By: Haddy Touray
Mr. Nasser Bourita, Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation, and Moroccan Expatriates last Friday opened the the Kingdom of Morocco’s embassy in The Gambia.
The inauguration ceremony was grace by Gambia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and Gambians Abroad, Dr. Mamadou Tangara, who cut the ribbon to inaugurate the Kingdom of Morocco’s embassy in The Gambia.
Speaking to journalists shortly after the ribbon cutting, Dr. Tangara congratulated the Kingdom of Morocco for the “great initiative” of opening an embassy in The Gambia.
Foreign affairs minister Tangara acknowledged the invaluable support that the Kingdom of Morocco rendered and continues to offer The Gambia.
“They played a key role in supporting us for a successful OIC Summit and I also thank them for their tremendous support before, during, and, am sure, after the summit,” he stated.
Dr. Tangara pointed out that the Kingdom of Morocco’s embassy in The Gambia is a symbol of the enduring and excellent bilateral relations between Banjul and Rabat, expressing the hope that the edifice will further consolidate these gains
He added that the edifice will also provide an opportunity to project the best image of the Kingdom in The Gambia and adjust Gambians’ knowledge about the Maghreb country.
According to Foreign Minister Tangara, many Gambians have ties with Morocco through the Tijania Brotherhood, adding that the country is a place of pilgrimage and education for a lot of Gambians.
Also speaking at the inauguration, the Charge d’Affairs at the Embassy of The Kingdom of Morocco, His Excellency Ahmed BELHADJ, said: “As you know, the relationship between Morocco and The Gambia is an exceptional and rich story of friendship and fraternity, strong and old. This relationship, whose strength has never been altered by time, on the contrary, is clear that time only brings it more vigor and depth at all levels.”
He explained that the King of Morocco was aware of the positive dynamics that The Gambia experienced in recent years.
“Indeed, His Majesty King Mohammed VI, May God help him, since 2006, the date of his first official visit to The Gambia, has fully understood the eminently positive dynamic that this country has experienced in recent years,” he stated.
H.E BELHADJ highlighted that “the strong and determined desire to move forward, driven by His Excellency President Adama Barrow, and shared by His Brother His Majesty King Mohammed VI, resulted in an exemplary and solid partnership based on a strengthened friendship, fraternal respect, and mutual assistance”.
“Today, we can say that the opening of the new Embassy confirms the excellent relations between the two brotherly countries as well as Morocco’s commitment to raising these relations to the level they deserve,” he underlined.