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Marrakech – Morocco’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced last week the appointment of 21 new consuls general as part of the 2026 personnel mobility operation. The nominations, made following an open call for candidacies, account for 35% of the kingdom’s total consular posts.
The appointments span 11 of the 16 countries covered by Morocco’s consular network: France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Libya, Tunisia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Algeria, Canada, and the United States.
In France, Adila El Ouerdi takes charge in Rennes and Nezha Riki in Pontoise. Italy receives four new consuls general: Abdelilah Ennajari in Rome, Mohammed Alaoui in Milan, Halima Bnehni in Bologna, and Hasnaa Halim in Verona.
Spain accounts for the largest share with four postings. Sanae Merrouh heads to Tarragona, Fatima El Kadi to Almería, Ikram Chahine to Murcia, and Sidi Sidi Abah to Las Palmas. In the Netherlands, Abdelrahim Chkair was named to Amsterdam and Sara Aït Mouden to Rotterdam.
Across North Africa, Mohammed El Amine Setti was appointed to Benghazi and Hassan Amloul to Tripoli in Libya, while Hamou Hicham Oussi takes the post in Tunis. Ibrahim Ajouli was designated to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia and Aziz Achouri to Istanbul.
In North America, Mohammed Hicham Bensoltane was assigned to Montreal, Tarek Iziraren to Toronto, and Younes Ennajar to New York.
Gender parity featured prominently in the cycle. Nearly 40% of the newly appointed consuls general are women, raising the overall share of female consuls general across the network to approximately 40%.
The ministry also noted the role of institutional expertise in the process. Of the 21 appointees, 11 have previously served or currently serve as consuls general and were promoted to posts of greater scope.
At the same time, roughly half of those named accede to the rank for the first time, reflecting an effort to balance renewal with seasoned experience. Overall, 70% of the new consuls general carry prior consular service, while 30% come from other branches of Moroccan diplomacy.
One appointment carries particular diplomatic weight. Mohammed El Hassani Idrissi was named consul general in Sidi Bel Abbes, Algeria.
Rabat continues to operate three consulates on Algerian soil, in Algiers, Sidi Bel Abbes, and Oran, despite the unilateral severance of bilateral diplomatic relations initiated by Algiers in August 2021. Algeria likewise maintains two consular missions in Morocco, in Casablanca and Oujda.
At the time of the rupture, former Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra affirmed that both countries’ consular apparatuses would continue serving their respective nationals on either side of the closed border.
In March 2024, Algiers appointed two new consuls to Morocco: Hichem Ferhati to Oujda and Belghith Joudi as consul general in Casablanca. Three months later, Rabat reciprocated by designating Mustapha Rezouk as the new head of its consulate in Algiers. The latest appointment to Sidi Bel Abbes sustains that pattern of consular continuity amid a diplomatically frozen bilateral channel.
