Language Controversy Erupts at Morocco-CEMAC Economic Forum in Laâyoune

22 June 2025 – byPrince · 1 min read

During the opening ceremony of the Parliamentary Forum on Economic Cooperation between Morocco and the Economic and Monetary Community of Central Africa (CEMAC), held on Friday in Laâyoune, two government ministers delivered their speeches in French. The regional president, however, refused to speak in Spanish.

On the occasion of this forum organized by the House of Advisors and the General Confederation of Moroccan Enterprises (CGEM), Younes Sekkouri, Minister of Economic Inclusion, Small Business, Employment and Skills, and Aawatif Hayar, Delegate Minister in charge of Digital Transition and Administrative Reform, spoke in French. "I will speak like the previous minister, in French, because there are many participants, and French is the language to which everyone will respond," Hayar justified.

For his part, Hamdi Ould Errachid, President of the Regional Council, refused to respond in Spanish to a journalist’s questions, arguing that as a regional president, he could only speak in Arabic or Hassaniyya.

Several Moroccan officials also spoke in Arabic during this inaugural session. These include Mohamed Ould Errachid, President of the House of Advisors, Omar Hejira, Secretary of State for Foreign Trade, Abdeljabbar Rachidi, Secretary of State for Social Inclusion, Driss Guerraoui, President of the Economic, Social and Environmental Council, and Chakib Alj, President of the CGEM.

Category: Morocco

Keywords:

Laayoune