Solidarity between Morocco and Spain lies in the friendship and fraternity uniting the countries’ royal families, said the Moroccan ambassador in Spain.
Rabat – Morocco’s Ambassador to Spain, Karima Benyaich, said on Thursday that while the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly brought about destruction, Rabat and Madrid have seized the crisis as an opportunity to consolidate their “strategic” partnership.
Morocco’s King Mohammed VI and Spain’s King Felipe VI have demonstrated international solidarity in facing COVID-19, she said on Throne Day, July 30.
This solidarity is rooted in “the deep friendship and the fraternal relationship uniting the two Royal Houses,” Morocco’s state media quoted Benyaich as saying.
Solidarity, she continued, constitutes the pillar of the “unique, strategic partnership” between Morocco and Spain.
“This partnership undoubtedly reminds us of the common vision shared by our two countries, that of always being side by side, of defending the major challenges of our time and of jointly responding to all the challenges facing our two countries … in a spirit of understanding, responsibility, and solidarity,” Ambassador Benyaich remarked.
Spain’s monarch also described in a Throne Day message to King Mohammed VI the “fraternal affection” he feels towards Morocco’s sovereign, extolling positive relations between Rabat and Madrid.
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Morocco’s national solidarity
Morocco has benefitted from King Mohammed VI’s “far-sighted vision” and effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic, but the crisis has hit the country hard, Benyaich said.
The “solidarity and generosity” of the Moroccan people, however, enabled the country “to face this crisis in unity,” the diplomat stressed.
COVID-19 illuminated the “trust” between the Moroccan people and the government, allowing the country to effectively decide on and carry out effective measures to limit the spread of the virus.
This “trust” has also allowed the Moroccan government to implement a proactive response strategy, she stated.
King Mohammed VI’s Special Fund for the Management and Response to COVID-19 has accumulated more than €3.2 billion thanks to donations from Moroccan institutions and citizens, as well as international institutions.
The King’s fund has “made it possible to cope with the social and economic impact of this crisis and to provide direct financial assistance to more than 5.1 million households,” Ambassador Benyaich underlined.
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Morocco’s COVID-19 response reached ‘beyond its borders’
Thanks to Morocco’s “ambitious,” two-decade-old industrial policy, the North African country is now a leading manufacturer of hygienic face masks. Its daily production capacity has reached 14 million, Benyaich emphasized.
By mobilizing industrial units at the onset of the crisis, Morocco was able to meet its domestic demand for face masks and begin exporting to other countries with high demand while maintaining a sufficient national reserve.
“Thanks to His Majesty the King’s commitment to the development and well-being of the African continent, Morocco’s spirit of solidarity has gone beyond its borders,” Benyaich continued. Morocco has provided medical supplies and assistance to more than 20 African countries, an initiative warmly received by continental, regional, and international actors.
The ambassador also emphasized the “spirit of solidarity and the spirit of responsibility shown by the Moroccan community established in Spain during the COVID-19 crisis.”
“I would like to thank the many associations and volunteers for their humanitarian actions in favor of the most vulnerable. You are a real source of pride, and the action you have undertaken testifies to your integration into Spanish society.”
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