Queen Sofia visits complex for handicapped children northern Morocco

Queen Sofia visited, in Tetuan Friday, a complex for handicapped children's education, training and rehabilitation.

The Queen, who was welcomed by Princess lalla Salma, spouse of King Mohammed VI, made a tour in the facilities of the complex that is run by "Hanane" association, created in 1969.

The complex, built under a Morocco-Spanish cooperation, was inaugurated in 2003 by the Moroccan sovereign. It comprises a center for mentally-disabled children, a specialized physical therapy center for the deaf and a vocational training center.

Activities of the center are financed by the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation, the autonomous government of Andalusia, Mohammed V Solidarity Foundation and other Moroccan and Spanish associations.

Queen Sofia also visited Moulay Rachid Center, an offshoot of the Moroccan League for Children Protection.

The center hosts 225 children aged from 8 months to 6 years, notably orphans, abandoned children, and children of impoverished families.

Spain's queen, who arrived Thursday in Morocco as part of a tour in the Maghreb region, heard explanations about the center that is funded by the European Union via the autonomous government of Andalusia, as part of Interreg III program. In 2002, the center was equipped and renovated by the Spanish agency for international cooperation to increase its hosting capacity.

Queen Sofia, accompanied by the Spanish Secretary of State for cooperation, Leira Pagin, also visited Tamuda center for water technologies transfer, set up in 2000 in partnership with Andalusia's government.

This is the second visit queen Sofia pays to Morocco this year. On January 17-19, she accompanied King Juan Carlos of Spain in a three-day state visit to the north African country.