H.E. Rachad Bouhlal, Ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the United States, provided a fascinating update on the current state of affairs in his country, in a speech held at the College of Arts & Sciences Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies on Thursday, January 30.
Ambassador Bouhlal discussed the long-standing cooperative relationship between Morocco and the United States, which began with a 1787 peace and friendship treaty that is still in force today. He also talked about recent developments in the Middle East, including security and the “Arab Spring”. Ambassador Bouhlal said that the Moroccan government has been working on reform efforts to engage youth and women since 1999, and was largely spared any significant unrest during the turbulent time in the region.
Ambassador Rachad Bouhlal was appointed to his position by King Mohammed VI in December 2011. He previous served as Ambassador to Germany, and to the European Union, Belgium and Luxembourg. He has held several high-level positions within the Moroccan government, and received the Order of the Throne of the Kingdom of Morocco. Bouhlal has also been recognized by the governments of Belgium, Germany, and France. He earned degrees in mathematics and business in Rouen, France.
“For over two centuries and even more so since its independence in 1956, Morocco has been a very important ally for the U.S. in the Arab/Islamic world, Africa and the Mediterranean region. The University of Miami was very pleased to host and co-sponsor the ambassador of the Kingdom of Morocco to the U.S., to authoritatively address this relationship. This important visit constitutes an additional building block in the fledgling 'Mare Nostrum' Initiative being developed by the Miller and the EU Centers at UM,” explained Dr. Haim Shaked, Director of the Miller Center and the Dr. Lee M. Pearce Professor of Middle East Peace Studies.
The event was co-sponsored by the Miller Center, the UM/FIU Miami-Florida European Union Center, and the American Jewish Committee Miami & Broward Regional Office.
For more information on the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies, please visit http://www6.miami.edu/miller-center/Index.html.
For more information on the Miami-Florida European Union Center of Excellence, please visit http://www.as.miami.edu/eucenter/.
