Foreign Ministry Promises to Improve Services for Moroccans Abroad

PERSISMA, Rabat – The Moroccan Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation have announced a set of measures to improve services provided for Moroccans abroad.

The announcement was made on Saturday during a meeting chaired by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Nasser Bourita, which saw the attendance of the general consuls of the kingdom and the Minister Delegate in Charge of Moroccan Abroad, Abdelkrim Benatiq.

The ministry revealed that a call center responding to the questions by the Moroccan diaspora and foreigners is to be set up.

The ministry also promised “zero tolerance” in dealing with any “improper conduct” from the consulates, saying it is setting up a dashboard to monitor the quality of services and the respect of deadlines.

The measures adopted by the ministry come after King Mohammed VI’s speech on July 29, in which he slammed the kingdom’s public administration for its lack of efficiency, as well as previous criticism.

Two years before, in a similarly harsh speech, the monarch vehemently criticized Moroccan consulates, whose poor services had led to discontent among Moroccans living abroad.

“There are consuls – not a majority thank God – who neglect the mission they are entrusted with and focus on personal and political issues,” said the King.

The monarch explained that when he met Moroccans in his foreign trips, they often expressed to him their dissatisfaction with the consulates’ services.

The King gave instructions to dismiss consuls who were found “guilty of neglecting their duties, flouting the interests of the Moroccan community abroad or mistreating its members,” advocating for more “competent” consuls to be appointed in their place.

Following the King’s speech, several consuls were dismissed and replaced.