A large Moroccan delegation held a meeting on Friday in Beijing with the Chinese Vice Minister of Culture and Tourism, Li Jianzo. At the center of this meeting, the examination of ways to strengthen cooperation in the tourism and cultural fields between Morocco and China, which will experience an intense dynamic of exchanges this year as part of the organization of a Moroccan cultural and tourism year in China, and a similar event from China to Morocco, through a series of activities, events and various demonstrations.
Took part in this meeting, held on the sidelines of the inauguration by Royal Air Maroc (RAM) of its first direct flight linking Casablanca to Beijing, the CEO of RAM, Abdelhamid Addou, the director general of the Moroccan National Tourism Office (ONMT), Adel Al Fakir, the director general of MAP, Khalil Hachimi Idrissi, the president of the National Museum Foundation, Mehdi Qotbi, and the Moroccan ambassador to China, Aziz Mekouar.
On this occasion, the Chinese official recalled his previous visits to Morocco and his admiration for the richness and diversity of its unique cultural and tourism resources and its characteristics imbued with harmony between culture and tourism, highlighting the momentum given by the signing by the ministerial departments of the two countries in December 2018 of a memorandum of understanding on the organization of a Chinese cultural and tourism year in Morocco and a similar event from Morocco to China in 2020. The opening of the Sino-Moroccan tourist and cultural year, which will take place in Rabat on February 13, will be marked by the presence of the Chinese Minister of Tourism and Culture, indicated the Chinese official, emphasizing the strong desire of the two countries to promote cooperation in the fields of culture and tourism, in particular the promotion of cooperation between tourism stakeholders, cultural institutions and museums. He also expressed his confidence that the inauguration of the new direct air route between Morocco and China will strengthen this cooperation and contribute to attracting a growing number of tourists and promoting cultural exchanges between the two countries, recalling that Morocco’s abolition of visas for Chinese citizens in 2016 was widely welcomed in China.
The Moroccan Ambassador to China, Aziz Mekouar, for his part, noted that the launch of the direct Casablanca-Beijing flight represents a major event on the path of cooperation between the two countries, recalling that since the official visit of HM King Mohammed VI to the People’s Republic of China in 2016, and the Royal Decision to abolish the visa for the benefit of Chinese citizens, the field of business and tourism has developed remarkably, the number of Chinese tourists coming to Morocco having increased from around 14,000 tourists in 2016 to nearly 190,000 in 2019. This dynamic has also helped Chinese businessmen to develop their investments and commercial projects in Morocco, added Mr. Mekouar.
The Moroccan diplomat stressed that the inauguration of this airline is considered the first event of this new year which will see the organization of the Moroccan year in China and a similar event from China to Morocco, through a number of activities and demonstrations in the two countries, with the aim of presenting the diversity of Moroccan culture to the Chinese, as well as introducing Moroccans to the richness of Chinese culture, noting that this important event is only one starting point for other activities in 2021 and 2022 as well as in the years to come. For his part, the CEO of RAM, Abdelhamid Addou, noted that the inauguration of the direct airline, the first between Morocco and China, is a historic day for the national company and Morocco, indicating that this was achieved thanks to the momentum resulting from the official visit of HM the King to China, during which a strategic partnership was established between the two countries, as well as the desire that binds the two parties to strengthen bilateral commercial relations and stimulate tourism in both directions. He expressed to the Chinese official the willingness of RAM, partner in the organization of the Moroccan-Chinese cultural weeks, to support all the activities that the Chinese Ministry of Culture and Tourism plans to organize in Morocco to introduce and promote Chinese culture in the Kingdom, adding that Morocco enjoys an ancestral history and culture, which contributes to promoting rapprochement between the peoples of the two countries and makes it imperative to introduce this cultural heritage to the Moroccan and Chinese people.
The Director General of the ONMT, Adel Al Fakir, affirmed, for his part, that this direct flight represents an important step in relations between the two countries and will undoubtedly contribute to promoting tourist exchanges between Morocco and China, adding that this new airline is one of the results of the visit of HM King Mohammed VI to China in 2016, which stimulated the influx of Chinese tourists to Morocco, which was of the order of 14,000 in 2016 to be multiplied by more than 10 times in three years. In this regard, he recalled the importance of the signing last year by the ONMT of a partnership agreement with C-Trip, the largest online travel agency in China, to promote, market and develop the tourist visibility of Morocco in China, stressing that the Office has scheduled a certain number of activities on the occasion of the organization of the cultural and tourist year of Morocco in China and another event from China to the Kingdom, in particular the exchange of visits between professionals Moroccans and Chinese next March with the aim of improving connectivity between the two markets and creating more commercial businesses in the field of tourism.
For his part, Mehdi Qotbi wanted to highlight the interest of the direct air line by recalling the visit of the famous Moroccan traveler Ibn Battouta to China in the 14th century, noting that this line will contribute to promoting rapprochement between the two peoples and cultures, given that culture has always been the strong link between people for better knowledge and understanding and mutual appreciation. In this sense, he announced the organization of a major exhibition at the National Museum of China in Beijing, at the end of February, entitled “Colors of the distant country – the treasures of Morocco”, with the aim of highlighting the traditional and contemporary cultural heritage abounding in the Kingdom, underlining in this regard the relevance of the signing of two cooperation agreements between the National Museum of China and the National Museum Foundation. Mr. Qotbi also expressed the wish to conclude as quickly as possible a similar cooperation agreement with the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, which includes strengthening cooperation through highlighting modern and contemporary aspects of Moroccan culture.
source: lematin.ma
