The Consulate General of Morocco in Toronto, inaugurated on Tuesday, is the “fruit” of “exemplary and intense” cooperation with Canada, said the Ambassador of the Kingdom to Canada, Souriya Otmani.
The Consulate General of Morocco Inaugurated in Toronto, “Fruit” of an “Exemplary” Cooperation With Canada (Ambassador)
“The establishment of the consular representation in Toronto is the result of exemplary and intense cooperation between Morocco and Canada, in various fields, despite the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”, indicated Ms. Otmani, who took part in a ceremony organized on this occasion.
The ambassador, who presided over the ceremony, also stressed that the opening of this consular representation is in line with the High Guidelines of King Mohammed VI, and in accordance with the high solicitude with which the Sovereign surrounds Moroccans residing at the foreigner, aiming to accompany them and strengthen their unwavering attachment to the mother country, to the Alawite Throne and to the values of the Moroccan nation.
Quoted in a press release from the Moroccan Embassy in Canada, the diplomat expressed the joy and pride of the Moroccan community at the “long-awaited” opening of this consular representation, in the heart of the Canadian metropolis, the fourth largest city in North America.
Called the “Queen City”, it constitutes the economic, commercial, and financial lung of Canada in addition to being an important consular center with no less than a hundred foreign consular representations.
The decision to open a consular representation in Toronto was announced by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Living Abroad, Nasser Bourita, during the visit to Morocco of his Canadian counterpart François-Philippe Champagne. in January 2020, recalls the press release.
In addition to wanting to better serve the Moroccan citizens who live in this consular district, to provide them with quality and local consular services, and to meet their expectations and aspirations, the consular representation will further facilitate interaction with the Canadian authorities in the country. local level, with a view to promoting bilateral relations and exchanges between the two countries.
The Ambassador of Morocco noted, in this regard, that the consular representation is responsible for serving the Moroccan community established in the province of Ontario, but also the Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, Alberta, British Columbia, Newfoundland and Labrador, as well as the Northwest Territories, Nunavut and the Yukon. It will also ensure according to the needs of mobile consulates with our fellow citizens in these provinces, said the ambassador.
Ms. Otmani also highlighted the human dimension in the development and consolidation of Moroccan-Canadian relations, noting that some 150,000 Moroccans live in Canada, including 40,000 of Jewish faith and 4,000 students in various universities and training centers.
At the same time, she thanked the Canadian partners for all the assistance provided for the establishment of the consular representation in Toronto, “the result of exemplary and intense cooperation between Morocco and Canada, in various fields, despite the context of the COVID-19 pandemic”.
The diplomat noted, in this sense, that the exchanges of visits during these last years have made it possible to enhance Moroccan-Canadian cooperation in the political, economic, and cultural fields, adding that the year 2022 will see the celebration of the sixtieth anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, an opportunity to strengthen, consolidate and further develop these relations.
The inauguration ceremony was attended by representatives of the Government and Protocol of Ontario and the City of Toronto, as well as the Dean and several members of the consular body accredited in Ontario.
Several personalities from the province of Ontario took part in this event including Karen Sahota, Deputy Director of Protocol of the Government of Ontario, Minnan-Wong, Deputy Mayor of the City of Toronto, Ann-Marie Patrice Layne, Consul General of Antigua and Barbuda and Dean of the Accredited Consular Corps in Toronto, and Gustavo Oscar Infante, Consul General of Argentina in Toronto.
