Prince Moulay Rachid in Portugal for Expo-98

Prince Moulay Rachid, youngest son of King Hassan II, praised Saturday in Lisbon the soundness of Moroccan-Portuguese relations.

Moroccan - Portugese relations were enhanced after the signing in 1978 of the Portuguese-Moroccan Treaty, he said.

The migratory flow between Morocco and Portugal also contributed to the creation of relations of cooperation, coexistence and exchanges in the maritime, commercial and cultural fields, a fact that favored the emergence of a common heritage, the prince said.

Among the signs attesting to the Moroccan-Portuguese common heritage, Prince Moulay Rachid said the Portuguese language includes several Arabic terms as there are various Portuguese terms used in Moroccan dialect.

Expo-98, is currently being held in Lisbon under the theme: "Oceans, legacy for the future." The show marks the 500th anniversary of navigator Vasco da Gama's discovery of the sea route to India.

As many as 146 countries and 14 international organizations are taking part in the last exhibition of the millennium that will run until September 30.

The Moroccan pavilion has chosen as its mascot the monk seal.

Half of the world's monk seal population is found off the Moroccan coasts. This species which used to live all along the Mediterranean coasts and the Black Sea, is today one of the most endangered animals after its habitat shrunk to limited areas in the Aegean sea, Madere and the Atlantic coast in Southern Morocco.

During the last 20 years, the size and geographic repartition of the monk-seals population shrunk significantly and only 400 to 600 individuals are found today.