HRH Prince Moulay Rachid voices the Kingdom of Morocco’s powerful potentials

Paris-France, November 26, 2007 – His Royal Highness Prince Moulay Rachid, Heir to the Moroccan Throne, on Monday flew to Paris, France, to give his influential voice to the promotion of the Moroccan candidacy for Tangier Expo 2012.

His Royal Highness said his presence in Paris is Morocco’s confirmation to the firm commitment of Morocco to use all necessary means to ensure the success of the 2012 World Expo in Tangier, and make the event a lighthouse in the history of the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE).

His Royal Highness' remarks came during a speech delivered at the Palais des Congrès in Paris in the presence of large number of academics and leaders.In his powerful speech, a few hours before the Bureau of International Expositions voted for a host city for the prestigious EXPO 2012, His Royal Highness called on BIE to take action to include the voice of Africa, Arabs and Muslims and sheltered the promotion of openness and universality of international exhibition by allowing Tangier to host EXPO 2012.

His Royal Highness also conveyed to BIE unified stand of all Moroccans as well as keenness to commitment to fulfilled all obligations with regard to guarantee the success of this important event.

“Morocco urges you to vote for the candidature of Tangier. It is not so much because it reflects the ambition of city or nation, but because it embodies the best of noble values”, underlined His Royal Highness.

His Royal Highness' visit to Paris championed the cause to generate significant revenue for the state treasury as well as an anticipated tourist boom and has really highlighted His Royal Highness top priorities.

As an advocate of advancing development opportunities in Morocco and across the globe, His Royal Highness has pioneered a number of initiatives focused to combat extreme poverty and to boost local economies.

Morocco has submitted to the Secretariat General of the Bureau of International Exhibitions the official letter of candidature to organize an International Exhibition in 2012 in the city of Tangier under the theme: "Routes of the world, cultures connecting. For a more united world"Tangier was competing with the South Korean city of Yesou and Wroclaw in Poland to win the bid.

In the end, the South Korean city of Yeosu was picked Monday evening to host the International Expo in 2012.