By Lamin Cham
It was all smiles at the imposing new Moroccan embassy building on Sunday when the foreign minister of The Gambia Dr Mamadou Tangara joined his visiting Moroccan counterpart Nasser Bourita to cut the ribbon officially opening the embassy office.
The magnificent edifice is located right on the Brufut-Tanji Highway opposite the Brufut Senior Secondary School on top of the beach.
Attended by a sizeable Moroccan and Gambian officials and community, the ceremony took place on the margins of the just concluded OIC summit in Banjul.
Foreign Minister Tangara told both Gambian and Moroccan media that the opening of the embassy is an icing on the cake of the already strong relations between the two countries dating back to many decades.
He said Morocco has played a leading role in African affairs at the global stage including the OIC and cited the Kingdom’s immense assistance in logistical arrangement of the Banjul OIC summit.
The Moroccan Charge d’Affairs to The Gambia Ahmed Belhadj said the two countries have an exceptional and rich story of friendship and fraternity, strong and old. “This relationship whose strength has never been altered by time, on the contrary, it is clear that time only brings it more vigor and depth at all levels,” he said.
The ambassador revealed that since King Mohammed VI visited The Gambia for the first time in 2006, he has fully understood the eminently positive dynamic that this country has experienced in recent years.
“This strong and determined desire to move forward, driven by President Adama Barrow, and shared by his brother Majesty King Mohammed VI, resulted in an exemplary and solid partnership, based on a strengthened friendship, a fraternal respect, and mutual assistance.
Today we can say that the opening of the new Embassy confirms the excellent relations between the two brotherly countries as well as Morocco’s commitment to raising these relations to the level they deserve,” Ambassador said.
