Malagasy president's visit to Morocco evokes 'vivid, moving memories', says King
Morocco-Madagascar, Politics, 4/6/2005

The visit to Morocco of President Marc Ravalomanana evokes "vivid, moving memories," for Moroccans, according to King Mohammed VI who was speaking at an Exchange of Toasts at a dinner hosted in honor of the Malagasy leader Tuesday evening in Rabat.

"Aside from the great pleasure of receiving you in Morocco, your visit evokes vivid, moving memories" said the monarch who recalled that "in the minds of Moroccans, Madagascar has always been associated with my country's epic struggle for freedom," in an allusion to the struggle for Morocco's independence led by his grandfather the late King Mohammed V who was forced to exile in Antsirabe (Madagascar) along with his family by the French protectorate in the early fifties.

"The many tokens of solidarity and great consideration shown by the people of Madagascar to the late His Majesty King Mohammed V, blessed be His soul, and to the Royal Family, during their exile in Antsirabe, will remain engraved on our memory forever," the monarch said. "It was, therefore, especially moving for Moroccans to follow the visit my revered grandfather paid to your country in 1957 to express his deepest gratitude to the people of Madagascar for the attentive care His Majesty and the Royal Family received during the twenty-seven months they spent in Antsirabe."

King Mohammed VI whose guest is paying the first official visit to Morocco since he took office in 2002, noted that this visit comes at time when Morocco is preparing to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the return from exile of his grandfather.

Since that time, the monarch said, "the Republic of Madagascar has held a special place in the hearts and minds of Moroccans."

While underlining the "special relations" that existed at that time between Morocco and Madagascar, the monarch deplored however that "that momentum was broken as a result of the international situation and the prevailing ideologies." "For many years, Morocco watched, frustrated and bewildered, as the ruling authorities in Madagascar distanced themselves from us," he recalled.

He nevertheless noted that the two countries' "shared past should induce us to open a new chapter in the relations between our two countries and to foster solid bilateral cooperation ties in various fields, based on solidarity, friendship and mutual respect." He added that both countries should "work hand in hand to overcome the obstacles and difficulties of the past, and to expand bilateral relations, which have great potential for development."

King Mohammed VI assured in this regard his guest of "Morocco's readiness to contribute to your country's development, and to strongly support all initiatives designed to strengthen the ties of friendship and cooperation uniting our two nations, thereby building an exemplary relationship between us."

"Morocco and Madagascar should also strive to give new momentum to cooperation in Africa, in order to make it a model of South-South cooperation" he concluded.

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