Rabat – Mohammed V University’s Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences opened its doors this evening to Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) ambassadors and representatives in Rabat, who took part in a regional forum. The event showcased the growing diplomatic relations between the ASEAN countries and Morocco, emphasizing the pillars of cooperation in economy, politics and culture.
In the opening speech, Mohammed Rhachi, President of Mohammed V University, said that through such initiatives, Morocco is bridging Africa and Asia, forming an academic and diplomatic foundation upon which Morocco can build strong partnerships.
The president stated that this forum is more than a discussion for networking, it is a call to action for the Moroccan academic community to join in for future collaborations.
He shared that the event is “an invitation for our researchers to join projects on sustainability, digital humanities and social science, which invites Moroccan students to look towards Asian universities for exchange and for Morocco to welcome Asian students to experience the richness of Moroccan culture.”
The president added: “For the scholars to collaborate in creating a new and shared narrative of partnership as it is the core mission of the university.”
The event brought together diplomatic leaders of ASEAN including the Ambassador of Thailand in Morocco and chair of the ASEAN Committee in Rabat (ACR) Fabio Chinda, Leslie J. Baja; Ambassador of the Philippines, Le Kim Quy; Ambassador of Vietnam, Dato’ Shahabudeen Adam Shah Ambassador of Malaysia, Nur Hafizah Al-Islam bint Awang Mahani; Chargée d’Affaires (CDA) of Brunei Darussalam and Sutar Windargo; CDA of Indonesia. They joined Moroccan hosts President Rhachi as well as Laila Mounir, the acting Dean of the Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences.
A close collaboration
In an interview with Morocco World News (MWN), the Ambassador of Thailand in Morocco and ASEAN Committee Chair Fabio Chinda stated that Morocco and ASEAN countries are both peaceful, and that “ we connect in our thinking, export our peace to the world and I think we will be working closely together.” He emphasized on the great potential Morocco has to contribute to ASEAN community’s vision of cooperation in its three pillars- political security, economy and socio-culture.
For his part, Ambassador of Malaysia Dato’ Shahabudeen Adam Shah told MWN that “we witnessed significant improvement and also stronger relations between both countries in the past two years in many aspects of relations, including trade, economy.” He also highlighted the cooperation in the education sector, adding “We are very thankful and grateful to the government of Morocco for giving many Malaysian students the opportunity to come and to study.”
Academic partnerships as the key to building lasting bridges
Laila Mounir, the acting Dean of the Faculty of Letters & Human Sciences stated in an interview with MWN that the event is a “platform to enhance the relations between Morocco and the ASEAN countries. This forum is organized because we think that it is important to give a platform for academic and scientific dialogue. This is an occasion for our students of Mohammed V University to have a lot of opportunities for continuing their studies abroad.”
In her speech, she noted that both Morocco and ASEAN countries are driven by shared intellectual values and a common vision of openness and dialogue “We firmly believe that academic partnerships are the key to building lasting bridges between our regions,” she stated. “Our institution is proud of the engagement with Asian universities of the increasing number of Asian students who enrich our campus and the collaborative initiative that strengthens our ties with ASEAN countries. This partnership reflects our commitment to promote knowledge, cultural literacy and academic excellence.”
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is an international organization established in 1967, first created at first by the founding fathers Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Singapore. Then other Asian countries joined, like Darussalam, Vietnam, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia, and Timor Leste, gathering eleven Member States of ASEAN. It aims to promote peace, stability and cooperation among its members. ASEAN seeks to strengthen regional solidarity and enhance cooperation.