Rabat - Fouzi Lekjaa, Moroccan Minister Delegate for the Budget and President of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF), received on Tuesday the US Ambassador to Morocco Puneet Talwar at the Ministry of Economy and Finance headquarters.

In a readout about the meeting, the ministry said that Lekjaa and the US diplomat discussed the state of US-Morocco cooperation while highlighting recent economic advances and the significant initiatives that the North African country has undertaken under the leadership of  King Mohammed VI.

For its part, the US Embassy in Morocco wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that Talwar had a “productive discussion with Minister Delegate Faouzi Lekjaa on Morocco’s 2030 World Cup goals and development ambitions, post-earthquake reconstruction and rehabilitation, and Morocco's financial strategies.”

The embassy also stressed Washington’s readiness to assist Morocco in its “exciting” path back to recovery and further growth. “The U.S. stands ready to support Morocco on its exciting journey towards recovery and expanded development,” the embassy noted.

In their discussions, Lekjaa and Ambassador Talwar acknowledged the depth and strength of the longstanding US-Morocco ties, pledging to further deepen what they both described as a highly strategic and positive relationship. 

Morocco, Portugal, and Spain were selected on October 4, 2023, to serve as the 2030 FIFA World Cup host nations.

Last September saw the first meeting of the committee in charge of Morocco’s bid to host the 2030 World Cup with Spain and Portugal. According to Lekjaa, the meeting examined the areas of work to be tackled.

The meeting was dedicated to “examining the most important areas on which we will be working in the near future to prepare this joint bid, with the aim of carrying out a pioneering project and giving substance to a dream that the Moroccan people have been nurturing for years,” said Lekjaa following the meeting chaired by the Head of Government Aziz Akhannouch.

According to Lekjaa, the discussion covered a variety of organizational and logistical issues. He also presented Morocco’s vision for this bid and its implementation strategy.

Regarding Morocco’s bid to jointly host the 2030 World Cup, Akhannouch underlined that the government is committed to the success of the special committee task with implementing Morocco’s vision for hosting international football’s most prestigious tournament.