During five days, 720,000 visitors walked the aisles of the International Agricultural Exhibition of Morocco (SIAM) which took place from April 24 to 28, in Meknès. A record figure compared to the 630,000 visitors recorded during the previous edition of this annual event dedicated to the world of agriculture. To close this edition, HM King Mohammed VI offered, on Sunday at Sahrij Souani in Meknès, a dinner in honour of the participants in the eighth edition of SIAM-2013, which was chaired by the Head of Government Abdelilah Benkirane. According to the organisers of this event, the eighth edition of SIAM was marked by great highlights, including the visit of a significant number of ministers and foreign delegations which allowed for the signing of more than 12 cooperation agreements between Morocco and partners and other donors and international cooperation organisations in the agricultural sector. Thus, Morocco and Portugal signed, on Saturday, a memorandum of understanding in the agricultural sector. This agreement covers the areas of agri-food, the development of rural areas and mountainous zones, the valorisation of local products, innovation, the strengthening of agricultural production capacities, and crop protection. Signed by Assunçao Cristas, Minister of Agriculture, the Sea, the Environment, and Land Use Planning, and Aziz Akhannouch, Minister of Agriculture and Maritime Fisheries, this memorandum grants particular interest to agri-food products, including those of the olive sector, the fruit and vegetable sector, and dairy products, as well as certified quality products, geographical indications, and forms of organic production. Regarding food security, the two ministries agree to put in place the necessary means to improve plant and animal production and crop protection, within the framework of sanitary and phytosanitary standards. Following the same logic of partnership, Morocco and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) signed at SIAM a cooperation agreement in the field of maritime fisheries and aquaculture and a memorandum of understanding in agriculture. These agreements were signed by Mr. Aziz Akhannouch and the Congolese Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Jean Chrysostome Vahamwiti. The agreement concerns the areas of fisheries partnership, maritime training, technical and scientific research, aquaculture, and the processing and marketing industries for fishery products. For its part, the memorandum of understanding focused on the areas of agricultural partnership, strategies for the development of the agricultural sector, and vocational training in agriculture. Furthermore, the Agency for Agricultural Development (ADA) indicated that it has just launched a call for tenders for a public-private partnership around agricultural land in the private domain of the State, covering 165 projects to be spread over 6,000 hectares. The offer is distributed over 13 large agricultural projects with an area exceeding 100 ha, 71 medium projects (between 20 ha and 100 ha), and 81 small agricultural projects of less than 20 ha, specified Hakim Tazi, director at the ADA, during a conference held on Friday within the framework of SIAM on "Investment opportunities in the agricultural sector and the marketing of local products".