In Tribute to President Kennedy, Morocco Announces Multi-Year Contribution to Peace Corps in Morocco

WASHINGTON, Nov. 22, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ (MACP) -- To honor the memory of President John F. Kennedy, Morocco is making a new multi-year contribution in his name to the Peace Corps to support and extend to work of Volunteers in Morocco, Moroccan Foreign Minister Salaheddine Mezouar announced this evening.

"As we celebrate our continuing strong partnership with the United States," said Minister Mezouar, "let us all take a moment to pause and remember the tragic death of President John F. Kennedy, 50 years ago on this date. Morocco lost a great friend that day, a leader who had a keen appreciation of Morocco's contribution to stability and peace in the world, an unwavering commitment to maintaining our long alliance, and a valued personal relationship with King Hassan II. 

"I am delighted to inform you that to honor President Kennedy's memory, King Mohammed VI has announced a multi-year contribution in President Kennedy's name to the Peace Corps in Morocco," said Mezouar. "Over the past 50 years, more than 4,530 Peace Corps Volunteers have worked in Morocco, fulfilling President Kennedy's vision of advancing world peace through service in countries across the globe. Morocco's donation will support the volunteers' indispensable work in Morocco on rural and youth development, English education, environment and health." 

The Peace Corps was one of President Kennedy's defining legacies, established just months before his death, and embodying his vision of international good will and cooperation.  It has done much to further the bonds of friendship and partnership between the two countries. The tribute by Morocco follows a productive meeting earlier today at the White House between King Mohammed VI and President Barack Obama, where the two leaders worked to deepen the two nations' strategic partnership which dates back more than 230 years.

In March 1963, President Kennedy welcomed King Mohammed VI's father, King Hassan II, to Washington with eloquent words that still resonate today: "Though a wide ocean separates our two countries, they have been bound together throughout our history." King Hassan replied that Morocco looked forward to continuing to work with America in "true and honest and unselfish cooperation in their mutual interests, as well as in the interest of the cause of freedom, peace, and human dignity throughout the world."

* For the history of US-Morocco relations, see "The US and Morocco Share a Long History of Friendship," at:
http://moroccoonthemove.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/07/FS_US-MoroccanAlliance18January2013.pdf

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The Moroccan American Center for Policy (MACP) is a non-profit organization whose principal mission is to inform opinion makers, government officials, and interested publics in the United States about political and social developments in Morocco and the role being played by the Kingdom of Morocco in broader strategic developments in North Africa, the Mediterranean, and the Middle East. For more, please visit www.moroccoonthemove.com

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SOURCE Moroccan American Center for Policy