The first session of the Russian-Moroccan Joint Fisheries Commission took place in Rabat, where the sides discussed the current state of bilateral partnership and agreed on its development. This was announced in a press release by Russia's Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo).
"Russia is increasing its catch in the Atlantic fishing zone of the Kingdom of Morocco. Our vessels will continue their work this year. ... We plan to strengthen interaction in the areas of personnel training for the fisheries sector and scientific research," stated Rosrybolovstvo head Ilya Shestakov.
It was noted that the sides are cooperating within the framework of an intergovernmental agreement signed on October 17, 2025. Shestakov also emphasized the significance of the results from the Great African Expedition of 2024-2025, which provided an objective picture of the state of Morocco's marine ecosystem and formed scientific recommendations for fishery development.
Additionally, Russia has allocated 50 scholarships for Moroccan citizens for the 2025-2026 academic year to study at Russian fisheries institutions, and another 50 scholarships for the next academic year. The Russian side also expressed readiness to provide the same number of scholarships in 2027-2028.
The Great African Expedition began in August 2024 from the seaport of Kaliningrad. The expedition was carried out by two research vessels, Atlantida and AtlantNIRO. The scientific team on each vessel consisted of 12 specialists, experts in oceanology, ichthyology, hydrochemistry, and other fields.