A MEMBER of Morocco’s Royal Family was in Gibraltar last week after the British territory signed a deal to expand trade, cultural and sporting links with southern neighbour Tangier.
Charifa Lalla Malika El Alaoui met with Minister responsible for relations with Morocco John Cortes to discuss ‘a wide range of possibilities for future co-operation’, Gibraltar’s government said in a statement.
It came as between Gibraltar and Tangier mayors Carmen Gomez and Mounir Lymouri respectively signed a Memorandum of Understanding on November 10.
Lalla Malika directs the Donabo Botanic Gardens in Tangier and is on the board of Tetouan University.
During her stay, she met Dr Keith Bensusan of the Gibraltar Botanic Gardens and Dr Darren Fa of Gibraltar University.
Lalla Malika also visited Gibraltar Museum during her stay on the Rock.
Gomez signed the MoU in the presence of Cortes and Minister for Culture Christian Santos.
A distinguished group of guests from both communities witnessed the moment Tangier and Gibraltar got ever closer after the historical links that connected both cities.
They plan to understand each other better and make more links ‘in the fields of culture, sport, and economic development’, the government said.
The MoU makes reference to the Moroccan workers who came to Gibraltar to work after the frontier closed in 1969.
It is a ‘legacy handed down to succeeding generations in both communities to this day,’ the government added in a statement.
The government is now planning joint research into environment and heritage in the Straits of Gibraltar, educational exchanges and increased links between both both nations.
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