Rabat – Morocco’s honorary consul in Dublin, Michael J. Holland began on Wednesday his official consular duties in Ireland, as assigned by the Ambassador of Morocco in Ireland Lahcen Mahraoui.
The honorary position is intended to support the Moroccan Embassy in Dublin’s “economic diplomacy focusing on promoting Morocco in Ireland as a strategic investment platform.”
Mahraoui congratulated the new consul on his new “highly deserved” position, which he attributes to Holland’s “exceptional professional career and reputation in Ireland.”
The diplomat invited the Irish to invest in stronger commercial partnerships with Morocco, and build solid and lasting communication and trade bridges.
The new honorary consul expressed his gratitude for the honorable designation, paying tribute to the Moroccan Embassy’s many achievements in terms of Morocco-Ireland cooperation.
Read also: Morocco, Ireland to Put Behind Years of Cold Relations
Michael J. Holland is an entrepreneur in both the hospitality and real estate industries. He is also the director of Orbis Ireland, a non-governmental organization (NGO) specializing in the support of eye care projects and the treatment of eye diseases.
In 2019, Ireland announced its plan to establish an embassy in Morocco, so as to begin a genuine diplomatic connection between the two countries.
“Ireland is so far one of the few European Union member states without a presence in North Africa…a new embassy in Rabat will allow us to develop trading opportunities, especially in the fields of agri-food, agricultural machinery and renewable energy,” said Irish Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney.
The two countries further strengthened bilateral relations through the appointment of Ireland’s first Ambassador to Morocco James McIntyre, in March 2021.
According to 2019 statistics from the Moroccan Foreign Exchange Office, Ireland is at the top of the list of countries in regard to foreign direct investment (FDI) in Morocco, standing at MAD 9.7 billion ($1 billion), outperforming France.
