Slovenia and Morocco have agreed to open embassies in Rabat and Ljubljana in 2025 as part of efforts to forge closer bilateral ties, and announced they plan to work together to curb illegal migrations.

The announcement was made as Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon met with her Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita in Rabat on 11 June and the two countries marked the 32nd anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations.

Europe's reputation in Africa has suffered lately, which is why it must strengthen its presence there and pursue dialogue, Minister Fajon said.

The planned embassy in Rabat would be Slovenia's fourth in Africa. For many years the country's only diplomatic mission on the continent was in Egypt, but in the last year embassies in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and Algiers, Algeria were launched.

The two countries also agreed to strengthen cooperation in the fight against irregular migrations and trafficking in persons as Fajon warned that an increasing number of Moroccan nationals enter Slovenia illegally.

In the first four months of the year more than 1,600 Moroccan nationals were intercepted trying to enter Slovenia illegally, a 20% increase on the same period last year.

"I'm glad that we have agreed to set up a special task force that will tackle irregular migrations very operationally and substantively," Fajon said.

The task force is set to hold its first meeting by the end of the year.