Italy chooses Tangiers for Euro-Mediterranean cinema festival

Italian secretary of state for culture, Vittorio Sgarbi, announced in Rabat on Thursday his country has chosen the Moroccan northern city of Tangiers as a venue for a Euro-Mediterranean cinema festival.

The Italian official said at a press briefing in Rabat he will make a trip to Tangiers to tour the city's historical and cultural sites that are to host a festival similar to the international motion picture festivals. He added that Tangiers is at the crossroads of world civilizations and has inspired several Italian artists and intellectuals.

He recalled that Morocco and Italy held the first session of their joint commission on cooperation in cinema in 1991 and signed in the same year a cooperation agreement in the field, and underscored the importance of culture in bringing Mediterranean people closer.

The Italian official conferred Thursday with Moroccan Secretary of state for foreign affairs and cooperation, Taib fassi Fihri, on means to bolster cultural cooperation between Morocco and Italy.

The two sides discussed the initiatives to be made to bolster cultural relations and the events to be organized in both countries in a bid to foster a better mutual understanding.