The European Union (EU) have reached agreement with Morocco on its participation in the GALILEO program, making Morocco the first African country to join the multi-national project.

This agreement, initialed here on Tuesday, will cover industrial and scientific cooperation and the development of specific GALILEO applications for Morocco and its region, said the EU executive European Commission in a statement.

"It also represents a great opportunity for Galileo to become established in the western Mediterranean region," it added.

The agreement will be submitted to the next meeting of the EU Transport Council meeting in December 2005 for formal approval by the EU member states.

Morocco is the fifth country joining the Galileo program, after the conclusion of the agreements with China, Israel, Ukraine and India.

Discussions are also under way with Argentina, Brazil, Mexico, Norway, Chile, South Korea, Malaysia, Canada and Australia.

GALILEO is Europe's satellite radio navigation program. It was launched at the initiative of the European Commission and developed jointly with the European Space Agency (ESA).

Source: Xinhua