Morocco Expands Diplomatic Reach: New Consulate in France Serves 156,000 Nationals

The inauguration of the new consulate took place on Friday. This Moroccan representation covers three departments in the Île-de-France region, namely Yvelines, Seine-Maritime and Eure, representing a pool of nearly 156,000 Moroccans, according to the MAP. For the ambassador of King Mohammed VI in France, Samira Sitail, this opening responds to the expectations of Moroccans from the three departments concerned, for whom the Moroccan Consulate General in Mantes-la-Jolie "is a source of pride, of rapprochement with Morocco". The diplomat did not fail to salute the contribution of "our French friends" and their commitment to the establishment of this consulate.

The inauguration of the Moroccan Consulate General in Mantes-la-Jolie "is part of the strategy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad, which consists of bringing the administration closer to the citizens, and within the framework of the consular action aimed at bringing the consulates closer to the members of our community," said Fouad Kadmiri, Director of Consular and Social Affairs at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, African Cooperation and Moroccans Residing Abroad. He specified that with this opening, the Moroccan consular network in France now consists of 17 consulates, "which is by far the largest in terms of the number of Moroccan consular networks abroad."

"This reflects the importance of the Moroccan community established in France, but also the depth of the relationship between the two countries," he added. For his part, the Prefect of Yvelines, Frédéric Rose, noted that the Moroccan community is the second largest community in this department with nearly 30,000 Moroccan nationals. According to him, it was already important to have "a consulate with which we will be able to work well to have even closer relations than before with Morocco".

This administrative and consular structure, which brings the number of consulates in Île-de-France to six and will be operational from Monday, responds to a long-standing expectation of Moroccans in Yvelines, Seine-Maritime and Eure, with 780 appointment requests already recorded on the application opened for this purpose, said Mustapha El Bouazzaoui, Consul General of Morocco in Mantes-la-Jolie.