Recently, Italy and Morocco held a meeting in Rabat to intensify bilateral cooperation on culture and the conservation of archaeological sites.
The Ambassador of Italy, Armando Barucco, Morocco’s Minister of Islamic Affairs, Ahmed Toufiq, and the Director of the Academy of Traditional Arts of the Foundation Mosque Hassan II of Casablanca, Khalil Mouallif, attended the meeting.
Italian Conservation and Restoration Center “La Venaria Reale” president Stefano Trucco also attended the meeting.
The meeting followed the Cooperation Agreement that Italy and Morocco signed last January. According to the agreement, for the next five years, Italy will assist the Academy of Traditional Arts, supporting activities such as training and research, promoting documents exchanges, internships, and courses, and supporting field activities through the guidance of Italian and European experts.
The participants discussed increasing cooperation on the restoration and conservation of the cultural and archaeological heritage of Morocco. Italy is a global leader in the sector, it participates in conservation and restoration projects all over the world and is already involved in the management of several Moroccan archaeological sites.
Not surprisingly, last June, on the tenth anniversary of the creation of the National Foundation of Museums of Morocco, Italy announced a partnership with the African Academy of Restoration.
Such strong cooperation in the cultural field between Italy and Morocco is the result of the excellent work of Ambassador Barucco. The Ambassador was able to strengthen an already solid and fruitful relation, that Italy sees as crucial in accessing the whole African continent.
According to the Italian Embassy, in fact, “culture is a protagonist of the activities of the Embassy, also thanks to the work of the Italian Cultural Institute (IIC) in Rabat, that continues to promote our extraordinary artistic and cultural heritage in Morocco.
Art, music, cinema, opera, ballet, cooking are just some fields in which Italy enjoys a very high reputation among the Moroccan public. The Embassy and the Italian Cultural Institute aim at nourishing this reputation and promoting Italian culture and lifestyle.
