Minister John Cortes, whose portfolio includes the development of relations with the Kingdom of Morocco has completed the first part of his visit, to the capital city of Rabat.

Prof Cortes attended a dinner in his honour hosted by the UK Ambassador to Morocco Simon Martin and Mrs Sophie Martin, attended by Morocco’s Roving Ambassador Lalla Assia Bensalah Alaoui. The dinner was also attended by Steven Marin of the Gibraltar Morocco Business Association.

Meetings included an extensive discussion with the Ambassador at the British Embassy on possible areas of cooperation. Also at the Embassy, the Minister held lengthy discussion with members of the Education Working Group of the British Council, Karim Hassan and Kenza El Mohajir.

Prof Cortes attended further meetings at three Ministries in Rabat. These included the Ministry of Tourism, where there were discussions with the Director of Regulation and Quality Development, Moncef Ettayebi, and Director of Strategy and Cooperation, Zohra Tazi.  

At the Ministry of Education, Minister Cortes held discussions with the Secretary General for Education and Sport Younes Shaimi and his team, while at the Ministry of Transport and Logistics discussions were held with Secretary General Khalid Cherkaoui and other senior officials.

Many possible areas of co-operation and development of relations were covered, including promotion of tourism in both directions, co-operation in Education at both school and University level, future direct links between Gibraltar and Morocco, and promotion of sporting links.

The Minister with responsibility for developing relations with Morocco, the Hon Prof John Cortes, said: “The discussions have all been tremendously positive. I have been made to feel extremely welcome and the interest in developing all our ideas for co-operation gave been very well received. I am hugely encouraged and see great potential, which I am determined to pursue. I will on my return brief all those colleagues with the relevant portfolios and support their own teams as they develop these initiatives further. I just express my gratitude to HMA Simon Martin and the Embassy team for their support throughout the visit. I am very excited about the possibilities and am looking forward to the second part of my visit, which will centre in the Tangier region.”