noted that his talks with Fassi Firi turned on a wide range of local and regional affairs.

    On the situation in Morocco, Burns said Morocco continues to make “energetic efforts” under the leadership of HM King Mohammed VI to open up more opportunities.

    Morocco continues to face challenges, but “in many respects, it remains a model of reforms and democratisation in the region,” he said.

    He further said that the number of civil society organisations is steadily increasing in the Kingdom, along with a will to pursue the modernisation process.

     Fassi Fihri, for his part, described relations between Rabat and Washington as “important”, recalling that US investments in the Kingdom have steadily risen over the past years.