The Republic of Haiti opened today, December 12, an embassy in Morocco’s capital Rabat.
Morocco’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, co-chaired the inauguration ceremony with his Haitian counterpart, Claude Joseph.
The two diplomats are also set to inaugurate this weekend a Haitian consulate general in Dakhla, southern Morocco.
The newly-inaugurated embassy is Haiti’s second diplomatic representation in Africa, after an embassy in Pretoria, South Africa.
The consulate general in Dakhla, meanwhile, will be Haiti’s first diplomatic representation of its kind outside of Europe and the Americas.
Today’s inauguration ceremony came a few weeks after Haiti announced its intention to open a diplomatic representation in Morocco’s southern provinces.
The move seeks to concretize the Caribbean country’s support for Morocco’s territorial integrity. It will also make Haiti the first non-African and non-Arab state to open a diplomatic representation in the region.
Read also: Haiti 1st Non-Arab or African State to Open Consulate in Morocco’s Dakhla
Yesterday, after he arrived in Rabat, the Haitian foreign minister reiterated his country’s support for Morocco’s sovereignty over Western Sahara.
“We support, as we have clearly stated, the territorial integrity of Morocco,” Joseph said at the end of a discussion with Bourita.
The Haitian diplomat also described Morocco as “a true partner” for Haiti, saying that his visit to the North African country will further boost bilateral relations.
“We will continue to work together with the [Moroccan] Minister of Foreign Affairs to give new directions to this relationship, which has existed for 30 years,” Joseph added.
Meanwhile, Bourita expressed Morocco’s support for Haiti’s development efforts, promising that “the Kingdom will always be by the side of Haiti in this process.”
The Moroccan diplomat recalled that King Mohammed VI ordered Moroccan troops to take part in the UN peacekeeping mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) when the country faced domestic political troubles.
King Mohammed VI also ordered the shipment of pharmaceutical products worth more than $1 million to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake, Bourita recalled.
Commenting on the meeting with his Haitian counterpart, the Moroccan official said discussions focused on improving relations between the two countries, based on solidarity and friendship.
