“Has special meaning…”: Envoy on enthronement celebrations of Mohammed VI King of Morocco in Delhi

New Delhi [India], July 30 (ANI): On the occasion of the enthronement celebrations of Mohammed VI King of Morocco held here in Delhi on Tuesday, the Ambassador of Morocco to India, Mohamed Maliki said that this celebration in India has a special meaning, as the nations are two old cultures, and civilizations.

Expressing happiness, the envoy said that he is elated to see how the Moroccans and Indians get along together.

While speaking to ANI, the Moroccan Ambassador said, “…Today is only celebrating this happiness, this bright, shared destiny. And then I’m happy to share it with all the Indians. And I have seen this celebration in India has also special meaning because we are two old nations, two old cultures, two old civilizations, two old cultural heritage civilizations as well. And the kind of crowd which has come today denoted the kind of friendship we enjoy both the two countries. I’m happy that the Moroccans and Indians do get along together.”

Sharing the importance of the enthronement celebrations, the envoy further underscored the importance of Morocco’s “strong” cultural heritage.

“Creating the silver jubilee of the enthronements of His Majesty, corresponding to the 25th anniversary of his enthronement. And then it’s also a moment to take stock of what has been done. It has been a wonderful journey, a reign which has changed Morocco, a whole nation, being one of the oldest nations in the world, one also with a very strong cultural heritage. And then people are happy because the monarchy symbolizes a communion between the people and their monarchy, the king. And it has been through centuries and centuries,” he said.

On the bilateral ties shared by Morocco and India, Ambassador Maliki said, “I believe since the visit of His Majesty in 2015 on the margin of the India Africa summit, we have been able to reach new heights, both in terms of cultural exchange, in economic exchange, in terms of the presence of Indian companies.”

He affirmed how Morocco-India ties look very bright and optimistic.

“If only I want to talk in terms of numbers. We moved from USD1.1 billion in 2015 to 4.2 billion, a record high, in 2022. And then we moved from 13 indian companies to 45 Indian companies and more than 200 which are linked indirectly,” the envoy said.

“I see the future as very bright, and very optimistic because we are opening new fields of cooperation, and new ways of doing things. So I am quite confident that the future will be brighter,” he added.

Relations between India and Morocco go back to the 14th century when the famous traveller and writer from Tangier, Ibn Batuta, travelled to India. In modern history, India was active in the UN supporting the Moroccan freedom movement and recognised Morocco on June 20, 1956, immediately after its independence. Diplomatic relations were established in 1957.

The celebrations were also attended by Union Minister of State for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel as well.

“Today is a very joyous occasion for the people of Morocco as they celebrate the 25th throne day of His Majesty Mohammed VI King of Morocco. On behalf of govt of India and our people, we extend our heartiest wishes to them on this very important day. The two countries have a deep enduring friendship and the bilateral trade between the two nations has been constantly growing,” MoS for Health and Family Welfare, Anupriya Patel told ANI.

“I am also very happily sharing that Morocco is a leader in Phosphate production and it is a very very important country in so far as India’s own food productivity and food security is concerned,” she said, adding that the two nations will continue to enhance the cooperation in future.

For long, India has been one of the major markets for Moroccan phosphates and its derivatives. India’s export basket to Morocco has also grown significantly in recent years.

The main items of India’s exports to Morocco are cotton yarn, synthetic fibre, chemicals, manufactured metals, machinery and instruments, transport equipment, pharmaceuticals, automotive parts and spices.

The main items of Moroccan export to India are phosphoric acid, phosphate, metallic ores metal spray and inorganic chemicals.