The Moroccan Embassy in Accra has marked the 24th anniversary of the Kingdom’s King Mohammed VI’s accession to the throne.
Mr Kobina Tahir Hammond, the Minister of Trade and Industry, was the Chief Guest at the reception hosted by Mrs Imane Ouaadil, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Ghana.
The event was attended by Ministers of State, Members of the Diplomatic Community, traditional rulers, and the Moroccan Community in Ghana.
Mr Hammond on behalf of President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, the Government and People of Ghana, conveyed warm facilitation to King Mohammed VI of the Kingdom of Morocco, the Government, and the People of Morocco.
He praised the exceptional historic relationship that existed between Ghana and Morocco.
The Minister reiterated that this relationship had been translated through various levels of cooperation.
“Morocco has a long-standing relationship with Ghana, dating back to the era of the liberation struggles and emancipation efforts towards the continent’s independence,” he said.
“The two states belong to the radical Casablanca Group, one of the two main Pan-African Groups, which was formed in January 1961, following an invitation to Casablanca by then King Mohammed V of several African Heads of States, including Dr Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana to discuss the issue of African unity.”
He noted that Morocco represented a model in the protection and preservation of cultural heritage in Africa.
He said Morocco’s investment in the identification and preservation of cultural heritage through the creation of the initiative and the establishment such as the recently announced National Centre for Tangible Heritage were instrumental in celebrating the country’s history and boosting tourists’ activities.
He commended King Mohammed VI for his commitment and leading role in promoting South-South Cooperation and solidarity across the African continent.
He lauded the King for his contributions in promoting togetherness among African countries, to modernize national and regional level infrastructures; and to catch up on technological advancement was commendable.
Mr Hammond said the relationship between the two countries had been strengthened through a wide range of products of technological assistance and political cooperation.
He said Morocco’s biggest real estate company, the Addoha Group, which had an annual turnover of one billion dollars was currently investing in Ghana’s housing sector.
He said the Group had already signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of Ghana to construct 10,000 housing units over seven years valued at €250 million.
On her part, Mrs Imane Ouaadil, the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to Ghana, said the future was bright and that when King Mohammed VI ascended the throne in 1999, Morocco had a gross domestic product (GDP) of about $42 billion, and that last year Morocco’s GDP was more than threefold, which stood at $152 billion.
She said the King’s vision for the Kingdom was to promote infrastructure development such as large highways networks and high-speed trains; adding that the automobile industry was now Morocco’s top industry.
The Ambassador said the Kingdom had also strengthened its position as a key player in food security in the world, particularly in Africa through the development of the fertilizer industry.
She said Morocco and Ghana were increasingly collaborating on emerging issues such as food security, infrastructure development, education and training.
Touching on food security with the view of boosting South-South Corporation, Mrs Ouaadil said Morocco’s phosphate giant, OCP Group and the Government of Ghana had completed initial studies for the construction of a $1.3 million fertilizer plant complex in Takoradi.
She said the project aimed to increase fertilizer availability in Ghana, as well as reduce input costs.