Rabat – The US First Lady, Jill Biden, has concluded her three-day visit to Morocco following a series of meetings with locals, including women and youth in Marrakech.
The US’ first lady’s visit to the North African country ended today, and she left the country through a flight from the Marrakech Menara airport.
Karim Kassi Lahlou, the governor of the Marrakech-Safi region chaired a greeting ceremony at the airport, where Jill Biden received a detachment of the Auxiliary Forces.
US Ambassador Puneet Talwar and his wife Sattar Sarash also attended the ceremony.
Biden’s daughter, Ashley Biden, accompanied her mother during the visit along with the First Lady’s sister Bobby Jacobs.
The visit served as an “opportunity to highlight the centuries old relations of partnership and friendship that have always existed between the Kingdom and the United States of America,” Morocco’s news agency MAP reported.
During her visit, Biden met with several locals, including women and youth.
According to a statement from the US Embassy in Morocco , Biden held several “sociocultural engagements focusing on education and the empowerment of youth and women around the world.”
As part of her stops, Biden visited on Sunday Ennakhil Association, a nonprofit Moroccan organization in Marrakech.
In a speech, the US First Lady stressed Morocco’s efforts in helping to empower women and youth.
“Empowered women power our communities. The United States understands that and stands with women throughout the world … The United States is grateful for its long standing partnership and friendship with Morocco,” she said.
She also commended King Mohammed VI’s leadership, saying Morocco has encouraged reforms and made noticeable progress on women’s rights and youth empowerment.
In addition, Jill Biden also visited Madrasa Ben Youssef, “an iconic historical and educational institution located in the heart of the medina of Marrakech on Sunday, as well as “Ibn Al Aarif middle school,” which received a funding from the Millenium Challenge Corporation (MCC).
Read also: Jill Biden Expresses Gratitude to Morocco’s Royal Family for Warm Welcome
During her visit to Ib Al Aarif middle school the US first Lady met with several Moroccan local and national officials, including Minister of Education Chakib Benmoussa, Kassi Lahlou, as well as Director General of the MCA Morocco Agency Malika Laasri.
Morocco and the US share good diplomatic ties, with both countries determined to continue boosting and strengthening cooperation at all levels.
Some of the key areas the two countries work together to strengthen their partnership is security cooperation.
Today marked the kick off of the African Lion, an annual military drill that both the US and Morocco co-organize to strengthen cooperation against security threats.
Commenting on the kick off of the African Lion military exercice, the US embassy in Morocco said: “Today marks the official launch of the 19th edition of #AfricanLion23 exercise, U.S. Africa Command’s largest, premier, annual combined, joint exercise in the African continent. #AL23 bolsters the longstanding and solid partnership between the United States Army and the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces, and demonstrates our shared commitment to security and stability, while enhancing readiness and interoperability.”
