RABAT, July 18: Morocco and Pakistan signed an agreement on Friday designed to encourage bilateral trade and the practice of a moderate form of Islam in both countries through a programme of exchanges, official sources said.

The agreements will set up a system of cooperation between the ministers for Islamic affairs in each country.

Pakistan will also benefit under the agreement from Morocco’s expertise in Islamic sculptures and decoration, the sources said.

The accord was signed at the end of a two-day official visit to Morocco by Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf.

Two other agreements were signed: a science and technology accord that will involve the exchange of both specialists and information, and an environmental agreement setting up bilateral policies in the field of sustainable development.

Earlier, President Gen Pervez Musharraf held talks with Morocco’s King Mohammed VI on wide-ranging issues and witnessed signing of accords to promote cooperation between the two countries in the fields of science and technology, environment and on increased interaction between their religious affairs ministries.

During a meeting, lasting for about an hour, President Musharraf and the King covered matters of bilateral cooperation and vital regional and international issues. The two heads were later joined by the delegates of the respective countries.

The two sides discussed issues including Afghanistan, Iraq, Middle East peace process, situation in South Asia and the Pakistan-India relations.

Matters of bilateral cooperation were also discussed in detail as the two sides agreed to increase their economic and trade ties for the mutual benefit of the peoples of the two countries.

President Musharraf and King Mohammad-VI reaffirmed their mutual desire to promote further the existing relations between the two countries characterized by the common faith, brotherhood and similarity of views on the major regional and international issues.

They also underlined the need of increasing two-way trade between the two countries which they agreed was well below the desired level.

The two leaders exchanged views on the challenges facing the Muslims and agreed that the development in science and technology and the human resource development were the only way for the emancipation of the Muslim world.—AFP